Tyrone have major opportunity to send Dublin to Division 2

It’s been a strange league thus far. Tyrone have been far from our best but bizarrely sit three points above Dublin in the table after four games. A depleted and lethargic Dublin have lost four straight games to Armagh, Kerry, Mayo and Kildare respectively. Meanwhile Tyrone have just a draw against Monaghan and a narrow win over Kildare, putting points on the board. However, a win on Sunday at Healy Park could see Tyrone safe and resign Dublin to a humiliating relegation. Weird!

Last day out, Tyrone were motoring well in Ballybofey against Donegal. A slow start but excellent second quarter put Tyrone in the driving seat before a timely Donegal goal just before half time slammed the brakes on our evening. The second half was nip and tuck but Donegal pulled away at the end and secured two precious points. Tyrone looked much improved but poor decision making in front of the posts led to a raft of wides and Donegal seized the initiative.

Pádraig McNulty’s injury was disappointing for him and the panel depth was affected further with the news this week that Trillick’s Lee Brennan has chosen to step back from the panel. It comes as no surprise as he has not featured yet in a league campaign in which Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher have already used 25 players. Hard to deny himself regular club football when opportunities look to be limited with the county. Brennan did feature in both McKenna Cup games against Cavan and Armagh but has not played a Championship game for Tyrone since entering as a sub in the 2018 All Ireland final defeat to Dublin.

Dublin are definitely a team in transition this season. Sunday is an opportunity for Tyrone to take a huge step to securing our Division 1 status for 2023. Our final two games against Mayo and Kerry will not be easy and Dublin certainly look a weaker side without Conn O’Callaghan, Eoin Murchan, Cormac Costello and Paddy Small. While James McCarthy is likely to return this weekend, Dublin are again this season without legends like Jack McCaffrey and Paul Mannion, who would make any team in the country.

I still believe Tyrone have a lot to do to avoid relegation but just 20% of my Twitter followers think we will be relegated. This is the key game. Five points could be enough to stay up and it removes Dublin from the equation, leaving Monaghan and Kildare as the main threat to send us down. Our panel will know that we have not been good enough this season but with Championship just a month away, momentum is needed and soon.

Dublin’s Super 8s visit to Healy Park in 2018

Trip to struggling Donegal presents big opportunity for Tyrone

A much depleted Tyrone finally got our first win of 2022 at home to Kildare last weekend. Tomorrow we travel to Ballybofey with renewed confidence. Meanwhile Donegal have also struggled in the league thus far. An opening day draw against Mayo in Sligo and a win over Kildare at home, were followed by a shambolic performance in Killarney against Kerry, played in torrential conditions.

Tyrone know better than anyone how difficult it is to go there and get a result but Donegal just were not up for it at all. Constant lateral passing and a lack of desire to kick facing the strong breeze left them everything to do in the second half. David Clifford and Sean O’Shea made hay and Donegal find themselves beside Tyrone on three points in Division 1.

Donegal manager Declan Bonner has come in for a lot of criticism in recent years. Donegal look like a team devoid of ideas and one who may have peaked a long time ago. They are still heavily reliant on captain Michael Murphy who continues to struggle with injury. Set the clocks back to last July and Murphy’s missed penalty and subsequent black card against Tyrone were the key turning points in our Ulster Championship semi-final victory in Enniskillen. That he felt compelled to play when not match-fit tells us all we need to know about Donegal’s overreliance on him.

Go back further to autumn 2020 and Donegal beat Tyrone twice in a fortnight, in Round 6 of the National League and the Preliminary Round of the Ulster Championship respectively. The latter defeat ended our championship campaign at the first step and many talked of Donegal being the team with the players, know-how and tactics to end Dublin’s run of five straight Sam Maguires. No one is talking of them as pretenders to the throne of All Ireland champions now. What happened then was a hungrier Cavan shocked Donegal in the Ulster Championship final in Armagh. A lethargic and uninspired Dublin, which is now evident to everyone, were left to saunter past Cavan and Mayo en route to a sixth All Ireland title in a row.

