Tír Eoghain v Dún na nGall

[J70]

There were a couple of decent points from play apparently (Michael Hegarty, Christy Toye and Enda McGinley) and a few missed goal chances. That was about it I think!

[na cleirigh]

WARNING this is a very negative post!

where do I start? Tyrone are in trouble this year. Full forward line just not capable of winning their own ball. If that's the forward line come championship we won't get too far. Sean Cavanagh must have went on the drink last night when the match was called off because he was absolutley shocking...and he must have brough philly jordan with him. Thought mcginley and holmes did ok in midfield with ryan mellon also winning a few kickouts. Defence was quite lethargic with only mcmenamin having any bite or hunger. not convinced with just mcmahon in fb, though he did make a great last ditch tackle at the end. raymond mulgrew-im starting to fear he won't develop into the great player we had hoped, was completely anonymous today. peter donnelly-simply not good enough, one ridiculous pass.
Overall more bad than good

And to whoever asked, cavlan isn't playing with the clarkes this year...

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Thought the defence was very good today and midfield did quite well. Cavanagh wasnt at his best but wouldnt be to concerned. Phily J might not have had his best game either but his man didnt do a big pile and his first job is to defend. Our forward line was poor but there's no way it will be the forward line come championship. Mulligan and McCullagh will definately be back on, and if Dooher or McGuigan are fit they will be on to. Still decent enough result considering the team but the forwards are still a big worry. The full forward line of tommy mcguigan, snowy and niall gormley isnt good enough at this level.

[tyrone86]

Jesus lads you're all very negative. It was a typical game of Ulster football, dogged and not for the fainted hearted. I wouldn't read too much into it.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Today especially with a weakened team out was all about the 2 points. It didnt look likely a few weeks ago that we'd only be a point of 2nd place with 2 games still to go. The back up in the forward line though is very worrying, as you need good forwards to have a chance of winning an all ireland.

[Over the Bar]

Good to get 2 wins on the bounce and drag ourselves out of danger.  One more win should leave us safe hopefully. If we hadn't allowed Kildare salvage a late draw we'd be actually be 2nd in the group now! 

[tyroneman]

Thought today was a typical Ulster affair alright, neither team showing thier hand much, Tyrone wanting the game just that wee bit more.

Packie (7/10) - Great shot stopper, caught a few on the bar, but jaysus his distribution verges between telegraphed (kick outs) and suicidal (when he has the ball in his hands)

PJ (5/10) - Got a bit of a roasting today, always behind his man and easily turned. One to foget.

Justy (6/10) - Not an awful lot to do.

Ricey (7/10) Caught for pace a few times but took the game to Donegal, good leadership.

Nephew (6/10) - Not as good as last day but always available and some good link up play.

Block (7/10) - Did job on McFadden, right up to the end. Class Act.

Jordan (5/10) - Game to forget

Enda (6/10) - Nice score, mixed bag.

Holmes (5/10) - Not mobile enough and tried to break too much ball for a man his size.

Mellon (4/10)  - Poor, second half fouind him in acres of space but gave the ball straight to Donegal. Time for the drop.

Mulgrew (5/10) - Not in the game enough. Needs to bulk up as bullied out of it too much.

Sean (4/10) - Lethargic and didnlt seem to want to make runs forward. Not himslef today.Always think he is marginalised too much in the HF line anyway. Needs to be in MF.

Gormley (6/10) - again very light weight but didnlt let missing his first 2 frees get to him and gopt better as the game progressed.

Snowy (3/10) - Very poor. Bullied all day long. Couldnlt hold onto the ball, missed easy chances. Not the answer (yet)

Tommy (6/10) - Free taking was excellent - not in game enough -would have let him rove out more instead of Snowy.

Subs:

God II (5/10) - Not on that long, little ball his way

Swift (5/10) - Same.

Donnelly (1/10) - Should never be in that team. Usual sublimely bad pass. Awful.

Overall thought the defence did well enough. Don't; know what McCaiul has done to MH though - deserves a game.

Need improvement in the forward line though. Only Tommy out of the 3 today would make it.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Think you're very harsh with the ratings there especially with the defenders and midfielders who were on top throughout. Also I think supporters can be harsher on some players than others. For example you gave Mulgrew a higher rate than Mellon. Mellon was poor enough today but still won a number of breaking balls and caught 1 great one in the middle. Mulgrew did score 1 point but was non existent (did he get another touch?) apart from that. At worst they should have got an equal rating of 5.

