Donegal v Tyrone Ulster Championship

[orangeman]

Ryan McMenamin: We'll still be in Croke Park for the business end


Goals win games at this level and that proved to be the case at Ballybofey, although I felt that both scores were preventable. It was just the same as the past two years against Donegal in that we didn't get the scores when we were on top and we were made pay.



I thought in the first half that Donegal were there to be got at.

Their first goal came against the run of play as a lack of focus cost us. It was just a long ball in from Michael Murphy and it caught the Tyrone defence out, there was no communication, although in fairness to McFadden, he finished it well.

As soon as the high ball came in McFadden gambled that McBrearty was going to get a flick on it. Maybe Cathal (McCarron) was caught watching the ball instead of the man. It was a move that Stephen McDonnell and Ronan Clarke used in their heyday with Armagh.

I felt, though, that we should have been two or three points ahead at that stage. We were the better side in the first half, but when we were on top, we missed chances with Niall Morgan off target from a couple of frees and that seemed to drain the confidence from them.

The second goal was of the soft variety. While McBrearty showed good strength along the end line, he shouldn't really have been allowed to cut the ball back. Having said that, you have to give Ross Wherity a lot of credit as he ran 50 yards unchallenged to get on the end of it. But, again, that was perhaps due to a lack of focus on behalf of the Tyrone defence as they didn't pick him up.

After the first five minutes of the second half, at times we just didn't show up and the fact that we managed just one point after that tells its own tale. We just couldn't get players like Mattie Donnelly, who had a great first half, on the ball enough after the break. Stevie coming out to centre half-forward helped us gain more possession, but by doing that we were taking away the scoring threat inside.

Donegal are the top team in Ulster at the minute and it's hard to see them not winning three-in-a- row. They went out today and started without Karl Lacey and Mark McHugh and lost Frank McGlynn through injury in the first half. But it didn't faze them one bit and that has a lot to do with the confidence that Jim McGuinness has instilled. They will take a lot of heart from the fact that they had those two key players on the bench to come on and they have answered questions about the depth of their squad.


People were asking questions about how far McGuinness can take them this year, because of his involvement with Celtic, but he has shown everyone that they are still the side to beat, not just in Ulster but in the entire country

This defeat will hurt Tyrone, there is no doubt about that. They prepared as well as they could for today, but can have no complaints about the final outcome. The boys just have to keep the heads down and work even harder and go away and play club football for a couple of weeks.

It happened us before that we have had to take the back door and while it's not the preferred route, I still believe that Tyrone are in the top four and no side will want to draw them in the qualifiers. I also believe that they will still be in Croke Park come the business end of the championship.

[seafoid]

Are Tyrone better than Kerry? I don't think they are quite top 4 material yet.

[orangeman]

Are Tyrone better than Kerry? I don't think they are quite top 4 material yet.

Remember Killarney 2012 ? We got some lesson then.

We've improved but not sure by how much.


Kerry are a good side but they've big miles on the clock. Tyrone ahead of them in the rebuilding process I think.

[Kidder81]

Very disappointing from Tyrone to allow a guy with a hairstyle like Ross Wherity score a big goal against them.

I know his hair was completely shocking and therefore it would be very hard to take a boy like that seriously when he eneterd the fray.  I presumed when he came on, and with hair like that, that he would be no threat so the whoever was supposed to be marking him for the goal probably assumed the same as me and therefore let him carry on.  Major sucker punch to get hit for a goal at that time of the game.  I couldnt believe he scored.  He hasnt good enough hair to score a goal in the Ulster championship.

Hilarious stuff, take a bow.

[Fuzzman]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

[screenexile]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

Again it wouldn't surprise me. . . holding a players leg is a yellow card at most, kicking your foot back is a red!!! McMahon could easily have gone and Wherrity only a yellow and it would have been totally justified.

In the end Joe was booked and Wherrity nothing. I think Wherrity should definitely have gotten a yellow.

[Walter Cronc]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

Come off it now. His leg wasn't held for 'ages'. It was sheer petulance from Mc Mahon. You Tyrone men have a very short and selective memory. Some of the trampish behaviour of your players over the years left plenty to be desired. Stop making out that Donegal invented it!! All good teams (including yours of 03-08) push the boundaries in order to win.

[Stall the Bailer]

Problem is with these tactics, to over come them you need a strong referee or fight fire with fire. Yesterday the ref ignored them and Tyrone no longer have that cynical edge and let Donegal away with it.

[tbrick18]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

I thought it should have been a straight red. Yes the donegal player was holding his leg, but ASFAIK that's not a booking or a red card. You simply cant retaliate. If you kick, and in my book it was a kick, then you have to go.
When he got the 2nd yellow for tripping Murphy, he had to go. Mind you, Murphy made some meal of it. You would have swore he was shot.
But I know what you mean about the holding on tactic. It's incredibly frustrating as a player and you could see that it finally broke the discipline of the tyrone players. But if you look back to how tyrone have played in the past, in particular players like Canavan, Dooher, Jordan, McGuigan, Mulligan...jeez I could go on a while.....they were good at doing this themselves. So I dont think you can do it on the one hand and complain about it being done to you on the other.

I have to admit I was conflicted for this match. I'd have liked to have seen a Derry v Tyrone semi final. But it's always good to see the tirronies bate. So I found myself not knowing who to go for.

I dont think Tyrone are as good as some people are making out. The defence in particular is suspect and lacks pace. Not a bad side, but IMO certainly not AI contenders. At the moment I would put Donegal, Cork, Dublin, Mayo and Kerry all well ahead of them. Kildare probably slightly ahead of them. After that I reckon there's another 4-5 teams on a par.