Michael Murphy, Michael Langan and Peadar Mogan are all likely to be missing tomorrow. Donegal are lacking strength in depth but Patrick McBrearty and Jamie Brennan are still among Ireland’s finest forwards when on form. Tyrone have given time to 25 players already in this league but Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher will likely restore Peter Harte, Michael McKernan, Peter Harte and Pádraig Hampsey to the starting XV. A win for either side would be a huge boost in preserving their Division 1 status.

Tyrone’s record in Ballybofey is poor but the 2018’s Super 8s victory lives long in the memory. More of the same please as this could be the most advantageous of our four remaining fixtures.

Tyrone’s 2018 victory over Donegal brought them into the All Ireland semi-final

Tyrone hang on to secure first win of 2022

Tyrone dug deep to take both points with a one point home win at a soggy, windswept Healy Park over a competitive Kildare side. This narrow victory felt like a turning point in the league campaign with Tyrone missing four key players through suspension as well as veterans Mattie Donnelly and Ronan McNamee.

The panel has already been severely tested this year with five senior players stepping down. This has created opportunities for several players to stamp their authority on intercounty football. Nathan Donnelly has performed well in starting all three league games thus far. Pádraig McNulty returned to the Tyrone senior team following a few year hiatus and along with Rory Brennan and Cormac McNulty yesterday, brought the number of players used by Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher to 25 in this campaign.

Kildare started well with Daniel Flynn and Jimmy Hyland combining well, coupled with a few superb dead balls directed over the bar by their goalkeeper Mark Donnellan. Tyrone were sloppy in attack, perhaps owing to the weather conditions, and failed to convert a few goal chances, going in four points behind at half time.

Darragh Canavan shone at times but in the absence of glorious end product. He was unfortunate to strike the crossbar twice, once either side of half time but he was the architect of a move that led to an assist for Conn Kilpatrick’s goal which helped turn the game in Tyrone’s favour.

Darren McCurry was back to his best, converting 1-3, 1-2 from play. Frank Burns was superb in defence earning himself Man of the Match, while Rory Brennan and the two Munroes, Cormac and Jonathan, also helped keep Kildare at bay.

Niall Morgan was exceptional throughout. He scored a 45 in the first half and kept Tyrone in it with a fine save to stop a sure fire goal at the death, as well as jumping high to stop a handy point for Kildare. Paul Donaghy chipped in with two points but probably found himself too deep at times to make more of a contribution to the scoreboard. Conor Meyler was a real leader and you just never expect him to give a ball away.

Tyrone breathed a sigh of relief when Mark Donnellan failed to convert a difficult free to draw the game and can now look ahead more optimistically to the clash with Donegal at Ballybofey on Saturday.

Depleted Tyrone face uphill battle against Kildare

For the Kildare game at Healy Park on Sunday, Tyrone are likely to be missing four key first team members through suspension, subject to a potential appeal. Peter Harte, Kieran McGeary, Pádraig Hampsey and Michael McKernan all received red cards from Meath referee David Gough following a melee in the defeat to Armagh at the Athletic Grounds. These were upheld at Croke Park on Monday night.

The panel is strong but no intercounty team can afford to lose three All Stars and a former Young Footballer of the Year nominee for a big Division 1 game. Conn Kilpatrick should return to the team following a trip to the Bahamas. Anyone reading the Armagh match-day programme will have cast a wry smile seeing Conn named to play while holidaying a few thousand miles away. They really aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.

I predicted Kildare for the drop to Division 2. They were always going to find it hard to gather points in Division 1. At present they have as many points as we do (one point) and will be licking their lips at facing us at this unpredictable juncture. This is a must win game for Tyrone. If we don’t win, we would be staring relegation in the face with the most difficult of fixtures still awaiting us.

One can take some positive omens from our last league meeting with Kildare in Round 3 of 2018’s Division 1 campaign. Tyrone entered that game on the back of two defeats to Galway and Dublin. A superb late point from Mattie Donnelly gave Tyrone our first victory of the campaign in a year which we finished strongly, retaining Division 1 status and reaching an All Ireland final.

Our record against Kildare is watertight. Tyrone have faced Kildare eleven times since the turn of the century, winning nine times with just a single draw and one defeat. The sole defeat was the Division 2 league final of 2012. Kildare have also never beaten Tyrone in championship – Tyrone have three victories over Kildare in 2009, 2013 and 2019.

