Tyrone Unchanged

Whether or not we can take Mickey Harte's team selection for Sunday at face value is another story, but the Tyrone manager has named an unchanged side for the Ulster semi-final against Derry:

J Devine, PJ Quinn, Justin McMahon, R McMenamin, D Harte, C Gormley, P Jordan, K Hughes, E McGinley, M Penrose, T McGuigan, Joe McMahon, S O'Neill, S Cavanagh, O Mulligan

The headline from this will be that Brian Dooher has to settle for a place on the substitute's bench, but you would have to imagine the Tyrone captain playing a key role at some stage in this game, especially when Harte is going about uttering this kind of stuff:

Brian Dooher is a real rock. He is simply irreplaceable — I don’t know what we are going to do when he decides to call it a day. We are very fortunate to have him as captain and I just wish he was 24 instead of 34.

Luckiest to keep his place is Martin Penrose, and this is probably the position where Dooher or even Colm McCullagh could come in.

After all, Tyrone have a fully-fit squad from which to pick, so you get the feeling we might get a surprise or two yet in their line-up.

We'll not find out until Sunday.

The Sweetest Thing

Finally, after all the talk of suspensions, appeals and injuries, the week of the Tyrone game has arrived, and we can actually look forward to a game of football (at least, that's what we've been promised).

And no better game to look forward to than one against the Red Hands. The old enemy. If there's a game you don't want to lose... this is it. Any sort of victory tends to be very, very sweet.

There have been some games against Tyrone over the years that we'd rather forget, but in the past twenty years Derry have come out on the right side of some memorable encounters.

1991: (USFC Preliminary Round) Tyrone 1-08 Derry 1-09
It's hard to believe it's been 18 years since Damian Cassidy's last minute goal beat Tyrone at Healy Park. In fact, that's just about all I can remember about that particular game. That, and Adrian Cush's goal shortly after half-time that had Derry on the back foot until Cassidy's last-gasp intervention. It was a hot May day in Omagh, and at the end of it all, Derry were still only the first round proper.

1992: (USFC Preliminary Round) Derry 1-10 Tyrone 1-07
The following year brought another preliminary clash (back in the day when the Ulster Council only bothered holding a draw every two years). It was an all-ticket affair at a scorching Celtic Park, with the game shown live on BBC (a rare thing in those days... possibly the first Ulster SFC game to be televised live).
Dermot Heaney's goal in the opening minutes proved the difference. Eamon Coleman was smiling post-game: "we proved today that we're the better team!" After beating Down in the Ulster semi-final we could almost smell Sam. Shame we forgot about the Anglo-Celt. Donegal took care of that.

1997: (USFC Semi-final) Derry 2-15 Tyrone 2-03
'95 and '96 hurt bad. Actually 1995 probably stills hurts more than most. 1997 brought us back to Clones for the third consecutive year, and Derry dominated a Tyrone side who appeared to lack the heart for another crack at an All-Ireland title. The Oakleafers cantered to a 12-point win. It's hard to know which was the funniest moment from the match: Joe Brolly blowing kisses at the Tyrone fans, or Finbar McConnell knocking Brian Mullins hat off and throwing it away!

2001: (All-Ireland Quarter-final) Derry 1-09 Tyrone 0-07
Arguably the sweetest of all Derry victories over Tyrone. It was a dour contest at Clones, and it appeared that Tyrone were beaten from the second the draw was made, as Derry could exact revenge for an Ulster semi-final defeat a few weeks earlier. Peter Canavan was red-carded and Paddy Bradley bundled the ball just about over the line to clinch victory. Tyrone became the first Ulster champions not to play in an All-Ireland semi-final as the Oakleafers took their place. Sweet indeed!

2006: (USFC First Round) Tyrone 0-05 Derry 1-08
Another sweet victory over the Red Hands. The then All-Ireland champions famously failed to score in the first-half at Healy Park as Derry took a six-point lead. Kevin Hughes saw red for a punch on Liam Hinphey, and Enda Muldoon capitalised on some good work from Paddy Bradley and Barry McGoldrick to score the game's only goal. I've heard it said and seen it written that this was an awful game to watch.

Let's be fair... it was a thing of beauty.

Hurlers Look for Final Chance

It's been something of a topsy-turvy 2009 season for Derry's hurlers. After a decent start to the Division 3 NHL campaign, promotion was not forthcoming following a run of disappointing results. The Christy Ring Cup also came and went with a loss to Kerry swiftly following a facile victory over Wicklow. But Brian McGilligan's side still have a chance to save their season in this weekend's Ulster SHC semi-final against Down.

