Gavin fumes after Tyrone answer Harte passion plea

As Jim Gavin post-match critiques go, his take on his team’s performance that conspired to knock them out of the reckoning for a seventh consecutive Division 1 final was withering: “That performance will obviously not help the players that were out on the pitch, that’s for sur.”

Mon, 18 Mar, 2019 - 05:00

John Fogarty

[team1]Dublin[/team1][score1]1-11[/score1][team2]Tyrone[/team2][score2]1-14[/score2][/score]

There were other sharp lines: “Certainly, a performance like that will certainly give the management team a lot to reflect on and certainly give the Dublin players a lot to reflect on because that just isn’t good enough.”

Hailing Tyrone “deserved winners”, he added: “Our passing was certainly off in many phases of play. Our shot selection was very poor.”

That Tyrone played the final 25 minutes of action with 14 men and outscored Dublin in that period 0-3 to 0-2 was the most damning aspect of Dublin’s third defeat in the competition, the first time they have lost so many games in the Gavin era.

The only time Dublin looked up to the pitch of the game was in the opening five minutes when Cormac Costello claimed his second goal in Croke Park in as many games. Skinning Hugh Pat McGeary after a strong run by Dean Rock, Costello finished well but it wasn’t until the 18th minute that Dublin scored again as inaccuracy set in.

Costello was later denied a second goal by Niall Morgan but Tyrone could have been in for two before that only some poor hand-passing let them down. However, Mattie Donnelly and Cathal McShane were working beautifully taking turns as supplier and finisher and it was the latter’s goal, helped by a David Byrne slip and set up by Donnelly, which put them ahead in the 21st minute. It was a lead they never lost.

Mickey Harte was thrilled by how they responded to the Costello goal. “It was a battle from start to finish and that was the good thing about it — we were in that battle from the start and we withstood a very goal that should have rocked us and would have in the past.

“I think that was the big thing today, we didn’t let that upset us too much, we just rolled up our sleeves and fought back and I think the players got the reward they deserved because they put in a serious effort there tonight.”

In carving out Tyrone’s first victory over Dublin since 2013, Harte’s team had responded to his rallying call beforehand. “I asked them to play with a bit of passion here, and I certainly got that back and I couldn’t but be anything but very proud of the way the players performed.”

Once more, the Dublin full-back-line creaked although the supply into McShane in particular was commendable. Tyrone now have a spearhead to their attack in him and Donnelly and the quick punts the team put into them saw them score 1-6 from play and marks much to the frustration of most of the poor 19,927 Croke Park crowd.

“When you have players of that stature up front, of that physicality, and that ball-playing ability, then you like to give them ball.

There’s no point in being up there and not getting any ball. Now, again it’s about getting that sense of balance.

If you kick every ball in then after the first three or four were quite successful, Dublin were more conscious of it and cut out a number of them, so again it’s about picking the right time to kick and the right time to run and about mixing your game up a bit. I suppose we’ve been known as a running team for a few years now, and we do need to bring a bit of variety to our game and perhaps this is one way of doing it.

Not that the first-half injuries to Costello — Gavin said the player felt the setback wasn’t serious — and John Small upset Dublin but by the time Paddy Andrews was taken off with suspected concussion 13 minutes into the second half after a thundering Niall Morgan challenge, which was deemed a foul, it appeared Dublin had been spooked.

Their return of 1-5 to Tyrone’s 1-7 after the first half would have been considered one of their lowest contributions in Gavin’s reign only for them to score two points less after the break. With Richard Donnelly weighing in with a couple of fine scores from distance to add to the damage McShane was doing, Tyrone were five up just after the hour mark.

Their tenacity on each team’s kick-outs was unmatched and it’s for that among other reasons Gavin is likely to take a scythe to his starting team for the visit to Cavan next Sunday, a game rendered meaningless for them after this result but one where he will be expecting a response.

Scorers for Dublin:

P. Mannion (0-4, 2 frees, 1 mark); C. Costello (1-0); D. Rock (frees), C. Kilkenny (0-2 each); C. O’Callaghan, B. Fenton, P. Andrews (0-1 each).

Scorers for Tyrone:

C McShane (1-4, 0-2 marks, 0-1 free); P. Harte (2 frees, 1 mark); M. Donnelly (0-3 each); N, Morgan (frees), R. Donnelly (0-2 each).

DUBLIN:

S. Cluxton (c); J. Cooper, D. Byrne, C. O’Connor; J. McCarthy, C. O’Sullivan, J. Small; B. Fenton, B. Howard; C. Kilkenny, C. Costello, N. Scully; P. Mannion, D. Rock, C. O’Callaghan. Subs for Dublin: D. Daly for J. Small (inj 31); P. Andrews for C. Costello (inj 35+1); K. McManamon for P. Andrews (blood, 48-full time); E. O’Gara for D. Rock (60); C. Basquel for N. Scully (70+4).

TYRONE:

N. Morgan; R. McNamee, P. Hampsey, H.P. McGeary; K. McGeary, T. McCann, C. Meyler; B. Kennedy, B. McDonnell; R. Donnelly, P. Harte, F. Burns; N. Sludden, C. McShane, M. Donnelly (c).

Subs for Tyrone:

R. Brennan for T. McCann (inj 12); C. McAlliskey for F. Burns (60); C. Cavanagh for R. McNamee (62); D. McCurry for B.

Kennedy (70).

Red card:

N. Sludden (51, black after yellow).

Referee:

J. Henry (Mayo).