[highorlow]

Very disappointing from Tyrone to allow a guy with a hairstyle like Ross Wherity score a big goal against them.

Another genius physiological maneuver by Jimmy, making a lad like that have mad hair as a distraction. He did the same thing himself as a player.

Another great move by Jimmy was making it rain in the middle of the 2nd half when Tyrone were hitting a purple patch. As for the crosswind Jimmy created, no words to describe the man anymore.

[Fuzzman]

Yes that's what I said TBrick that we've done our fair share so what goes around comes around so its not sour grapes. Ye were much the better team, especially in that second half.

All I'm asking is did many of ye notice this and to me it wasn't just that once. There seemed to be other times it happened by different players so that's why I was asking did you think it came from Jimmy. Of course we'll never know for sure but it would be a good one to try to frustrate and probably wouldn't get punished too often.

highorlow, of course it could be rubbish but I just think Jimmy is such a great thinker about the game that it wouldn't surprise me if he came up with it as I think it happened more than once during the game.
in fairness they tested Tyrone's discipline and a few cracked.

[yellowcard]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

Yes, there were several instances of 'leg pulling'  during yesterday's match. The best teams do whatever it takes to win and Tyrone had their fair share of these type of players in the last decade, less so now. McMahon could easily have walked and could have had no complaints. It was pure frustration and played right into Donegal's hands. Tyrone ran out of ideas.

[thewobbler]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

I've been talking about this to a few people this morning as it drove me mad watching the game.

The only way to break down a mass defence is to move the ball quickly, and Donegal made sure there were no options for moving the ball quickly. Plain and simple, it is cheating. Plus it winds opponents up no end, so it's cheating AND it's aggravation.

I don't think there's a referee in the land who can watch all this happening around and off the ball, so I've a simple suggestion: empower the linesmen to call over the referee and recommend a yellow card. No faffing around, no enquiries, no checking if the man has been previously booked. Simply "no.7 green deliberately prevented his opponent from joining the play, I recommend a yellow card", and this blight will be gone in 2 games. If steps aren't taken, every team in Ireland will be at it in a month.

[johnneycool]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

I've been talking about this to a few people this morning as it drove me mad watching the game.

The only way to break down a mass defence is to move the ball quickly, and Donegal made sure there were no options for moving the ball quickly. Plain and simple, it is cheating. Plus it winds opponents up no end, so it's cheating AND it's aggravation.

I don't think there's a referee in the land who can watch all this happening around and off the ball, so I've a simple suggestion: empower the linesmen to call over the referee and recommend a yellow card. No faffing around, no enquiries, no checking if the man has been previously booked. Simply "no.7 green deliberately prevented his opponent from joining the play, I recommend a yellow card", and this blight will be gone in 2 games. If steps aren't taken, every team in Ireland will be at it in a month.

Ref my post on Kilkenny hurlers, enough to impede and curtail momentum, but not enough for the referee to blow for a free or dish out the cards.

[BennyHarp]

Did anyone notice yesterday the new Donegal tactic of when a foul was given, how they would hold onto a player's leg or foot and not let go. It's very effective as it looks kinda harmless and not overly aggressive but it sure frustrates the hell out of the player just fouled and so like Joey did he tries to wriggle free and can't so he then reacts with a kick out or stamp on the fouling player.

Is it another one of Jimmy's clever ideas to turn the aggressor into the victim and hope to get the opponent a yellow or red card? I was shocked the Irish News stated that Joey should have got a straight red but no mention of his leg being held for ages.

Don't worry I'm not saying we didn't do things as well that were far from sporting but I was just surprised there wasn't more mention of this on here on in the papers.

Jimmy has got his team playing a very hard to attack against game of football and the Dubs that I know are really worried now how their new young team will cope with them.

I thought it should have been a straight red. Yes the donegal player was holding his leg, but ASFAIK that's not a booking or a red card. You simply cant retaliate. If you kick, and in my book it was a kick, then you have to go.
When he got the 2nd yellow for tripping Murphy, he had to go. Mind you, Murphy made some meal of it. You would have swore he was shot.
But I know what you mean about the holding on tactic. It's incredibly frustrating as a player and you could see that it finally broke the discipline of the tyrone players. But if you look back to how tyrone have played in the past, in particular players like Canavan, Dooher, Jordan, McGuigan, Mulligan...jeez I could go on a while.....they were good at doing this themselves. So I dont think you can do it on the one hand and complain about it being done to you on the other.

I have to admit I was conflicted for this match. I'd have liked to have seen a Derry v Tyrone semi final. But it's always good to see the tirronies bate. So I found myself not knowing who to go for.

I dont think Tyrone are as good as some people are making out. The defence in particular is suspect and lacks pace. Not a bad side, but IMO certainly not AI contenders. At the moment I would put Donegal, Cork, Dublin, Mayo and Kerry all well ahead of them. Kildare probably slightly ahead of them. After that I reckon there's another 4-5 teams on a par.

Of course it's a booking, it's a deliberate trip and Wherity, McFadden and Murphy should all have been booked for it. Donegal have mastered the art of the half foul to disrupt the opposition but fair play to them they have a system in place and a superb full forward line which may well bring them to another AI final. No complaints from Tyrone but I hope Mickey uses the back door to get Coney, O'Neill (Ronan) and McCurry some game time. We also need to shore up the full back line - but that may be easier said than done!