All year, the Dungiven man has lamented his side's inability to defend effectively, and the shipping of big tallies has led to inevitable defeats. After an NHL defeat to Kildare in March McGilligan claimed that "the couple of free goals in the first half tore the arse clean out of it”; following defeat to Kerry in the Christy Ring Cup three weeks ago he made a similar observation saying that after "a couple of silly mistakes and a couple of bad goals, the backside just fell out of it".

There appears to be a problem in the region of the derriere!

Ironically, against London in the Ulster quarter-final it was Derry who relied on a flurry of goals to see off a strong exile challenge (4-10 to 3-12). But Brian still wasn't happy:

"We wouldn’t win a Nicky Rackard on that performance. It was the worst I’ve seen from a Derry team for a long number of years. We were just very lucky to get the goals at the right time."

It's no surprise then that he feels Derry need to show a big improvement to overcome the Mournemen:

"It's going to be a mighty hard task. On the London performance, not a chance."

In Thursday's Irish News, he even goes so far as to say that Derry will need "a miracle" to beat Down. That's one way of getting the player's fired up!

If Derry do manage to win they will set up an Ulster Final clash with Antrim, who will no doubt be fresh after their short-lived appearance in the Leinster SHC.

Cork Can Still Finish Job

It was quite ironic that Cork, who spent most of last year trying to catch up with Kerry (sometimes accomplishing it, but ultimately failing), last Sunday found themselves being chased by the men from the Kingdom. And they were caught. Just about mind, but they were caught nonetheless.

Given the route that the eventual losers of this tie will have to negotiate in the qualifiers, this Munster semi-final is an arguably more important clash than last year's Munster Final. And having got themselves into a winning position, Cork will be right to kick themselves for not finishing the job.

For three-quarters of the game in Killarney Conor Counihan's side displayed power, pace and poise that Kerry couldn't live with. But the Rebels had one problem... their full-forward line just didn't produce the goods. Masters, Goulding and O'Connor, whose physical presence doesn't match that of the rest of the Cork team, struggled against a fairly accomplished showing from the Kerry full-back line, with Marc O Sé at his imperious best. Cork simply couldn't get the scores required to win the game.

It meant that Kerry, who had an off-day in terms of creation and finishing were let off the hook, thanks in the main to some dead-eye cool accuracy from substitute Bryan Sheehan.

It was an exciting game that did much to blow away any bordeom still lingering from the low-quality offering from Breffni Park the evening before, and the good news is that there is a replay to come this weekend.

It will be interesting to see how both sides approach their second battle in six days. There appears to be more questions than answers surrounding Kerry. For Saturday's replay they have named Tommy Griffin alongside Dara O Sé in an all-new midfield pairing. Sunday's hero Sheehan replaces Captain Darran O'Sullivan in the full-forward line while Tadgh Kennelly will continue to find his Championship feet, but this time at left-half forward. Jack O'Connor will hope another game against Cork will resolve some persisting selection issues. A more settled and motivated Rebels side might just have enough resolve to shade it.

The Kingdom wouldn't fancy a treacherous back-door spin, but it might afford them the fine-tuning they need before Croke Park comes calling in late summer.

Casement Makes Little Appeal

We were led to believe that the choice of venue for Derry's Ulster semi-final against Tyrone was between Clones, Casement Park, Ballybofey and Breffni Park. Casement got the nod, but if the decision was left to myself, and patently it was not, Casement Park would probably have been choice number four.

Given the distance required to reach the Donegal and Cavan venues that is saying a lot!

There's probably little point in getting bogged down over the choice of venue, but Casement Park is generally an atmosphere-less ground that offers little excitement and energy. Clones, for all its faults, is a decent Championship venue. It has ampled seating, plenty of which is covered, and the town itself is a welcoming one for match-goers.

Casement Park has the so-called advantage of "getting away quickly", but this tells us more about the surrounding area - devoid of any GAA soul - than anything else.

Of course, Tyrone players and fans will have to endure Casement too, so it's a level playing field for both sides. But I feel the need to alert you - if you were not already aware - of Derry's poor record at the West Belfast venue.

Since 1993, when Derry overcame Monaghan at the Ulster semi-final stage, the only team the Oakleafers have beaten at Casement is Antrim. And even that hasn't been the formality it should be, with the width of Anthony Tohill's fingertips saving Derry from its darkest day in 2000.

One of Derry's worst recent displays came at Casement in 2003, when a rampaging Tyrone tore through the Oakleafers in a first-round replay to record a 9-point victory.

