Munroe hails Red Hand courage
Two years ago Tyrone clawed their way back to parity in an All-Ireland minor decider with Mayo, then blitzed them in the replay to take honours.
Yesterday was not as dramatic a mugging but it was still an encounter where an improbable second-half Tyrone recovery altered the course of the game.
When Mayo’s brilliant corner-forward Cillian O’Connor popped over a point in the 42nd minute, the Westerners were sailing clear by 0-14 to 1-4, but sadly for them they only notched two points during the remainder of the match and their defence shipped 2-6 in the same time frame.
At the final whistle Tyrone had the winner’s garlands and a final date on September 19th with Cork or Galway to prepare for. Mayo were left with nothing but that devastating feeling of defeat once more.
“I’m more than happy as the Tyrone manager to be in the All-Ireland final,” revealed a triumphant Red Hand boss Raymond Munroe at the final whistle.
“It’s very easy to say for me I never gave up the ghost. Certainly at stages of that game you were sort of thinking ‘what more do we have to do here’.
“But the most important people are the players and that’s why they’re inside the four white lines. They didn’t give up the ghost. They played their hearts out in the second half and they got the result.”
The teams entered the game against the backdrop of a season where Tyrone’s star has shone brightest in the minor grade.
Their supreme form has lead many to anoint them as All-Ireland champions but yesterday their play was patchy for long stretches.
However when the need was greatest, they showed what talents they have to offer. They had a couple of stellar individual displays in Richard Donnelly and substitute Dara Donnelly, who exerted an enormous influence when introduced in the second-half, but the star of the show was 16 year-old Ronan O’Neill at corner-forward.
The Omagh youngster is a player of serious promise with electric pace and great creativity. He claimed 1-4 yesterday, 1-3 from play, and was at the heart of Tyrone’s second-half scoring burst as he worked the openings for colleagues to score.
Tyrone’s ability to plunder goals was crucial to their second-half fight back. Richard Donnelly ignited their revival with a thunderous shot to the net in the 43rd minute and after O’Neill slotted between the posts a minute later, he then turned provider in the 48th minute for another terrific goal by Dara Donnelly. There was a suspicion of over-carrying for that strike by Donnelly but referee Rory Hickey permitted the goal to stand.
From there Tyrone kicked on with a series of points by O’Neill, Stefan Tierney and John McCullagh sending them three clear.
Mayo responded with a Cillian O’Connor free and a James Shaughnessy point but Tyrone hit back each time, with Donnelly and O’Neill splitting the posts.
Mayo desperately tried for a goal at the finish but Danny Kirby’s powerful shot was blocked by the covering Tyrone defence on the line.
Mayo were aghast at the final whistle, particularly as their football had reached heady heights in the first-half. They struck the first three points of the game courtesy of two O’Connor frees and one by Jack McDonnell but then had to withstand a Tyrone rally.
O’Neill found the net with a sweet left-foot finish in the 8th minute and that preceded three successive Tyrone points, that left the Ulster men ahead 1-3 to 0-3 by the 18th minute.
Mayo closed the half in phenomenal fashion, with their slick and dynamic brand of football overwhelming the Tyrone rearguard.
They landed seven points on the trot, a few of which were terrific scores, and McDonnell, Darren Coen and O’Connor were all hugely impressive. By the break Mayo possessed a considerable advantage as they lead 0-10 to 1-3.
They carried their strong form into the early stages of the second-half. O’Connor, Coen and McDonnell all had points on the board by the 38th minute and goalkeeper Paul Mannion then produced a fantastic save to deny Ryan Devlin a goal, by tipping his shot onto the post.
It looked like a decisive miss yet it didn’t dent the self-belief of the Tyrone players. Their final-quarter revival swung the game at the finish.
“Our lads showed great character and endeavour,” stated Munroe.
“Mayo, what can you say, great footballers and everything but I don’t know what the problem is in Mayo that they can’t seem to get over the line at these vital stages.
“But we’re in an All-Ireland final, If that’s Cork or it’s Galway then so be it, they’re both new teams for us to challenge against.
“We’re certainly looking forward to the 19th of September as it’s an amazing place to be.”
Scorers for Tyrone: R O’Neill 1-4 (one free); R Donnelly 1-2; D Donnelly 1-1; J McCullagh 0-2; S Tierney 0-1.
Scorers for Mayo: C O’Connor 0-5 (four frees); D Coen, J McDonnell 0-3 each; R Quirke, D Kirby, M Forde, C Costello, J Shaughnessy 0-1 each.
Subs for Tyrone: P McNulty for Donaghy (half-time), D Donnelly for Canavan (39), L Girvan for Óg Conlon (44), Óg Conlon for Grugan (57), C McCullagh for McGeary (63).
Subs for Mayo: M Regan for Twomey (48), A Leonard for Kelly (48), J Shaughnessy for Costello (51), D Durkan for McDonnell (58).
Referee: R Hickey (Clare).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
