McKenna Cup 2024

[never kickt a ball]

Yeah like this gem "The first Ulster final was in Lisburn, How times have changed!!"

All over, Cavan had a late rally, but Tyrone had too much in the bag to let it slip 0-14 - 0 - 10 I think

"Thanks be to God and his mother Mary no one has been injured" No rough stuff apart from the odd "nip and tuck".

Micheal O'Reilly - A Legend

[uselessfootballer]

And the Ulster Council now have the perfect out from the Uni row, they can take 2pts from Tyrone and nothing changes, maybe a wee press release late on Tuesday night or so

[J70]

Don't know if its been posted already, but the Donegal V Down game has been moved from McCumhaill Park to Ballyshannon.

http://www.sportsmanager.ie/t2.php?county_id=9&sport_id=1&countyid=9&sportid=1&newsstory=1&ID=798

[never kickt a ball]

Cavan 0-10 0-14 Tyrone
Holders Tyrone sealed their place in the semi-finals of the Gaelic Life McKenna Cup with a victory under the Breffni Park floodlights on Saturday. Tyrone built up a four-point lead in the opening 10 minutes, with Sean Cavanagh, Aidan McCarron, Christy Colhoun and Kelvin Hughes on target. It was 0-6 to 0-3 at the break, but Gerald Pierson's accuracy from placed balls helped close the gap to a point. However, Mickey Harte's men reasserted themselves to win by four.
Ryan McMenamin and Dermot Carlin gave the Red Hands a dynamic attacking impetus from the back and they cut loose.
Paul Rouse nailed on three points, Cavanagh hit a gem, and McMenamin also got in on the act with a cheeky effort as Tyrone went six clear with 10 minutes to play. Cavan did produce a late flourish, but there was never any doubt about the outcome.
Tyrone have won all three of the group games but their survival in the competition now rests with Ulster Council chiefs.
They have charged Tyrone with breaching competition rules by playing four student players against Derry.
The regulations state that college sides have first call on the students.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/gaelic_games/6281055.stm

Tyrone too strong for Cavan
Saturday, January 20
Tyrone 0-14 Cavan 0-10
Despite their off-field troubles, Tyrone marched to a four-point win over Cavan at Breffni Park on Saturday night despite poor weather conditions and a determined performance from their hosts. Cavan had hoped to catch the O'Neills on the hop and with former Fermanagh player Rory Gallagher getting his first start for his adopted county, felt confident of causing their guests some worries.
That they did, though Gallagher was largely anonymous and was replaced at half time, and while Tyrone moved steadily into a 0-4 to no score lead by the quarter-hour mark, Gerard Pierson played a key role in bringing Cavan back into the contest.
At the break, Tyrone led 0-6 to 0-3, but Pierson kicked two more points by the 39th minute to leave the minimum between the sides.
But Tyrone showed their class, digging deep and using possession effectively to go on another scoring spree, with Sean Cavanagh, Ryan McMenamin, Paul Roose and Ryan Melon amongst the scorers.
As full time loomed, Tyrone led 0-14 to 0-6, but a late surge by Cavan into injury time managed to put a warmer gloss on the scoreline.
http://www.gaa.ie/plugins/newsfeed.cgi?rm=content&plugin_data_id=17232

[ziggysego]

Tyrone started off well in the Dr. McKenna Cup last year, but when it came to the summer, things went downhill. Yes, things are looking positive now, but I'm not going to get myself overly excited yet.

[never kickt a ball]

Sludden who's the player at your club, looking for a place on Tyrone, who could mark Kieran Donaghy ? - The one fan spake is referring to in Gaelic Life?

[Redhandfan]

Another good showing from another new look Tyrone side in testing conditions at Breffni Park last night.  Cavan were certainly up for this contest but they made far too many mistakes and were not near as clinical as Tyrone in the forward department.  I made the point near the end of the game that Cavan looked a bit sluggish and appeared to lack a certain amount of fitness.  A Cavan man beside me agreed but said that his county had been training up to four times a week!!!  Either way, the Tyrone players were much sharper and looked in great shape for the time of year.

It was a strange type of contest.  Tyrone, despite winning very little clean possession at centrefield, led 0-6 to 0-1 midway through the first half.  The Red Hands kicked some super scores from play while Cavan were very wasteful at the other end.  Tyrone then went out of the game coming up to half-time and took a while to get going in the second half.  Cavan took full advantage and, with the help of some close-in frees, hauled themselves back into contention and looked as if they could overtake Tyrone in the early stages of the second half.  Cavan came very close to drawing level at this stage but, in typical fashion, Tyrone went on a scoring spree which killed the game off with still ten minutes left to play.  Mickey Harte's men kicked seven points in succession to lead 0-14 to 0-6 and it was only a late burst from Cavan which helped put a better gloss on the final scoreline. 