In 2007, Casement was also the scene for one of the most miserable days any Derry supporter has had to suffer. And Derry weren't even playing! A cold and wet June day rendered the first-round clash with Antrim unplayable due to a waterlogged pitch. The announcement came about twenty minutes before the match was due to throw-in, and any Oakleaf fans unfortunate enough to be there had already endured an insufferable Ulster Hurling Final between Antrim and Down.

Barely three weeks later, and we were back again for another fun-filled Sunday afternoon in Andersonstown. Derry started as favourites against Monaghan in the Ulster semi-final. Enough said.

Derry's 10 year Championship record at Casement Park:

1999: Derry 2-15 Cavan 2-15
2000: Antrim 2-08 Derry 0-14
2000: Antrim 2-05 Derry 1-17 (replay)
2001: Antrim 0-07 Derry 0-10
2002: Antrim 0-06 Derry 0-16
2002: Tyrone 1-17 Derry 1-12
2003: Tyrone 0-17 Derry 1-05 (replay)
2005: Armagh 1-11 Derry 0-10
2007: Antrim 0-10 Derry 1-13
2007: Monaghan 0-14 Derry 1-09

Perhaps this poor record is where the root of my antipathy for Casement Park really lies. I will probably have slightly more time for the venue if Derry manage to beat Tyrone there next Sunday.

Morrison Riled by Programme

Football is no stranger to poor excuses after a team loses a match. We've heard all manner of stuff coming out of the mouths of managers, players and coaches in the aftermath of defeat.

Blaming the absence of players through injury or suspension is a pretty popular one. Some managers might put defeat down to a series of missed chances or poor defending.

The poor state of some pitches also gets an airing in post match interviews, while a bad refereeing performance could also bear the brunt.

Sometimes you might even get the odd player or manager putting a defeat down to plain bad luck.

Not John Morrison.

After their defeat to Roscommon at the weekend, Leitrim's assistant manager didn't blame his players, the officials, or even the weather.

Nope. He blamed the matchday programme!

Morrison has cited an article in the programme outlining Leitrim's poor home record as a contributing factor to the side's "lack of self-belief":

"Who put those articles in the programme? ‘Leitrim never win at home’, ‘Leitrim have never beaten Roscommon’ and so on. They might have just said ‘lie down there until we whip you again’. The mindset and perception has to change in Leitrim and the likes of that programme do little to change attitudes."

Translating the publishing of these (factual) statistics into a possible reason for defeat surely borders on ridiculous.

The programme pointed to Leitrim's record at Carrick-on-Shannon that contained only seven wins in 49 games.

You can make that 50 games now John.

It's Tyrone

It was something of a relief to spend Sunday afternoon watching a game that didn't involve Derry or Monaghan. The coverage the game received last week reached saturation point, and as I have outlined already most of it was over-the-top hyperbole.

So when switching on The Sunday Game to see Tyrone take on Armagh, it was something of a surprise to hear Pat Spillane and Colm O'Rourke still talking about the game at Celtic Park. I could hardly believe what I was hearing. The duo were making a point about how their own reaction to the match was totally justified.

What was it that Shakespeare said about those who protest too much?

Anyway, this week's game at Clones seemed to have sufficient footballing entertainment and excitement to please the quality assessors at RTÉ, and Ulster football breathes again.

Despite only playing well in patches, Tyrone always appeared to be in control of the game, and when going eight points up early in the second half they probably (at least sub-consciously) eased off a little. Armagh did well to close the gap, but late points from Stephen O'Neill and Brian Dooher outlined the extra quality Mickey Harte has at his disposal.

Tyrone's victory sets up what will be an eagerly-anticipated Ulster semi-final against Derry on June 21st. Tyrone will be favourites after a comfortable enough win at Clones where they didn't really get anywhere close to their best. That's a worry for Derry; but the Oakleafers have room for improvement themselves.

Another worry is the not-totally-unexpected news of suspensions emanating from the Monaghan game at Celtic Park. It looks like Derry have been dealt the rough end with Brian Mullan and Fergal Doherty both expected to be handed eight-week bans. (The good news is that if Derry reach the Ulster Final, both would be free to play.)

Thomas Freeman also looks like picking up an eight-week suspension, while both counties will be hit with €10'000 fines.

That seems particularly harsh... to the point that I've even found myself agreeing with Banty McEnaney who questions the validity of handing out "professional fines" in an amateur sport.

Probably not the last we've heard of all this. The only winners this week appear to be Tyrone.