Tyrone County Football and Hurling

[Il Bomber Destro]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

Would agree with this.

Was actually Bradley who got sent off against Dublin last year though.

[Norf Tyrone]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

Would agree with this.

Was actually Bradley who got sent off against Dublin last year though.

You're right. Apologies. Sludden was MOTM v Dublin last year. That's where I got mixed up!

He does tackle high though. Maybe it's his height.

[sambostar]

I might be alone here but I was reasonably happy last night. The first half was very enjoyable and I was glad to see Tyrone 'mix it up' with their tactics. They were content to play the hand pass but equally as content to ping it long into Brennan and McAliskey. The latter did alright but I thought Brennan was, maybe not excellent, but at least very good. He got out in front, gathered good ball in, and worked good angles for his score. He definitely justified a starting berth and I hope he gets a run of games now.

Tyrone actually played alright in the second half. However the basic skills badly let them down in terms of retaining the ball, shooting, shot selection and the less said about the 2nd goal the better.

There is some criticism about Tyrone's tactics, but they were a bit more pleasing in the eye than previous years. Dublin on numerous occasions had the full compliment behind the ball too. However when they turned it over they were much more comfortable and efficient with it's use. Whereas Tyrone probed and poked before blazing wide, Dublin picked out 2-4 smart passes and clipped over. They made it look easy at times.

I thought the ref was harsh on Tyrone too. When they missed a few chances in the second half heads dropped, which is a sign of a team lacking in confidence. However this was not helped by some of the soft frees that Dublin got. The ref didn't influence the result but he was harsher on Tyrone I thought and expedited the towel being thrown in.

Aside from Brennan, Niall Sludden and my man McShane had a decent evening. Sludden was a 'torture' when Dublin had the ball. However he needs to learn to make contact with his hands lower. A few times he went close to the head area when pushing back on contact. If I recall he got a red for that last year v Dublin and Dublin hitting the turf anytime he did this last night. It's obviously something they are watching for, and reacting to. Cathal I thought put in a good shift. Scores aside, he fielded well and used the ball efficiently. This was his 3rd full game in less than a week but he never faded from the game all that much despite this.

I am not really expecting Tyrone to beat arguably the finest team to play the game, but I do expect to be entertained and for them to put up a fight. The did most of this last night.

Reasons for optimism. Just about.

I'd broadly agree. Was at the game & thought 1st half was good with quick accurate kick-passing into the FF line causing the Dubs problems. You can't say Tyrone don't have forwards, when the ball went in Brennan & McAliskey could win it, beat their man & score. Unfortunately Brennan missed a couple of decent chances & Tyrone should have been further ahead at HT.

But then the 2nd half tactics seemed to revert back to last years rubbish. I think 2 kick-passes went in & both were lapped up by the Dublin sweeper. It was back to the slow ponderous hand-passing & then a hail-Mary effort for a score. That's why there's so many wides.

The free-taking is still unreliable. Brennan missed 1 1st half & McAliskey 2nd half that Rock would put over in his sleep. And McAliskey is not clinical enough when he has a goal-chance on

Dublin are a class act though, have go-to men when they need a score e.g. McCarthy or McMenamen. Also their bench contributed 1-3, hard to see how they can be stopped

[redzone]

Surely you could see that Dublin has 13 men back in the second half when we had the ball. Plus the wind picked up considerably resulting in a running game. It was great effort and hopefully stevie can get the forward line more effectively working.
On the Dublin players, it's only when you see them up close how physically big they are. There smallest player Kilkenny probably is the same size as our biggest.
Any way if we meet them later on the year I think we can take them. Provided we keep with only one man dropping back

[BennyHarp]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

[Norf Tyrone]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

Agree with the changing strategy thing. Also as we lack confidence, I think we tend to revert back to 'do what we always do' when things aren't working.
One point of note is that Tyrone's quick ball in the first half forced Dublin to retreat more men back to cover. This freed up space around the 45s and wings, hence a lot of our missed shots came from there. Again, this is something that can be improved.

[BennyHarp]

I think it was clear enough in the first half yesterday that Tyrone were trying to move the ball quicker into the ff line and it was reaping rewards. Dubs counteracted this in the second half and had a few more men funnelling back. We aren't far enough down the road of developing a different style to be the finished article, but at least there was some positive signs. When pressure was applied when the game was in the balance,  we appeared to revert to type, which is hardly surprising given how ingrained the style is. I think people may have to be patient with this team because if we are shifting strategies, which yesterday suggested at times, then we may have to accept a few bad results along the way.

