Donegal v Tyrone Ulster Championship

[Fuzzman]

Petey had yet another poor game v Donegal so think there's not much doubt what most Tyronies think there. Along with the 2 Cavanaghs, he's one of Mickey's favourites and all managers have them.

I reckon though Mickey wanted to move big Sean into the FF line and bring on another forward come sweeper in McNeice.

Donegal have really mastered marking the other teams top forwards out of the game. With a combination of the two McGees who use every trick in the book to not let their man do any damage and then have the backup of extra defenders to cover them any time they are caught out. They'll also have Lacey back to full fitness now soon so their defence is the main foundation their team is built on

[nrico2006]

A few times on sunday Tyrone seemed to be doing everything right- defending breaking up the field but when they crossed mid field they lost all confidence. Think Tyrone needs to reinvent it's half forward line, There seems to be the same players/type of player getting the start at half forward. I know joe gets name there but then he swaps with Mattie, we are really missing forwards like B Mc Guigan T Mc Guigan C Mc Cullagh or a R Mulgrew type of play maker. Hope Tyrone learn from Sunday.

We are definitely missing a playmaker, ever since CMC left.  I was actually hoping that Mulgrew would get a chance this year since he has returned and looks to have filled out, but obviously thats not going to happen.  We have no creativity from the middle on, sticking Sean Cavanagh at CHF isn't the answer as he isn't the type of player to bring others into the game, and it actually negates his infulence as he is usually picking the ball up with his back to goal which isn't his strength.  I have been saying for a while that its our attack that needs looked at, too many non-scoring forwards in there.  In saying that, the one time Tyrone played direct football on Sunday resulted in a great score by McNeice, shame it doesn't happen more often.  Ball kicked to Penrose, he turns, skins a man and plays a lovely diagonal ball in front of the forward.  No chance for blanket defences to stop that.

Just on a side note to the game from the Tyronnies, what is the feeling on MH taking off the corner forward obviously for picking up a yellow card, protecting the 15 men on the field, yet when PH picked up a yellow there was no sign of the Shepard's hook?

Is this a double standard on something that obviously had been agreed beforehand?

I suppose we would need to know if the yellow card was the reason he was taken off, I think a lot of people assume it was because the commentator alluded to that reason.  There were a few others who picked up yellow cards so maybe that wasn't the reason at all.  If there is an agreement between the squad and management to that effect, then it is obviously unacceptable to apply double standards.  I can't even remember what game it was now but I do remember recently watching a game where someone was taken off just before or after half time due to getting a yellow card, could have been the Tyrone v Dublin or Kildare games.  I think in a way it is a strange call as the like of your average corner forward are highly unlikley to pick up another booking.

[BennyHarp]

Petey had yet another poor game v Donegal so think there's not much doubt what most Tyronies think there. Along with the 2 Cavanaghs, he's one of Mickey's favourites and all managers have them.

I reckon though Mickey wanted to move big Sean into the FF line and bring on another forward come sweeper in McNeice.

Donegal have really mastered marking the other teams top forwards out of the game. With a combination of the two McGees who use every trick in the book to not let their man do any damage and then have the backup of extra defenders to cover them any time they are caught out. They'll also have Lacey back to full fitness now soon so their defence is the main foundation their team is built on

Petey is a superb footballer but playing in a full forward line and picking the ball up with his back to goal doesn't suit him. Attacking from half back, coming onto the ball is his best position, in my opinion. I'd like to see Matty Donnelly pushed up into a full forward line position, he's strong enough to win his own ball and is one of the few natural scoring players currently on the team.

[Fuzzman]

I would agree with that BennyHarp. I think wing half back is probably a good place for him to get back to and get his confidence back.

I've heard a lot of people say Donnelly usually played in the FF line and he sure looks strong enough for that position.

I think we'll see a very different style of play from Tyrone in the weeks & hopefully months ahead compared to the vacuum that Donegal make you play in.

[God14]

Peter Harte is indeed potentially a superb footballer, but you have to go back to last years Division 2 campaign to find a bit of form from him. He doesnt merit a jersey number below 15.

Mattie Donnelly would be a great addition to the full forward line, id agree with that.

[NAG1]

A few times on sunday Tyrone seemed to be doing everything right- defending breaking up the field but when they crossed mid field they lost all confidence. Think Tyrone needs to reinvent it's half forward line, There seems to be the same players/type of player getting the start at half forward. I know joe gets name there but then he swaps with Mattie, we are really missing forwards like B Mc Guigan T Mc Guigan C Mc Cullagh or a R Mulgrew type of play maker. Hope Tyrone learn from Sunday.

