Tyrone belief grows stronger

Monaghan 0-12 Tyrone 0-14

The lottery that is the back door beckons but Mickey Harte tells his players that they will play in Croke Park at some point this summer.

The Tyrone manager was as good as his word. Twice they have taken to HQ and come away with ambitions intact but you wonder if even he believed back then whether such a lofty berth was within their compass.

“We believe we have a good squad of players,” he said. “We believe we have a good mix of serious seasoned players, middle-aged players and some very good young players. That is what it takes for a very good squad to achieve something. You have to believe it’s possible and when you do, it can happen.”

No-one pegged Tyrone as potential champions prior to beating Monaghan. Few more will have done so since and yet they are two games from a fourth All-Ireland title. That would stand as Harte’s crowning achievement.

“The qualifiers have been good for us,” said Harte. “Players have had to win the games when they have been in the melting pot and that can only be good, if not for this year, then for future years. Young players are finding out that this is what it takes to win games.”

Be that as it may, it was the veteran Sean Cavanagh dragged Tyrone back into the contest after Monaghan rattled off four points to one in the first quarter. So effective was he in that spell, his side led 0-9 to 0-7 at the interval.

Yet, though Harte again railed against accusations of cynicism, Tyrone once again resorted to unsavoury tactics to close the game out, with Cavanagh hauling Conor McManus down when one-on-one with Pascal McConnell. Peter Harte performed a similar manoeuvre higher up the pitch as the seconds ebbed away and Conor Gormley was lucky to see the second half after punching Dessie Mone on the way in at half-time.

Martin Penrose was guilty of an identical sin seconds later and paid the full price with a straight red prior to the restart and yet the manner in which Tyrone absorbed such a potentially debilitating blow was admirable.

Harte suspected he might be shorn of a player when he gave his team-talk and Tyrone were ultimately unfazed by the numerical disadvantage for the 13 minutes up to when Kieran Hughes was ejected for a second yellow.

It was typical of how they dealt with all adversity on the day, whether their slow start, the wet conditions or the threat of a Monaghan comeback and it is worth noting that Tyrone were never led beyond the 27th-minute.

Not that it all went swimmingly. Nineteen unsuccessful shots were registered, Stephen O’Neill and Darren McCurry were held scoreless and there were other less-than-outstanding performances further back. The question is are they a better team now than last May?

“I don’t know,” said Harte. “I would imagine we would have to get a lot better if we are to get into the final.”

Not a pretty win, Harte admitted, but a pretty good one.

Scorers for Tyrone: S Cavanagh (0-5, two f); J McMahon (0-2); D McCurry (0-2 f); C Clarke (0-1); C McGinley (0-1); P Harte (0-1); Matthew Donnelly (0-1); R O’Neill (0-1).

Scorers for Monaghan: C McManus (0-6, four f); P Finlay (0-2 f); S Gollogly (0-1); K Hughes (0-1); D Clerkin (0-1); C McGuinness (0-1).

Tyrone: P McConnell; C McCarron, C Gormley, C Clarke; D Carlin, P Harte, C McGinley; C Cavanagh, S Cavanagh; Marr Donnelly, Matthew Donnelly, J McMahon; D McCurry, S O’Neill, M Penrose.

Subs for Tyrone: A Cassidy for McCurry (47); R McNabb for MacNeice (57); R O’Neill for S O’Neill (57); P Kane for Mark Donnelly (65).

Monaghan: R Beggan; K Duffy, D Wylie, C Walshe; D Mone, N McAdam, V Corey; O Lennon, D Hughes; P Finlay, S Gollogly, D Malone; P Donaghy, K Hughes, C McManus.

Subs for Monaghan: D Clerkin for Malone (30); C McGuinness for Donaghy (37); T Freeman for Finlay (51); J McCarron for Walshe (70).

Referee: C Reilly (Meath).