Experience tells as indomitable Tyrone reel in Mourne men

THE general perception after Tyrone’s defeat of Antrim last month was of a side that had seen one too many summers.

Events in Belfast over the weekend would suggest that the old dog is still the best suited for the long road.

And to think it all started so badly.

James McCartan’s side led by eight points to four against a stiff wind after just 20 minutes and Tyrone’s problems had already been compounded by Stephen O’Neill limping off with an injured heel.

Down were slicing through Tyrone’s rearguard at will. Their forwards were served lavishly by a cascade of possession from midfield but, as Mickey Harte said himself, it was experience that turned the tide.

When they were needed, Tyrone’s clutch players stood up to be counted, none more so than Brian Dooher whose two points in that difficult first quarter kept the reigning provincial champions in touch.

“Magical” was the word Harte used to describe his captain but there were other keynote contributions which wrestled the momentum from Down, two inspirational points from Joe McMahon and Sean Cavanagh among them.

McMahon’s effort was so good, so jaw-dropping, that Harte compared it to the point from Dooher which kickstarted the county’s push for the line during the 2008 All-Ireland final against Kerry.

Pascal McConnell was another to stand up.

The goalkeeper made a crucial save from Benny Coulter at a time when Down threatened to pull clear and his 68th-minute save from Danny Hughes closed out the game for Tyrone, who led by three points at the time.

“If we were not an experienced team we would be out of this competition,” said Harte. “That’s the beauty of these men and the roads that they have been on and battles they have been in. That’s what it is about, bringing that experience to bear when it is needed.”

The contrast with Down was striking.

Marty Clarke has all the ingredients to be a top player but he kicked three bad wides in and around the time when Tyrone began to fight back and a little bit of belief was lost with every single one.

The youngster finished the game with half a dozen failed efforts but it would be wrong to single him out. Others received equally unsatisfactory grades. Coulter finished the game scoreless, Hughes with just one point from play.

Both men had terrorised the Donegal defence in Ballybofey. Kudos then to the Tyrone rearguard but hats must also be doffed in the direction of Harte for stemming the bloodletting from his sideline perch.

Tyrone had started with Peter Harte operating as a spare man in defence. Down used the same tactic in the quarter-final but neglected to do so this time and the extra man helped them infiltrate Tyrone’s lines from all angles and distances.

O’Neill’s forced exit ushered Brian McGuigan onto the field and with him came a radical overhaul. The sweeper was abandoned as Tyrone opted to duke it out mano-a-mano from there on in.

Other tweaks worked wonders. One in particular concerned Joe McMahon.

Paired with Coulter at the start, he was replaced by his brother Justin in the watching brief and allowed to roam further upfield to more telling effect.

Tyrone’s flexibility was endless.

Joe McMahon, Peter Harte and the ubiquitous Martin Penrose popped up in every corner of the pitch in a game that took on all the characteristics of a chess match the longer it went on.

“Down had a very interchangeable forward line as well,” said Tyrone’s assistant manager Tony Donnelly. “You had Benny coming out, Danny Hughes was all over the top half of the field and Marty Clarke took up a few different positions.

“They were a very fluid team and we had to contend with that. A few men like Conor (Gormley) stayed in the one position but we had to adjust to who the direct opponent was. These players are flexible.”

The effect of all Harte’s tinkering was astonishing. Tyrone scored six unanswered points from the 21st minute to the break. Down managed just two more points during the last 52 minutes of play.

A first-half that had ebbed and flowed with all the hallmarks of a classic stagnated into a plodding, grim encounter. A Down team that had started with such panache morphed into a disorganised rabble.

The sight of McCartan and sub Paul McComiskey debating where to place a sideline ball 10 minutes from the end said everything about the lack of direction and confidence brought on by Tyrone’s resurgence.

McCartan is a bright and exciting new manager who has enjoyed stints over Ballinderry and Queens University in the past but he was taught a harsh yet valuable lesson by the master from Tyrone.

“Just trying to find out why that stopped happening is the problem,” said the bemused Down manager, “because we cut them open very well and it was something like eight-four at one stage in the first half against the strong breeze.

“We would have taken that all day long but it is level all of a sudden 10 minutes later and you are just trying to figure out what has changed and I just didn’t find the answers.”

Tyrone: P McConnell, M Swift, Justin McMahon, D Carlin (0-1), P Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan, C Cavanagh (0-1), K Hughes, B Dooher (0-2), S Cavanagh (0-3, 2f), Joe McMahon (0-1), M Penrose (0-5, 3f), S O'Neill, O Mulligan (0-1). Subs - B McGuigan for O'Neill (11), Sean O'Neill for Swift (41), T McGuigan for Harte (63), R Mellon for Dooher (68), C McCullagh for Mulligan (70)

Down: B McVeigh, D Rooney, B McArdle, D Rafferty, K McKernan, J Colgan, C Garvey, A Rodgers (0-2), K King, D Hughes (0-1), M Poland (0-2, 1f), B Coulter, C Maginn, D Gordon (0-1), M Clarke(0-3, 2f). Subs - P McComiskey (0-1, 1f) for Poland (ht), D O'Hagan for Garvey (56), P Fitzpatrick for King (60).

Ref - G Kinneavy (Galway).