MIXED EMOTIONS FOR TYRONE MANAGER
MIXED EMOTIONS FOR TYRONE MANAGER
THOUGHTS OF OMAGH BOMBING REMAINED WITH PLAYERS
TYRONE'S JOINT manager Fr Gerard McAleer reflected on last Sunday's All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final victory over Leitrim with mixed emotions, happy with the flair and skill shown by his players, but concerned at the massive tally of wides, 21 in all, which against stronger opposition would have proved disastrous.
But he insisted that at least some of the players' failings, despite the eleven points victory, were due to the effects of the Omagh bombing.
"It was very very difficult for us all to motivate ourselves after last week's events in Omagh. We had trained in Omagh for the last four or five months, and a number of the boys are going to school there," he said.
"Those events touched everybody, and emotion has been running very high. I do genuinely think that they played a very significant part in the nervousness that we exhibited out there.
"Granted we played some wonderful football and I'm happy with that, but I think had we been more settled no-one would have stopped us."
Fr McAleer admitted that despite Tyrone's obvious superiority, he was at times worried about the outcome.
"When they got the penalty and closed the gap to three points, it was a cause of concern to us. I always like to be at least four points ahead.
"I was happy that we managed to keep playing for the full hour, but I was very unhappy with the amount of wides we shot.
"But that's a very big pitch and the players are obviously nervous, but I think there were times when they hesitated or panicked. I would like to think that come the All-Ireland final, we are going to be a lot better prepared for it.
"I think it will take a good team to beat us, given more settled preparation and more attention to taking scores."
The joint manager pointed out that Tyrone had faced a highly motivated Leitrim outfit that had not reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 42 years.
"Leitrim are Connacht champions, and they were hungry, because they hadn't won it since 1956 so in a sense they were 42 times hungrier than our boys. You have to remember that we had a number of injuries to key players and we're very pleased with the performances of the subs we put in.
"Of course that is one of the great strengths of this team, that we do have a lot of strength on the bench."
But Fr McAleer said he hopes to have all three injured players back for the final, including captain Brian McGuigan, who has a cracked collar bone. "He's a fighter and we wouldn't rule him out, he wants to play."
Influential midfielder Kevin Hughes also missed last Sunday's game after damaging an ankle in training, and corner forward Ryan O'Neill was forced to sit it out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Fr McAleer admitted that he and Mickey Harte face major problems in sitting down to pick the team for the final, given the excellent performances of stand-ins Ryan Melon and goalscorer Martin Hughes.
"That always creates difficulties for any manager, but this is probably the first year we have had such strength on the bench, and one or two of the subs who came in did exceptionally well.
"One of the great things about this team is that the players have continued to grow in confidence."
CLUB ACTION
Four of those players are straight back into championship action tomorrow evening (Fri) at Dungannon when Loughmacrory, who include Ciaran Meenagh and Michael McGee, tussle with the Moy, who feature among others Ryan Mellon and Philip Jordan.
If this Intermediate Championship semi-final replay proves to be anywhere near as engrossing as their first meeting then few will complain.
That riveting clash ended in a stalemate at 1-12 apiece with fortunes fluctuating dramatically over the hour. In the end two late points from Meenagh and Paul Coyle earned St.Teresa's a deserved second bite of the cherry. Clann na nGael await the winners in the final.
Although Omagh's senior clash with Donaghmore has been put off for another week, Greencastle's refixed meeting with Killyman on Sunday evening does go ahead as scheduled.
That Junior Championship semi-final is down for decision for Carrickmore, with Rock, impressive victors over Stewartstown, already through to the decider.
ULSTER HURLING SHIELD
Meanwhile fresh from their triumph in the Tyrone county final against Killyclogher, Carrickmore go gunning for provincial glory this weekend when they tackle Cavan champions Mullahoran at Dungannon in the semi-final of the Ulster Hurling Shield Championship. (Throw-in 3.30pm)
A young and committed Eire Ogs team grinded out a two point victory over a more experienced Killyclogher outfit in the county decider but will realise that they will have to raise their game a notch or two if they are to make an impression in the Ulster 'B' knock-out tournament.
Improvement in particular is required in the forward unit which was blunted by and large over the course of the hour in the Benburb Cup finale. The laurels that night, as in the semi-final victory over Omagh, very much went to stout hearted defenders like Paul Sweeney, Plunkett Doyle and Fergus Daly.
This time a larger scoring tally than the 1-7 accrued against Killyclogher will surely be required if Carmen are to advance to a meeting with either Lisbellaw or the raging hot favourites Keady in the shield final.