[ONeill]

Definitely not a game to show the kids. I was very disappointed in Donegal for a side who were holders and on the verge of qualifying again. They were either oddly holding back or simply had an off-day. They didn't really seem to want it as much as Tyrone yet I thought it was obvious Donegal were potentially the better side.

The Cavanagh/Jordan performances were extremely odd. Off-pace, lethargic, disjointed and seemingly disinterested - I found the whole experience somewhat surreal. Not that you'd be worried about it either though. Just oddly subdued. As a full back line we were somewhat suspect. Ricey's still not defending at 03-05 standard although his presence is vital. It's becoming a bit of a conundrum as to where he should play. I still think he's a corner back but for a less pacier opponent. Quinn is still a no-no. Justin strolled through the game and we learned little. Apart from Jordan (who I suppose did as well as many half backs but alarmingly way off his own standards), the half backs were strong. Holmes as tyroneman stated has mobility problems at this level but can still churn out acceptable performances. Definitely a squad man who can do an average job when required. McGinley's performances have dropped somewhat from a month ago but still is in the top 4-5 performers every game. Good runs and starting to take his scores.

Mellon was fair to good and made himself available. He seems to be very much a confidence player and can have spells of solid play if he starts well. However, one mistake and sometimes his game goes to pieces. Still worth his place. Mulgrew....I'm not 100% sure if he's a CHF. I did once but this is his 3rd (?) season now and apart from games where we're comfortably in front, I'm not seeing that extra quality needed at the highest level. There's always the threat of brilliance with him and today you could see him attempting passes McGuigan-like only for the receiver to be on a different wavelength. Sean was taking it easy though a couple of nice link ups with McGinley.

I'm still a N Gormley fan and feel if he can get a sustained run he'll get better. Snowy has yet to produce his club form on the county stage - I just hope he doesn't fall into that category of player. Another one who has the potential to give us a new dimension, but just not doing it. Anyone get the impression he's trying too hard and needs a lucky break? With Tommy you know what you're getting now - adequate, tidy but does not impose himself on the game.

All-in-all a good two points but what have we learned?
Remarkably, an inspired performance at Celtic park and we're looking at a possible final!

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

An awful lot of pessimism on here, hate to think what it would have been like had Tyrone lost! Excellent two points today to add to the Laois victory and the league table is looking a lot better for Tyrone now. We all know the forward line will be different come the championship but its great to beat a decent side like Donegal whilst going with a pretty inexperienced mix up front. Good two points and a good days work.

[orangeman]

Listen  - it's as simple as this TYRONE won the game today - end of story - the result is all that counts - we can move on - most people expected Tyrone to be beaten today - they weren't ! So well done to all concerned - if we can win matches without playing well, all the better. It was just a typical Ulster clash.

[loughshore lad]

Good win yesterday but a very, very poor game. Tyrone needed to and wanted to win more that Donegal but I just got the feeling Donegal were playing well within themselves. The worrying thing for me is the vibrant, all action style of Tyrone teams over the past 6-7 years seems to have dissappeared.
Tyrone have problems from an attacking perspective seriously lacking incision and direction. All this talk of "we will be ok when everyone returns" is baffling. You have to go with what you have and unfortunately for MH he is seriously short of attacking options. People who think Dooher and McGuigan will waltz back into the team and everything will be ok again are deluding themselves. Both may never be the same again. McGuigan is obviously well off the pace and carrying an injury, the way Tyrone are using him is very questionalbe in my opinion.
Defensively they are in good shape with no shortage of potential players, granted a settled full back is a priority. McGinley is playing well in midfield but Holmes was not a first choice starter 5 years ago and still is not. Its from here up the problems begin. From the starting forward unit yesterday only Cavanagh inspires confidence and even at that he is at his most effective when running from deep. Tommy did well from free kicks (considering he doesnt even take them for Ardboe!) but struggled to get into the game from open play. He is however not suited to a role in the full forward line at inter county level but I think its a case of needs must for MH. Mulgrew is a fine player but the next Brian McGuigan he is not, he struggles to win the 50/50 breaking balls that are so vital for a half forward at county level, he will come good in time but its perhaps a year or 2  early. Mellon is gone in my opinion, Snowy has potential while Niall Gormley is probably too small and light to make a lasting impression.

[orangeman]

Tyrone have problems from an attacking perspective seriously lacking incision and direction. All this talk of "we will be ok when everyone returns" is baffling. You have to go with what you have

Couldn't agree more there.

[Zapatista]

Anyone know where McCullagh was yesterday?

[orangeman]

Anyone know where McCullagh was yesterday?

His wife was in the maternity unit apparently.