Tyrone edge past dogged Monaghan

STUTTERING against Fermanagh, sublime against Donegal, Tyrone found a level somewhere in between for yesterday’s Ulster final and it proved just about enough to deny a dogged Monaghan a first provincial title since 1988.

Mickey Harte’s side have gone four years since they last lifted the Anglo-Celt Cup but, such has been their recent prominence, that in itself was long enough to be considered a drought to match anything that parched Monaghan’s lips.

They led by double scores – 1-13 to 0-8 – with 25 minutes to go but were made go to the well by the underdogs who very nearly snatched a draw after an astonishing end to the game.

For Monaghan this will enter the ledger as an opportunity missed, for Tyrone it is confirmation that they are still some way short of the consistency and performance needed to claim a third All-Ireland in five seasons.

Mindful perhaps of the need to colonise the feelgood factor, Seamus McEnaney waited until the minutes before throw-in to announce the return of Paul Finlay to the team after a recent heart scare.

Both teams betrayed a number of positional changes from the 15 announced during the week and, although Kevin Hughes started where he was named at full-forward, he drifted back towards his spiritual midfield home within five minutes.

Tyrone never deviated from the task at hand and they had 1-3 on the scoreboard before their opponent’s big game nerves had begun to dissipate.

Tyrone cleared their throat with a couple of frees and a Colm McCullagh effort from play before hitting the high notes when Philip Jordan soloed unattended upfield, played a one-two with Gerard Cavlan and palmed the return into the Monaghan net.

Tyrone played with just two men in the full-forward line with McCullagh hovering just behind them and, with the half-forwards employed much closer to the midfield, there was oceans of space for Mickey Harte’s team to deliver a silver service into the danger zone.

With just over 20 minutes on the clock, Monaghan had three defenders on yellow cards but by that stage they had finally started to make inroads further up field.

Stephen Gollogly got them off the mark soon after Jordan’s bombshell but it was five points in ten minutes midway through the period that dragged them back into contention.

The foundation was an astonishing dominance at midfield, where they would finish the half having claimed 80% of the 15 kickouts, but that should have translated into a richer reward.

Finlay kicked three dead balls wide of the uprights and time and again the underdogs dropped ball or got caught running into corners.

Finlay did at least reduce the arrears to four points with a free on the stroke of half-time and, on a day where the sun finally gained dominance over the wind and rain, that didn’t look an insurmountable lead.

McEnaney went out on a limb by redeploying full-back Vinny Corey to the edge of the Tyrone square but the Clontibret player cut a lonely figure during a second quarter where Tyrone, and Sean Cavanagh in particular, ran amok.

The Moy midfielder was immense all day, but it was three points in the segment after the change of ends when he reached his mighty peak, kicking efforts with both feet and dominating general play as well.

With 50 minutes on the clock and the game seemingly up, Monaghan discovered a door back into the contest.

Paul Finlay finally manoeuvred sufficient room to launch a ball down Corey’s throat and the dividend was immediate with the big man feeding Tommy Freeman for a goal that changed the afternoon’s complexion.

Monaghan restricted Tyrone to a single point between the 43rd minute and injury time while they chipped patiently at the deficit and only a goal separated them as injury-time approached.

The drama was only just beginning. Monaghan continued to send ball hand over fist in for Corey and it would have paid off with another jackpot only for John Devine’s despairing save from close range.

Sixty seconds later Owen Mulligan was testing the solidity of the Monaghan crossbar, a near miss that looked to be immaterial when he sent over a free soon after that stretched the lead to four.

Then Paul Finlay brought the gap back to manageable proportions with another free but Monaghan’s last card was played when Corey sent a quick free from Rory Woods over the crossbar from eight yards.

Scorers: Monaghan: P Finlay 0-5 (4f), T Freeman 1-2, (1f), V Corey 0-1, E Lennon 0-1, S Gollogly 0-1, C Hanratty 0-1, R Woods 0-1. Tyrone: S Cavanagh 0-4, O Mulligan 0-4f, C McCullagh 0-4 (3f), P Jordan 1-0, D Carlin 0-1, D Harte 0-1, G Cavlan 0-1.

MONAGHAN: S Duffy; D Mone, V Corey, D McArdle; D Morgan, G McQuaid, D Freeman; E Lennon, JP Mone; D Clerkin, P Finlay, S Gollogly; C Hanratty, R Woods, T Freeman.

Subs: C McManus for Hanratty (45), C Flanagan for Morgan (50), P Meegan for Gollogly (56), S Smyth for JP Mone 61.

TYRONE: J Devine; R McMenamin, C Gourley, D Carlin; D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan; J McMahon, S Cavanagh; B Dooher, R Mulgrew, G Cavlan; C McCullagh, K Hughes, O Mulligan.

Subs: S O’Neill for Cavlan (54), Justin McMahon for Harte (56), E McGinley for Mulgrew (61), M Penrose for McCullagh (68), D McCaul for Carlin (71).

Referee: D Fahy (Longford).