USFC Final Antrim v Tyrone Clones 19th July

[Fuzzman]

All very touching indeed.

I'll give Mickey a ring and see what he can do.
What's the price for an Antrim win again?

It will be a colourful day in Clones & unfortunately I can't make it as I  have the daughter's christening.

Hope there is no trouble on the way to or back from the match for those yellow flag bearers.
I'd say Portadown might be stocking up on stones.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

OK I know they say a fool and his money are easily parted, but I've gone for it, this is a once in every 39 years chance...Antrim to win by 1,2, or 3 points 14/1 £20 bet.  A new fur coat for Mrs Ladbroke come 3:45pm on Sunday

[Fuzzman]

Des Cahill chatting to Mickey Harte last night after 19 mins talking about admitting Tyrone are red hot favourites.
http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_drivetimesport.xml

Can anyone post any of the other articles in the Irish News today?

I hope big Sean has a good game on Sunday

[ziggysego]

KEVIN Hughes remembers the game well. Nine points behind minutes into the second half, the Ulster final of 2003 looked over. Down thought they were champions, that was until a

miraculous recovery and a bit of magic from 'Peter the Great' stole the show and, more importantly, salvaged a draw.

The replay was a non-event. Tyrone swept to victory and, eight weeks later, would add their first Sam Maguire to the Anglo-Celt they had hoisted aloft that day in Clones.

The rest, as they say, is history.

But still, it's that first game, that comeback, that sticks in Kevin Hughes' memory.

It was then that Tyrone really started to believe anything was possible.

As he looks ahead to Sunday's date with surprise Ulster finalists Antrim, the Kileeshil clubman, known to team-mates as 'Hub' is well aware that one game can change a team's imprint on history.

Hughes senses in the Saffron side he will face at St Tiernach's Park on Sunday the same mix of youthful verve and hunger that drove the Red Hand side he was such a crucial part of six years ago.

"Mickey always stressed the need to win things, right through from minors, and when he came on to the scene in 2003, he was very positive from the off, saying that he expected to win two or three All-Irelands with this team over the next decade," he said.

"Although we wanted to believe him, you always thought, because Sligo had beat us in the Qualifiers in 2002, and we hadn't had a great

Ulster campaign that year either, that it would be a tough ask.

"However, once we came back from nine points down in the Ulster final to get a draw, it made us believe that we could do it, and then we went out and won the replay convincingly.

"That instilled the belief in the players on the panel. It was a major turning point."

And they haven't looked back since. With three All-Irelands in six years, the Red Hands are looking ominously good again in 2009.

Having already disposed of Ulster heavyweights Armagh and Derry, Tyrone surely can't believe their luck as they come up against an Antrim side who, although mightily improved, have only just got out of Division Four and were humbled by Cavan at the first hurdle last year.

Hughes is having none of it.

"At the start of the year, before a ball was kicked, if you'd said Antrim were going to be in the final, you'd have to say you'd have been

surprised. But they've come through the League and Championship and had only been beaten once [against Sligo in the NFL Division Four final], so you have to give them a lot of credit. They've probably one of the best records in the country this year to date.

"Watching them in Ballybofey, people talked about the amount of wides Donegal kicked, but if a team is putting you under that much pressure, that's how you kick wides. Antrim were working hard, and the same happened against Cavan. They totally deserved their win."

It has been a long road back to the top of his game for Hughes, though. Having been named man-of-the-match in the 2003 All-Ireland final win over bitter rivals Armagh, a self-imposed exile in 2005 (he took a year out in Australia) meant he watched from afar as the Red Hands laid claim to their second title in three years.

Last year, Hughes played only a substitute's role in both the semi-final win over Wexford and the final against Kerry, and admits he feared whether he would be able to establish

himself as the hub of Mickey Harte's first 15 again.

"It definitely was a concern because, probably before that, apart from 2005 when I wasn't here, I would have been steady enough on the team. Last year I picked up a dead leg in the Down game, I was only out for a few weeks, and although I regained full fitness after that, other boys had stepped up. It was really worrying that way.

"I felt I could play if I got a chance. You always tend to get a chance one way or another, whether it be somebody getting injured or whatever.

"I got the chance against Westmeath and was determined to grab it with both hands, and luckily I've stayed there since.

"This time last year, I was fit enough, but I hadn't as many games under my belt. The first game against Down, I wasn't at the races at all, and I think that was down to not having enough match practice. You can be as fit as you like, but you have to get time out on the field to make sure your ball skills are sharp enough."

He needn't have worried.

Utterly dominant around the middle third in the Ulster Championship semi-final against Derry, Hughes reminded Tyrone supporters of what they had been missing.

"I was pretty pleased, it was just one of those days where things went well. In the modern game, there's not always a lot of clean catching, so it was nice to get a few of them because myself and Enda [McGinley] wouldn't be the tallest midfield.

"We always play with one man jumping, so when I was going up Enda was trying to get in the way of Joe Diver, because if Joe gets a run at it, he's very dominant in their air.

"Things went well, but other days it can go completely against you. We were happy to break even with our share in midfield."

With towering midfielder Niall McKeever lying in wait on Sunday, Hughes knows he will have to be at his best again.

"They have a good mix. Aodhan Gallagher is extremely fit, a good carrier of the ball who can get a few points, and then there's Niall McKeever who's a big lad, very dominant in the air.

"Against Cavan he took some great balls, and he's good on the ball as well.

"He's not just one of those players who catches and kicks. But if we win our fair share of breaking ball as well, it should be an interesting contest."

So, six years on, a new force threatens to make its mark on Ulster football.

In that time, Tyrone have established themselves as the benchmark for success, and on Sunday they will be determined to ensure the Saffron story comes to an abrupt end.

Irish News.

[Mr. Nakata]

I hope the beard doesn't name McGinley at midfield tonight and him not playing. That'll take all the sport out of guessing team selection.

[Siggy]

Can anyone shed any light on the admission price for sunday?

[ziggysego]

Stand: €25/£20
Terrace: €15/£13
Family tickets (Pat McGrane and Eastern Stands) - Juveniles: €5/£4 Adults: €25/£20
Senior Citizen (Stand): €15/£13

[Siggy]

Thanks.

[A Quinn Martin Production]

Thanks.

Just to remind you Siggy, the match is all ticket

[fred the red]

GReat piece by the Antrim PRO!!

[charlie stubbs]

Ziggy, what shite are you talking (copying and pasting)?

just a typical post all he does is talk s**** and puke women!

[ziggysego]

Ziggy, what shite are you talking (copying and pasting)?

just a typical post all he does is talk s**** and puke women!

Typical post, botching and moaning.

[charlie stubbs]

good one

[ONeill]

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=9x1LwG8016fR&PBID=e09c0a44-0914-4594-944c-6e8cfe6e99b2&skip=

[wdusln]

Tyrone: J Devine, PJ Quinn, Justin McMahon, R McMenamin, D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan, K Hughes, S Cavanagh, B Dooher, T McGuigan, Joe McMahan, M Penrose, S O'Neill, O Mulligan.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/northern_ireland/the_championship/7840419.stm