Kildare were optimistic entering 2022 featuring a new management team with several home-grown legends – Glen Ryan, Anthony Rainbow, Johnny Doyle and Dermot Earley. All four bring to mind happier days for the Lilywhites in Leinster when Dublin dominance was not seen as a formality.

While Tyrone have had a poor start to the year, results have been more mixed for Kildare. In the O’Byrne Cup, Kildare had convincing victories over Carlow and Westmeath before suffering a semi-final defeat to Laois on penalties. They opened their league campaign with a very creditable point at home to a Kerry side led by the returning Jack O’Connor. In the last round, a narrow defeat to Donegal in Ballybofey will have bought Lilywhite fans back to earth. Daniel Flynn remains Kildare’s most recognisable footballer but has yet to score in the league, while Jimmy Hyland has 1-10 against his name.

This is a crucial match for us. Conor McKenna returned against Armagh and we will need him in the absence of others to come in and help guide our attack. Darren McCurry and Conor Meyler have yet to recapture the form of last year but this would be the time to do it.

Should we be worried about Tyrone’s poor start to 2022?

2022 was always going to be a tricky year for Tyrone. In 2021, we confounded expectations and reached the summit for the fourth time in our history. Celebrations have been intense and rightly so but the victory lap can often takes a lot out of successful teams. Indeed 2004, 2006 and 2009 all proved too much for us to repeat the achievements of the previous year.

So it is no surprise that supporters will have approached 2022 with some mild trepidation. The team holiday to Florida was richly deserved and booked for early January, when other counties will have been training ahead of ambitious league campaigns. The McKenna Cup came and went in a matter of days with a tired and lethargic Tyrone facing convincing defeats to Cavan and Armagh respectively.

It then became clear that there would be the biggest overhaul of playing personnel for a number of years when in a matter of a few weeks, five members of the 2021 panel stepped away: Ronan O’Neill, Michael Cassidy, Hugh Pat McGeary, Mark Bradley and Tiernan McCann. This will create opportunities for new recruits but in the short term, it is clear that the depth of the panel has been narrowed.

The league campaign started in Omagh against Monaghan and a draw was probably a fair result. Tyrone looked to be switching up the gears but against Armagh at the Athletic Grounds yesterday, we were significantly outfought and outthought. Armagh were first to every breaking ball and the four red cards resulting from a melee at the end of the match did little to veil a shambolic performance.

Ronan McNamee has been a big loss in defence but every county is missing players at this stage of the season. We were found wide open on a number of occasions and if anything the scoreboard flattered us. Armagh were baying for blood and despite a slight comeback in the second half, we were playing the game on Armagh’s terms with Armagh happy to concede frees rather than goal chances.

Tyrone’s most experienced players will know themselves that individual performances have just not been good enough. However, it is only the start of February and Tyrone very often do not start the National League well. It’s fair to say, we usually peak after a few rounds of championship football but the shortened intercounty campaign means we may need to peak a lot earlier than usual. Tyrone will be seen as a scalp and with Armagh and Derry both motoring well in the league and Donegal and Monaghan still extremely competitive, Ulster is set to be a complete dogfight once again.

There is a two week break before the next league game at home to Kildare. That game is must win if Tyrone are to stay in Division 1. Donegal away, Dublin at home, Mayo at home and Kerry away, are a tough series of fixtures to end the campaign.

The greatest worry for 2022 is whether players can motivate themselves to go again after such a successful 2021. That is the mark of a great team and makes the achievements of Dublin’s six in a row all the more impressive.

However, if ever there was a time of year to put in a few stuttering performances, this is it. Tyrone have shown in recent years that they are fit to bounce back from bad performances and there is every chance this will be the case again.

Armagh next after points shared with Monaghan

With the spectre of a calamitous McKenna Cup behind us, Tyrone are looking for a solid performance in the league ahead of seeking an unprecedented All Ireland defence. Previous seasons after All Ireland wins have been disappointing so there is an onus on management and panel to learn the mistakes of the past. Losing five panel members was not the best start to the year but Tyrone upped the gears on Sunday against Monaghan in Omagh. League debutant Nathan Donnelly showed no fear and exhibited the strength of depth there is in the county.

