Tyrone tyros stand up to first test

Down 1-08 Tyrone 1-11

After coasting through the Dr McKenna Cup without breaking sweat, Tyrone were given a stark reminder that things are about to get a whole lot tougher by a pumped up Down team.

It got hot and heavy during an explosive second-half in Pairc Esler, both on the pitch and on the sideline, as red cards and two goals inside a minute raised tensions.

Harte was pleased his young players stood up to the battle and afterwards singled out Conor Clarke, who came on in an attacking role in the second-half and kicked two points at a stage when scores were hard to come by.

“I’m particularly pleased for Conor, he made a huge difference in the game,” said the Tyrone boss. “He has played in a number of positions for us both this year and last year and wasn’t getting the same form as we saw from him last year during the McKenna Cup. So to come on in that position and make such a serious impact in the game says a lot about him.”

When asked if he felt his younger players had stood up to the test, Harte said: “They had to play through a difficult period and they had to realise life isn’t always like it is when you’re winning by seven or eight or nine points.

“Those are the days you find out a lot about your players.”

Joe McMahon was dismissed for a second yellow card in the 56th minute when the scores were tied at 1-8 apiece.

Going down to 14 men ignited Tyrone, who scored the last three points of the game through Clarke, Cavanagh and O’Neill.

Conor Laverty was sent-off in the last minute for Down, also for two bookings.

The poor performance of Derry referee Barry Cassidy was the main talking-point afterwards as inconsistent decisions had undoubtedly frustrated in both camps.

Harte remarked: “I’ll challenge anybody to have a look at that game and tell me the decisions were delivered consistently. That’s all I’m saying. I’m not saying who favoured who, when and where, but they were not consistent.”

It took Tyrone a long time to match Down’s intensity. The hosts were by far the better team in the first-half and should have led by more than their slender 0-7 to 0-5 half-time lead.

“Down are in division one for a couple of years when we weren’t there,” added Harte.

“They were probably watching us in the McKenna Cup thinking ‘we can turn the heat up on these men’ and they did that in the first-half.

“We were under serious pressure. It was ‘welcome to division one’ in the first-half anyway.”

Both managers were deeply unhappy with the referee, who was the main character in the second-half as an ugly undercurrent developed.

James McCartan played down the sideline jostles.

“It’s a passionate game and feelings run high. At the end of the day when it’s all over you shake hands and you move on.”

Down spurned a number of goal chances in the first-half. Stephen O’Neill also hit the post for Tyrone who struggled to compete with the sharp movement of Down’s forwards.

Benny Coulter and new boy Connaire Harrison led the charge as Down enjoyed a 0-7 to 0-3 lead after 25 minutes.

Conor McAlliskey’s brace from play and goalkeeper Niall Morgan’s long-range kicks kept Tyrone in touch until the break.

The game sprung to life when Mark Donnelly and then Donal O’Hare both scored goals in the 51st minute.

A misdirected Down kickout fell to Martin Penrose and the ball was fed to Donnelly, who rounded the keeper to score his fourth goal in his last three outings.

Within a minute, Down responded with a goal of their own, O’Hare’s fisted a ball across the square into an empty net and suddenly it was all to play for at 1-8 to 1-8 with almost 20 minutes remaining.

However the goal proved to be Down’s last score as their attack fizzled out. Tyrone finished strongly and ended on a positive note, with Ronan O’Neill making a late appearance after almost a year out with a cruciate injury.

Scorers for Down: D O’Hare 1-3 (3f), B Coulter, R Mallon 0-2 each, C Harrison 0-1.

Scorers for Tyrone: S O’Neill 0-3 (1f), Mark Donnelly 1-0, C McAlliskey, C Clarke 0-2 each, N Morgan 0-2 (1f, 1 ‘45’), S Cavanagh 0-2, (2f)

Subs for Down: O Costello for Turley (29), C Garvey for Mallon (46), P McComiskey for King (51), P Turley for Quinn (58), R Kelly for Poland (64).

Subs for Tyrone: C Clarke (0-2) for McNamee (30), M Penrose for Gallagher (46), R O’Neill for McAlliskey (60), P McNiece for Mark Donnelly (70).

Referee: B Cassidy (Derry).