We are definitely missing a playmaker, ever since CMC left.  I was actually hoping that Mulgrew would get a chance this year since he has returned and looks to have filled out, but obviously thats not going to happen.  We have no creativity from the middle on, sticking Sean Cavanagh at CHF isn't the answer as he isn't the type of player to bring others into the game, and it actually negates his infulence as he is usually picking the ball up with his back to goal which isn't his strength.  I have been saying for a while that its our attack that needs looked at, too many non-scoring forwards in there.  In saying that, the one time Tyrone played direct football on Sunday resulted in a great score by McNeice, shame it doesn't happen more often.  Ball kicked to Penrose, he turns, skins a man and plays a lovely diagonal ball in front of the forward.  No chance for blanket defences to stop that.

Just on a side note to the game from the Tyronnies, what is the feeling on MH taking off the corner forward obviously for picking up a yellow card, protecting the 15 men on the field, yet when PH picked up a yellow there was no sign of the Shepard's hook?

Is this a double standard on something that obviously had been agreed beforehand?

I suppose we would need to know if the yellow card was the reason he was taken off, I think a lot of people assume it was because the commentator alluded to that reason.  There were a few others who picked up yellow cards so maybe that wasn't the reason at all.  If there is an agreement between the squad and management to that effect, then it is obviously unacceptable to apply double standards.  I can't even remember what game it was now but I do remember recently watching a game where someone was taken off just before or after half time due to getting a yellow card, could have been the Tyrone v Dublin or Kildare games.  I think in a way it is a strange call as the like of your average corner forward are highly unlikley to pick up another booking.

I think we are all bright enough to know what's going on in the game without having to listen to either BBC or RTE analysts, for a player to be taken off before half time directly after picking up a yellow card is self explanatory in my book. I take on board he is inexperienced and maybe that was reason to prevent the second one, but as we saw with JMcM experience doesnt always help in these situations.

Just thought if it was a rule in the squad for it not to be applied equally might cause issues that's all.

[Quarterback]

This makes for intresting reading for you sts heads!

http://ulster.gaa.ie/2013/05/donegal-v-tyrone-statistical-analysis/

[God14]

This makes for intresting reading for you sts heads!

http://ulster.gaa.ie/2013/05/donegal-v-tyrone-statistical-analysis/

When you glance over those stats & charts etc its hard to believe Tyrone were beat
...and well beat at that!

[Fuzzman]

What Darragh O'Se thought of it all from the Irish Times

After the game, I got into the car and drove home without the radio on. I wanted to see Donegal and Tyrone play without knowing a thing about what had happened and the difference between the two games was clear from the start. I had just come from watching Colm Cooper at his majestic best but the space he got in Killarney just didn't exist in Ballybofey.
And if we go back to the couple of times the Tipperary forwards got into space, even that amount wasn't available above in the north. Okay, Donegal maybe managed to manufacture it a few times but the Tyrone players hardly ever saw it.
The speed that the Donegal players funnel back at is incredible. I watched Frank McGlynn at one stage when the ball was turned over and he just put his head down and sprinted back into position.
It's amazing how quickly space disappears in the time it takes for a hop or a solo. If you pause or ponder at all, the shutters come down.

Concentrate so hard
The other thing they do is make you have to think of so many things while you're out on the pitch. You're having to concentrate so hard, all the while putting in such a big physical effort. It's one thing being alert but being alert for 70 minutes when every hit you put in gets returned to you and every turnover sees the ball disappear up the other end, that's what makes it so tough.
Cork lived with them in the All Ireland quarter-final last year for the first half an hour. They scored some fine points against them and had as good a gameplan as any Donegal have been met with yet. But they ground them down mentally. Cork's tactical discipline went before half-time. If you're suiting up for a game against Donegal, you have to accept that you are going to be wrecked and you have to realise that that's what they want. Yes, you will be tired. And no, they're not going to stop running. Have you got it in you to keep making the right decisions?
Donegal and Tyrone gave us exactly the match we were expecting. I said here last week that we should just look at it as a game on its own, with no real repercussions for the rest of the year and that's how they played it. People have decided that Tyrone are gone now but I wouldn't be so sure. They have a couple of months to reignite themselves and to learn from what they did wrong last Sunday.