THOUGHTS OF OMAGH BOMBING REMAINED WITH PLAYERS
TYRONE'S JOINT manager Fr Gerard McAleer reflected on last Sunday's All-Ireland Minor Championship semi-final victory over Leitrim with mixed emotions, happy with the flair and skill shown by his players, but concerned at the massive tally of wides, 21 in all, which against stronger opposition would have proved disastrous.
But he insisted that at least some of the players' failings, despite the eleven points victory, were due to the effects of the Omagh bombing.
"It was very very difficult for us all to motivate ourselves after last week's events in Omagh. We had trained in Omagh for the last four or five months, and a number of the boys are going to school there," he said.
"Those events touched everybody, and emotion has been running very high. I do genuinely think that they played a very significant part in the nervousness that we exhibited out there.
"Granted we played some wonderful football and I'm happy with that, but I think had we been more settled no-one would have stopped us."
Fr McAleer admitted that despite Tyrone's obvious superiority, he was at times worried about the outcome.
"When they got the penalty and closed the gap to three points, it was a cause of concern to us. I always like to be at least four points ahead.
"I was happy that we managed to keep playing for the full hour, but I was very unhappy with the amount of wides we shot.
"But that's a very big pitch and the players are obviously nervous, but I think there were times when they hesitated or panicked. I would like to think that come the All-Ireland final, we are going to be a lot better prepared for it.
"I think it will take a good team to beat us, given more settled preparation and more attention to taking scores."
The joint manager pointed out that Tyrone had faced a highly motivated Leitrim outfit that had not reached the All-Ireland semi-final in 42 years.
"Leitrim are Connacht champions, and they were hungry, because they hadn't won it since 1956 so in a sense they were 42 times hungrier than our boys. You have to remember that we had a number of injuries to key players and we're very pleased with the performances of the subs we put in.
"Of course that is one of the great strengths of this team, that we do have a lot of strength on the bench."
But Fr McAleer said he hopes to have all three injured players back for the final, including captain Brian McGuigan, who has a cracked collar bone. "He's a fighter and we wouldn't rule him out, he wants to play."
Influential midfielder Kevin Hughes also missed last Sunday's game after damaging an ankle in training, and corner forward Ryan O'Neill was forced to sit it out with a cruciate ligament injury.
Fr McAleer admitted that he and Mickey Harte face major problems in sitting down to pick the team for the final, given the excellent performances of stand-ins Ryan Melon and goalscorer Martin Hughes.
"That always creates difficulties for any manager, but this is probably the first year we have had such strength on the bench, and one or two of the subs who came in did exceptionally well.
"One of the great things about this team is that the players have continued to grow in confidence."
CLUB ACTION
Four of those players are straight back into championship action tomorrow evening (Fri) at Dungannon when Loughmacrory, who include Ciaran Meenagh and Michael McGee, tussle with the Moy, who feature among others Ryan Mellon and Philip Jordan.
If this Intermediate Championship semi-final replay proves to be anywhere near as engrossing as their first meeting then few will complain.
That riveting clash ended in a stalemate at 1-12 apiece with fortunes fluctuating dramatically over the hour. In the end two late points from Meenagh and Paul Coyle earned St.Teresa's a deserved second bite of the cherry. Clann na nGael await the winners in the final.
Although Omagh's senior clash with Donaghmore has been put off for another week, Greencastle's refixed meeting with Killyman on Sunday evening does go ahead as scheduled.
That Junior Championship semi-final is down for decision for Carrickmore, with Rock, impressive victors over Stewartstown, already through to the decider.
ULSTER HURLING SHIELD
Meanwhile fresh from their triumph in the Tyrone county final against Killyclogher, Carrickmore go gunning for provincial glory this weekend when they tackle Cavan champions Mullahoran at Dungannon in the semi-final of the Ulster Hurling Shield Championship. (Throw-in 3.30pm)
A young and committed Eire Ogs team grinded out a two point victory over a more experienced Killyclogher outfit in the county decider but will realise that they will have to raise their game a notch or two if they are to make an impression in the Ulster 'B' knock-out tournament.
Improvement in particular is required in the forward unit which was blunted by and large over the course of the hour in the Benburb Cup finale. The laurels that night, as in the semi-final victory over Omagh, very much went to stout hearted defenders like Paul Sweeney, Plunkett Doyle and Fergus Daly.
This time a larger scoring tally than the 1-7 accrued against Killyclogher will surely be required if Carmen are to advance to a meeting with either Lisbellaw or the raging hot favourites Keady in the shield final.
Further Information
Publisher: ULSTER HERALD
Ref: UH/0294
Published Date: 27-Aug-98
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