Tyrone Constitution - Sports - Three successive wins saw Tyrone top their group

Sports

Three successive wins saw Tyrone top their group

Thursday, 26 January 2012

TYRONE completed a successful Power NI Group A campaign with a third straight win, defeating Fermanagh by 0-13 to 1-7 at Healy Park, with both sides qualifying for the semi-finals.
The Red Hands led by 0-10 to 0-1 at half-time, but allowed Peter Canavan's Erne men to claw back the deficit to two points.
“When you're in an unassailable position, like we were at half-time, you shouldn't be struggling to win the game," said Tyrone manager Mickey Harte.
“You should be able to tag off enough scores to keep the distance good between you.
“We were not able to do that, so therefore it's a team thing that we have to look at, more than any individual's performance."
Stephen O'Neill's five points tally helped secure the win for the home side, and Harte was pleased to secure an extension to a run of competitive games that form an important part of the preparations for the National Football League.
“As many games as you can get in the McKenna Cup has always been our motto, and now we're going to have four of them, and that's great."
Harte also conceded that complacency may have been a factor, after watching Fermanagh fight their way back into contention.
“People will look at that and reflect, and say that must have been the case. We always try to guard against that, but a few decisions here and there, and they begin to creep back into the game. And once they pegged off two or three points, they began to grow in confidence.
“On top of all that, we still had enough chances to push ahead in the second half. If we had been a lot more accurate in front of goals, even with Fermanagh's comeback, we still would have won by a decent margin.
“As it happened, we weren't putting away the scores on the chances we were making, and so that put us under pressure all the way.
Serious challenge
“Fermanagh made a serious challenge in the second half when we were in a very strong position, and we would be seriously disappointed with our second half, as I'm sure they would have been with their first.
So really it was the proverbial game of two halves, and we both have a lot to work on."
Tyrone legend Peter Canavan returned to Healy Park as Fermanagh manager in search of the scalp of old friends, but was unable to inspire the Erne men to victory.
“It was very different, I must say, especially when I have been with Mickey for so many years on the one team," said Canavan.
“To be pitting your wits against him is something different and takes a bit of getting used to.
“At least I got no bad manners from the crowd, or if I did, I didn't hear it."
Canavan was delighted to see his team play their way back into the game in the second half.
“They achieved their target in the second half, they won the second half, and they left thinking that Tyrone are beatable, that if they can apply the same pressure to them, they can compete with them.
“So of course, we'll take the positives from the game, there's no doubt about that."
The six-time All-Star admitted that the Erne side's first half performance fell well short of his expectations.
“It didn't look good at all. I was disappointed with our first half performance, because it probably wasn't a true reflection of the way they had been playing up to now.
“We said at half-time that our target was to win the second half. They did that and I'm pleased with the effort and commitment in the second half.
“I felt that they weren't doing themselves justice, because they have been working very hard in training, and the previous two games they have played with great hunger and good ambition, and they weren't afraid to go at the opposition.
“But in the first half, they were a bit afraid and possibly showed Tyrone a little too much respect.
“You couldn't say that in the second half, they went at it and they gave it a lash.
“Tyrone missed a lot of chances in the second half, and we were guilty of missing a few, but at least the game was competitive, and the supporters had something to shout about.
Tyrone scorers: Stephen O'Neill 0-5 (2frees), Colm Cavanagh, Mickeyhy, P Harte (1 '45) 0-2 each, Mattie Donnelly, Tommy McGuigan (f) 0-1 each.
Fermanagh scorers: Sean Quigley 1-0, Seamus Quigley 0-5 (4 frees), Conor Quigley, Daniel Kille (free) 0-1 each.
Tyrone: John Devine, Aidan McCrory, Cathal McCarron, PJ Quinn, Sean O'Neill, Peter Harte, Dermot Carlin, Mickey Murphy, Colm Cavanagh, Peter Hughes, Martin Penrose, Mattie Donnelly, Tommy McGuigan, Stephen O'Neill, Johnny Lafferty.
Subs: Damian McCaul for Carlin, Owen Mulligan for Penrose, Kyle Coney for Donnelly, Stephen McNulty for McGuigan.
Fermanagh: Ronan Gallagher, Niall Bogue, Barry Owens, John Woods, Conor Quigley, Ryan McCluskey, Niall McElroy, Eoin Donnelly, Shane Lyons, James Sherry, Darryl Keenan, Eamon Maguire, Paul Ward, D Kille, Sean Quigley.
Subs: Barry Mulrone for Lyons, Seamus Quigley for Kille, Tomas Corrigan for McElroy, Liam Lynch for Maguire.
Referee: Robbie O'Donnell (Donegal).