The match finished 0-9 each. Despite some inconsistent refereeing from Joe McQuillan, a draw was probably a fair result with Monaghan kicking a crazy amount of wides. Indeed Tyrone looked to have stolen the win but a late point from Paul Donaghy was disallowed before Monaghan’s Rory Beggan surprisingly elected not to kick a long free, to our great relief. The weather was rancid. I haven’t seen the main stand so full in years and there were probably less than a few dozen fans standing on the terraces.

Cathal McShane returned to Tyrone’s starting line-up for the first time since the heavy league defeat to Galway in Tuam in February 2020. He was well marshalled by the experienced Monaghan defence, as was Darren McCurry who failed to have a prolific day at the office. Tyrone began with 11 starters from the All Ireland win over Mayo – Ronan McNamee and Conor McKenna have yet to feature in a panel this season, while Michael O’Neill remained on the bench for the entirety with Mattie Donnelly being introduced in the second half.

Sunday will see Tyrone face Armagh in the Athletic Grounds, who had a fantastic win over Dublin in their league opener at Croke Park. It looks like it has finally clicked for Armagh under Kieran McGeeney. Rory Grugan was superb while Rían O’Neill really introduced himself to a national audience. Bookmakers have Armagh as slight favourites and it should be a fiery game in front an attendance of at least 10,000.

A full National Football League campaign beckons for Tyrone

I’m feeling great excitement at the return of a full NFL campaign with eight teams – seven games in nine weeks. Last year’s edition featured two pools of four and was largely held behind closed doors or with restricted attendances. Tyrone won just one of our four games but managed to stay up. The only truly memorable moment of the campaign was the humiliating defeat to Kerry in Killarney which proved to be the turning point of all turning points for Tyrone as we went on to lift the Anglo Celt Cup and Sam Maguire before the summer was out.

The NFL is notoriously unpredictable for Tyrone. It’s very clear we tend to save our best performances for Championship. We haven’t featured in a Division 1 final since 2013 and our only two league titles came in 2002 and 2003. In the 2020 campaign, which was truncated by the emergence of the pandemic, we had some awful performances against Monaghan and Galway, yet managed victories over Kerry, Dublin and Mayo. So maybe don’t rush to conclusions too quickly if we suffer any early defeats.

Tyrone enter the NFL as All Ireland champions but on the back of defeats to Cavan and Armagh in the McKenna Cup. Preparations weren’t aided by a team holiday to Florida but it’s very likely that training has ramped up significantly in the intervening fortnight.

The panel has lost five key members: Hugh Pat McGeary, Michael Cassidy, Ronan O’Neill, Mark Bradley and Tiernan McCann. All have performed excellently for Tyrone in the past but given the commitment levels needed, this comes as no surprise. The dedication levels needed to turn out for Tyrone year in year out have gone through the roof. Several of those lads may feature again in the future and deserve thanks for all they have done in the jersey thus far. Go raibh mile maith agaibh.

Tyrone have four home games in the NFL this year which will save supporters a few pound. The away trips to Armagh in the Athletic Grounds and Donegal in Ballybofey shouldn’t break the bank too much but there is the carrot of a weekend away to Kerry in Killarney to close the campaign at the end of March. There has not been a price hike in adult match tickets which remain 15 euro but season tickets were increased from 120 euro to 150 euro with no savings apparent. Shirt sponsorship has returned to McAleer & Rushe. I hope you kept your jerseys from 2017.

In a poll on my Twitter, 62% of respondents tipped Tyrone to finish mid table in Division 1. Management would likely be content with that. Tyrone open the campaign against Monaghan at home, Armagh away and Kildare at home. A strong start will be hugely important as we will conclude the league with games against Donegal, Dublin, Mayo and Kerry. The most important thing is to try new players out, win a few games and avoid relegation as early as possible. A final place would be a bonus.

It’s hard to look past Dublin and Kerry to contest another final. Both won their pre-season competitions and will be eager to make up for the intense disappointments they suffered in 2021. Mayo shouldn’t trouble the league final with all seven of their games away from home or on neutral grounds. Kildare may become the whipping boys with one of Monaghan, Armagh or Donegal likely to join them in a relegation fight which Tyrone will hope not to become embroiled in.

