Dublin v Tyrone

[realredhandfan]

My father who was at the game though he was stupid, and indefensible,  thats not the issue here,  We seen Keiran donaghy and Trevor Mortimer sent off yesterday for less than what Ricey had to contend with, Was that the way forward either?  Maybe hes just too wee.   

[lynchbhoy]

thouroughly enjoyed the occasion
thought the game was entertaining enough with both sides showing great passages of play in either half.

Dublin out-tyroned Tyrone in the first half but seemed ot run out of stamina after HT, while at the same time the combo of Harte slightly changing things and the introduction of Hughes who not only bolstered MF, but inspired a slightly afraid young and small Tyrone attack to overcome their fear.
Plus a Dublin panelist was a bit miffed with Caffrey bringing off both midfield men (my brother who was along with me spotted him limping 5 mins before he was taken off) and conceeding mf to tyrone. The substitutions of both big midfielders certainly handed the advantage to Tyrone-  and the 'Hub' didnt need any favours.

Caffrey is very limited.
Tyrone showed that the same template is used by them to play all their games and the personnel can be changed with only a small degredation of ability.
It is only the start of February, but Harte is majestic, Dublin are still on the right road but like a lot of sides will struggle if being beaten and changes/inspiration are required form the sideline.
As long as they dont have a nightmare game , I cannot see anyone taking SAM off a now rested and hungry Tyrone team.

PS
I couldnt resist asking Canavan after the game in the premium lounge if Kieran McKeevers boot was still in his pocket!

[Norf Tyrone]

There was a Dub fan behind me giving out loads of abuse as the game came to a climax so I asked hime when Tyrone won, 'does that mean we can keep them lights now?'. The words 'northern ticker' were last heard...

Good win for Tir Eoghain, who were crap in the first half and class in the second. Colm Cavanagh was my MOTM, and as RHF states surprsed me with his development. Wasn't scared to get involved and do the hardwork. Him and Sean combined well.
Raymie Mulgrew is still not the finished article, but has developed immensely, in a physcial sense, over the last 12 months. Looked 3 times the player he was last year, and just shaded for MOTM.

McGinley (Enda), took some serious hits, and although didn't do fantastic, hw won his side a lot f ball, held up play and won quite a few free kicks. He was played as an orthodox number 15 as opposed to the wandering exra midfielder of 2005.

Another 3 players to merit mention were Emmet McGinley. Again still not convinced, but got out ahead of his man on several occassions to break Dublin attacks and did a decent job. Dermie Carlin has again improved, and can out just on top of the battle with Brogan, has a great engine and was involved in many of Tyrone's attacks. Finally Colm McCullagh was extremely busy when he came on, and I think his movement was the catalyst for Tyrone to power on.

Lastly, I thought the young lads playing 'soccer' at halftime was hilarious!!

[tayto]

The introduction of Hughes and the loss of Magee were the turning points for me, we totally lost midfield and sat back way too deep. inviting Tyrone on is a bad bad idea. Still like has been said it's only the first day out, hopefully lessons are learned and we have a stronger selection to pick from next for limerick.

[Croí na hÉireann]

Enjoyed the first night under lights but I thought it was average league football and only the last 15 minutes were exciting apart from Connollys first half point which was suberbly taken. Note to the gobshite who was sitting behind me, his name is Diarmuid, not "Dermo". 

Access into and out of the Hogan wasn't a problem and I think the lack of athmosphere can be blamed on the amount of neutrals at the game. Best value for money spent all weekend apart from the fee into Cusack Park. 

[tayto]

Enjoyed the first night under lights but I thought it was average league football and only the last 15 minutes were exciting apart from Connollys first half point which was suberbly taken. Note to the gobshite who was sitting behind me, his name is Diarmuid, not "Dermo". 

Do we all have to point out something about fans that were there? ... the tyrone crowd beside me were 10 minutes late by the way, and left before the end, tsk tsk! 

[forkinknife]

Emmet McGinley? Do you Tyronnies even know your team?

[Norf Tyrone]

Emmet McGinley?

Oopps...don't even know where I heard that name! Sorry...of course I mean Conor McGinley.

[Armamike]

Who's Conor McGinley?

[Norf Tyrone]

Who's Conor McGinley?

[phpearse]

I think Norf tyrone is taking the mick now!! I'm he meant to say Cormac McGinley. Emmett is another brother who plays for Errigal. Also Norf must be having a laugh when he says Dermot Carlin came out top in his battle with Alan Brogan. Carlin was destroyed in the first half but did well enough in the second and came forward to help out his forwards on occasions. Brogan would have been MOTM had Dublin won and Conor Gormley not appeared for the last 20min.

[tyroneman]

Fully expected to get beat on Sat and was therefore well pleased with the win.

Spoke mto a Dungannon lad beofre the game who said Cavo was simply told he 'wasn't needed' for the game - strange one that, hopefully he;ll still be in MH plans for the rest of the summer.

Thought Cormac was very average at FB - this should be Joeys spot for the CHampionshiop., although the EC connection seems to hold a lot of sway.

Mulgrew finally seems to be showing talent to match some of the hype we've all heard and young Cavanagh was reasonably good (less said about his fuirst half effort right enouhg.

Overall difficult to take a lot away - team spirit good, some nice talent emerging and with McGuigan et al due back summer looks good

[Over the Bar]

Did anyone manage to record the game??

[Norf Tyrone]

Also Norf must be having a laugh when he says Dermot Carlin came out top in his battle with Alan Brogan. Carlin was destroyed in the first half but did well enough in the second and came forward to help out his forwards on occasions. Brogan would have been MOTM had Dublin won and Conor Gormley not appeared for the last 20min.

I thought Carlin's philosophy was that Brogan was too difficult to mark, so instead he gave him problems by bombing forward and forcing Brogan to track back. I think the lad deserves credit for the way he played against the 2nd best number 11 in the country.

[magpie seanie]

Very enjoyable evening. Must say I enjoyed the Gospel singing and the Sawdoctors drummer with the mikasa glove made me laugh. Brennan's speech was good and to be honest filled me with pride and confidence for the future. I thought it was a really nice touch embracing the "new Irish" too. The lights definitely look very impressive and added to the sense of occasion.

As for the game itself it has been well analysed here already from the few posts I've seen. Dubs very good in first half with Alan Brogan running the show from centre forward. I thought Tyrone were in danger of a serious kicking at half time though in hindsight the score at that point should have been closer as the red hands were guilty of some really poor finishing into the Hill goal. Harte then exposed Caffrey for the pillock that he is by giving him a tactical masterclass to win the game. Hughes' arrival and Darren Magee's departure were important but Conor Gormley totally shutting down Brogan was the key for me. Tyrone then showed they knew how to win and Caffrey's antics near the end show why he in unfit to manage this Dublin side.

So early days and a lot of positives for both sides even though some Dubs supporters seem to be a bit ott depressed about it.

On the crowd - I was attending with the outlaws (all Dubs) and we were all sick to the back teeth of this loud mouthed idiot in the upper Hogan. He hadn't a clue and by God he made sure everyone knew it - my fav was his "come on Whelo" near the end of the first half. Bless.