I'd say young Niall Morgan (pictured above) will never learn a better lesson. I felt sorry for him on Sunday. That was a big long look in the mirror he got for himself and he got it in front of 18,000 people at 21 years of age. Say what you like about him winding up the crowd – which he obviously shouldn't have been at – but there's not many people who can brush off such a public jeering session at such a young age.
To be honest, I was disappointed with Tyrone and with Mickey Harte for not having a Plan B when it came to Morgan. Everybody knew that Donegal were going to target him and you could see Michael Murphy and Rory Kavanagh giving him plenty as he went up to take his kicks. He should have been pre-armed with a plan for what to do if it went wrong. God knows Tyrone were the ones who opened the door on getting in fellas' ears and inside their heads.

Fall-back for Morgan
A player has to be aware of what he did the last day for the simple reason that it's what is going to be foremost in the minds of his opponents. If I ever had a game, say a Munster final against Cork where I caught seven or eight kick-outs, I would always have gone into the All Ireland quarter-final knowing that the Dubs or whoever were going to spend the first half constantly breaking ball in midfield. They were never going to allow me to just do what I'd done the last day.
Tyrone should have had a fall-back for Morgan. Let him chip a quick one into somebody making a run, let somebody else come out and kick it, have Conor Gormley or one of the McMahons go in there and horse Murphy and Kavanagh out of it if they're standing too close. The only thing I saw was one of the Tyrone players pacing off the distance between the ball and the Donegal players. Sure they were laughing at him!
Morgan had his concentration broken and he missed five out of his six kicks. But it's no harm that it happened now. Tyrone have to go the long way round but they will learn along the way. It's a long time till September. Tyrone will be different come the end of the championship, Donegal will be as well. I wouldn't be crowning them just yet.

[LeoMc]

Just on a side note to the game from the Tyronnies, what is the feeling on MH taking off the corner forward obviously for picking up a yellow card, protecting the 15 men on the field, yet when PH picked up a yellow there was no sign of the Shepard's hook?

Is this a double standard on something that obviously had been agreed beforehand?

I had thought that McAliskey was taken off as his tackle showed that he was losing his cool the way he tackled whereas I thought Hartes booking was for a more cynical tackle. He went in to test out McHughs injury.  By the same token Joe should have been taken off as he had lost his after his first booking.

[Up The Middle]

Its been said before and i will say it again Tyrone played some of their best football this year without Peter Harte, he slows the game up to much in the half forward line, he is a half back plain and simple. Why not play him the way Donegal play Lacy and let him attack at will or simply drop him to the bench. What Micky is doing at the minute is trying to make a position for him and it aint helping the lad (if i recall he did the same with his own son for so long that the supporters eventually turned on him and booed him off in Omagh). If you have a bad run of games it sometimes does you no harm to be taken out of the spotlight for a while (lets remember Harte is a young lad who so much is expected).

Also what was the point in taking Stephen Oneill out of the full forward line where he has been on fire all year, McAliskey should have been left on, he has a good head on his shoulders and wouldnt have got lined.

Mickey needs to regroup and rethink his gameplan on the off chance they meet Donegal again this year, i would say there is not a pile to fear in the qualifiers, Tyrone will still be there come August.

[Wildweasel74]

No harm to u lads, i play P Harte wing half back, with mattie Donnelly at No.6 i think hes got the making of a great centre half back. I dont know what to do about tyrone full back line, none of them look up to it, maybe put Joe McMahon full back and his brother in the corner but both have lost form. What happend Sean 0`Neill who looked to be a great player coming through 2/3yrs ago, hes disappeared? Midfield - Sean Cavangh plus some else, has McKennas lad fell that far down the pecking order hes really never got a chance, plus coney played great stuff at midfield at minor level. Tyrone need to change it around just  a wee bit and keep players in the fixed position for the yr instead of constantly moving them all over the field. A player will think hes not good enough for this position with all the moving around they do

[J70]

Must be tough for tyrone, 3 years on the trot getting trounced by donegal. Have jimmy and his army beaten the mighty armagh yet in a champo game??

It's ironic that after all the losses against Armagh over the last 15 years, we end up avoiding them at a time when we'd be in a position to repay them, with interest! I was hoping that if we made it through, we'd meet Armagh this year in the Ulster Final.

[yellowcard]

Must be tough for tyrone, 3 years on the trot getting trounced by donegal. Have jimmy and his army beaten the mighty armagh yet in a champo game??

It's ironic that after all the losses against Armagh over the last 15 years, we end up avoiding them at a time when we'd be in a position to repay them, with interest! I was hoping that if we made it through, we'd meet Armagh this year in the Ulster Final.

We will re group and could still meet each other in the QF!! Fancy a Donegal v Monaghan Ulster final now.

[commonman]