The Tyrone management will feel satisfied with this latest outing.  On a very heavy and slippery pitch, several of the new Tyrone players once again showed up very well.  Full forward Paul Rouse was my Man of the Match and should certainly have guaranteed himself a place in the squad for the NFL.  He was outstanding from start to finish, won just about everything that came his way and kicked a number of superb points from play.  It is early days yet but big Rouse could be a great asset to Tyrone this year.  Unfortunately, in what was generally a clean game, Cavan 'hard man' Nicholas Walsh came off the bench in the second half to take one of the Tyrone players out of it late in the match.  Mickey Harte was furious and, in a rare show of emotion, came onto the field to let the referee know what he thought of the tackle.  Walsh of course was responsible for splitting Peter Donnelly's nose off the ball in the opening McKenna Cup match at Breffni Park last year and was determined to do more harm against Tyrone last night.  He also went down on Sean Cavanagh with his knees late in the game as well.  Walsh is of course a dreadfully poor footballer and it would appear that this is the only way he can make a name for himself.

Tyrone Player Ratings

John Devine...Safe and secure all through.  Made one excellent save in the second half.  7.5

Ryan McMenamin...A couple of stray passes in the first half but rose to the challenge well after the break. 7.5

Ciaran McCrory...Started off OK at full back but then struggled with Dermot McCabe's physicality.  Was shown a yellow card midway through the first half and was replaced by Cormac McGinley just before half-time.  6

Paul McGurk...Struggled again.  Seemed content to let his man get out to the ball first and was troubled by Larry Reilly's pace.  Was replaced by Dermot Carlin just before half-time.  5

Davy Harte...Defensively sound but did not get forward as much as he normally does.  7

Paul Quinn...Did not quite succeed in transferring his excellent club form onto the county scene.  Worked hard but did not always inspire a great deal of confidence.  6

Martin Penrose...Played well again in his new role at half back.  His marking was a lot tighter this time and he swept up a lot of loose possession close to his own goal.  7.5

Kelvin Hughes...Scored a fine point early in the game but didn't do anything else that was really eye-catching.  His lack of physical presence saw him struggle at centrefield and was replaced in the second half. 6

Sean Cavanagh...Not just as influential as he was in the previous two outings but still quietly effective. 7

Declan Treanor...Worked really hard and helped win a lot of possession for his side.  An aggressive performance from the Clarkes man but did not always use possession wisely.  7

Gerard Cavlan...Terrific in the first half.  His fielding and distribution was a major highlight.  However, he seemed to tire considerably after the break and faded out of the game somewhat.  7.5

Aidan McCarron...Kicked a tremendous point in Tyrone's early surge but did not feature all that much afterwards.  The half-forward role may not have suited him and he was another player to be replaced in the second half.  6

Niall Gormley...Another livewire display from the diminutive Trillick attacker.  Was first to the ball every time and roasted his marker with his turn of speed.  He deserved to score more.  8

Paul Rouse...Tyrone's most threatening forward and best player on the night.  Won almost every ball that came his way and used possession to great effect.  A star in the making?  9

Christy Colhoun...Scorer of a great point from play in the first half and began the game well.  He did not see a great deal of action after the break.  7

Cormac McGinley...Came on at full back just before half-time and proved more than a match for McCabe.  7.5
Dermot Carlin...Also entered the fray just before the break and helped steady Tyrone's defensive ship.  7
Colm Donnelly...Came on with about twenty minutes to go and showed a couple of good touches.  6.5
Ryan Mellon...Came on midway through the second half, kicked a neat point and steadied the midfield. 7
Kevin Hughes...Not on long enough to be rated!

[mylestheslasher]

Redhandfan - So your not a big fan of Nicholas Walsh then?? There was a time of course when Tyrone were the dirtiest thugs in Ulster but many of your fans now suffer from selective amnesia. Anyway, I agree that Walsh goes to far in the physical side of things but he does have some ability and I think it is unfair to say he is "dreadfully poor". He has represented his country also and was good enough for Aussie rules people to bring him to Australia for trials.
Surely also, the angelic, Mickey Harte should not be infringing on the pitch no matter what the cause. Imagine if our manager Donal Keoghan (he of the multiple assault charges) went on to remonstrate with Mickey - it could have got ugly. Then Mickey is a law onto himself these days!

[Fiodoir Ard Mhacha]

Any match updates at half-time?

[Norf Tyrone]

Thanks for your report RHF.

[Fiodoir Ard Mhacha]

Armagh 0-4 Monaghan 0-4 half-time

Donegal 2-5 Down 0-5

[BallyhaiseMan]

The only player acting like a tr**p in Breffini last night was Ryan McMenamin...... but thats nothing new there right?
as myles said
Nicko has represented and captained his country...Have you?

[Goats Do Shave]

went down on Sean Cavanagh with his knees

What sort of a thug would go down on a fellow player with his kness!!???     

Dorty!!

[Stranworst]

Why is the BBC Website not giving latest scores on the matches today?

Also any idea why Down Donegal isn't on TG4?

[Norf Tyrone]

What sort of a thug would go down on a fellow player with his kness!!???

Eoghain Bradley.