McKenna Cup: Tyrone 1-15 Armagh 2-15

Tyrone’s defence of the McKenna Cup ended prematurely on Saturday afternoon at home to Armagh in Omagh. In truth, the damage was done in the huge defeat at the hands of Cavan a week ago. Indeed, the game against Armagh threatened to go in a similar manner with Tyrone trailing by seven points approaching half time, before a fantastic goal by Conn Kilpatrick woke Tyrone up.

The second half was much better but Armagh were prepared and ready. They managed to stem a tide of scores from an improved Tyrone, who were inspired by four majestic points from Dungannon’s Paul Donaghy. It’s unfortunate that the plethora of inter-county debutants won’t be able to showcase themselves further in the McKenna Cup knockouts this year but Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher may have seen enough from a number of them to hand out places in the panel for the National Football League.

With the likes of Ronan O’Neill, Mark Bradley, Michael Cassidy and Hugh Pat McGeary stepping away, there will be opportunities for new blood. The strength in depth of talent is immense but Tyrone were always going to struggle against Armagh, who will have been looking ahead to winning their first silverware under Kieran McGeeney and preparing to retain their Division 1 status in their first campaign back in an eight team top division for a decade.

Tyrone have used a lot of new players in this McKenna Cup campaign. Conor Quinn, Joe Oguz and Nathan Donnelly were all entrusted with two starts. Key players like Conor McKenna and Cathal McShane have taken extended holidays after the team trip to Florida while the likes of Niall Morgan, Niall Sludden, Ronan McNamee, Tiernan McCann, Darragh Canavan and Brian Kennedy have all yet to feature this year.

Tyrone begin their National League campaign at home to Monaghan on Sunday 30 January. The teamsheet is likely to feature more household names but as seen against Cavan and Armagh, there will be opportunities for others to make the 26.

McKenna Cup: Cavan 1-17 Tyrone 0-05

2022 opened for the All Ireland champions with a whimper in a 15 point defeat to Cavan in Breffni Park but this is a result that comes with a major caveat. Tyrone, who only returned from a team holiday to Florida on Sunday, lined out with only four starters from last year’s All Ireland final in the starting XV.

The lack of continuity was evident from start to finish. Tyrone looked tired and lethargic in a performance littered with sloppy mistakes and bad wides but it probably isn’t worth reading too much into this performance. Cavan were much fitter and showed greater hunger, looking a much better team than their Division 4 status indicates. Man of the match, for the second week in a row, Gearóid McKiernan was superb again, scoring 1-04.

It was a baptism of fire for Tyrone’s debutants. Aside from a lovely point from the outside of the boot by Sean Loughran, positives were few and far between. The most disappointing part of this game was that no reputations were enhanced. The game was over as a contest before half time. The second half dismissal of Richie Donnelly for a second yellow and a later black card for Rory Brennan made little difference.

The McKenna Cup campaign will surely end in Omagh on Saturday but Tyrone will need to raise their game against Armagh or risk going into the National League on the back of two defeats. It was always going to be a big ask to win last night and perhaps having a two week gap before the National League starts will be beneficial for the panel. One thing is for sure – intense training sessions are on the way.

Tyrone begin McKenna Cup defence

2022 begins for the All Ireland champions with a Tuesday night away trip to Cavan. I’ve been cynical about the return of the McKenna Cup after a Covid-imposed hiatus in 2021. Is this what the players really need so soon after Christmas during a pandemic?

When the competition was last held in January 2020, Tyrone extended their lead at the top of the role of honour with their 17th title.

January can be a rotten time of year for players and supporters alike. I will not be able to attend on Tuesday but you can get your ticket via www.universe.com.

I did a poll last week on my Twitter and 72% of respondents predicted Tyrone would retain the McKenna Cup. This will be a tough ask given the majority of the panel have just returned from the team holiday in Florida. Armagh and Cavan have already played last week with Armagh securing a four point win to top Section B.

The games against Cavan and Armagh will provide Feargal Logan and Brian Dooher with an opportunity to blood some new talent and perhaps take a look at panel members from last year who didn’t feature often given the truncated season.

I believe an early exit would not be a disaster with the National League due to commence in a fortnight. However, this is a competition which Mickey Harte took deadly serious during his tenure and this may prove also to be the case under Logan and Dooher.