Agree with the changing strategy thing. Also as we lack confidence, I think we tend to revert back to 'do what we always do' when things aren't working.
One point of note is that Tyrone's quick ball in the first half forced Dublin to retreat more men back to cover. This freed up space around the 45s and wings, hence a lot of our missed shots came from there. Again, this is something that can be improved.

We just need to work on getting our better shooters in the ball in those situations. Last night at various stages we had Hampsey, McNamee, McClure and McCarron taking pot shots from distance when we should have the confidence and patience to work Donnelly, Harte or Brennan into those areas. All work in progress but I think there was enough last night to see there was some semblance of a change in approach.

[In hiding]

Surely you could see that Dublin has 13 men back in the second half when we had the ball. Plus the wind picked up considerably resulting in a running game. It was great effort and hopefully stevie can get the forward line more effectively working.
On the Dublin players, it's only when you see them up close how physically big they are. There smallest player Kilkenny probably is the same size as our biggest.
Any way if we meet them later on the year I think we can take them. Provided we keep with only one man dropping back

[/b]

Aye there's loads of good reasons why you should think that

[trileacman]

Dublin put 15 men behind the ball on 3-4 occasions in that match and 14 behind it on another 6-7 times. There's no great difference in how the two teams played, just Dublin were better at it. This idea that Dublin are a team with 6 forwards up the pitch all the time is a complete lie, repeated often enough that it's now become the truth.

When you're better than teams you'll put up big scores against them, thsts why we put a run on Armagh, down, Donegal and Derry last year.

[longballin]

Dublin put 15 men behind the ball on 3-4 occasions in that match and 14 behind it on another 6-7 times. There's no great difference in how the two teams played, just Dublin were better at it. This idea that Dublin are a team with 6 forwards up the pitch all the time is a complete lie, repeated often enough that it's now become the truth.

When you're better than teams you'll put up big scores against them, thsts why we put a run on Armagh, down, Donegal and Derry last year.

on '3-4 occasions' not quite whats inflicted on Tyrone supporters : (

[Thebigdog]

After watching the highlights I see sneaky Mickey does his usual act of genius an changes the team at the last minute. Aidan Mccrory snuck into the half forward line no doubt! Lol. Peter Harte giving the ball away on numerous occasions like he was playing for Dublin. Maybe he is taking it too literally when people on here say he is the only player who would make it onto their team! Fair play to young Brennan he is now officially Tyrone's best forward. About time!!! Jim Gavin among others will always be one step ahead of Mickey Harte and that will be Tyrone's Achilles heel for the next three horrendous years.

[southtyronegael]

mc crory at wing forward, its just gets better and better. 27 mins of second half before they got a score. brennan showed in first half that you dont have to be 6 foot and 14 stone if the right ball is delivered quick and early. imagine the possiblities mickey.

[Thebigdog]

There is a lazy argument out there that Dublin also  play with heavy numbers back, they do, however their game plan in certain situations requires that.. This tactic is only part of  their armoury. Good forward play is their strong point and undoubtedly not Tyrone's. Then again Harte has only had the last TEN years to work on it!

[Fuzzman]

Gas I put a pic of Lee Brennan as my phone wallpaper for a TAD quiz on Friday night for the laugh, even before I heard he was starting on Saturday night and look he well he played.

Yeah I was very frustrated with the 2nd half and how poor we can be when we don't have any TRUE leaders to stand up and be counted. I was also getting very annoyed with the lack of atmosphere with our supporters despite me trying loads of times to get people to chant and sing.
Again the Dubs out sung us and it was like Hill 16 on tour. The silver birches was packed from 4pm with them.

The 1st half gave me great hope and thought they do have it in them for a battle but then the second half was very very disappointing. Especially after the big fight (pushing and grabbing throats) in the tunnel that lasted 3 mins or more,  or so one of my TADpole colleagues told me. I was on the pitch presenting a cheque from AIG to Dublin chairman as funds were running low after Xmas.


Definitely a better performance that in Galway and when you see that they beat Donegal who run Kerry close then maybe we're not that far behind after all. Still I'm not going to any more long trips away to watch more crab like muck.

[southtyronegael]

Fuzzman, I admire ur enthusiasm but I wouldn't be too hard on Tyrone supporters for not singing and chanting. Between watchin puke, negative football and mickeys grey, gloomy face on the sideline it would more likely make ye depressed than want to sing.