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Tyrone need to dig deep to beat Monaghan

Wednesday, 14 July 2010

Joe McMahon breaks away from Down’s Conor Maginn before storming upfield and scoring a long range point in the Ulster semi-final.

EXPERIENCE craft and know-how helped Tyrone negotiate their way past the limited challenges of Antrim and Down, but it will take more to see off Monaghan in Sunday's Ulster final, according to Justin McMahon.
The defending champions will face a team of seasoned campaigners at Clones, and the Red Hand full-back expects Seamus McEnaney's men to give them their toughest test to date.
“If you look at the Antrim game and you look at the game against Down, we didn't play great football.
“Maybe in the second half against Down, our experience brought us through in the end.
“That probably won't be good enough against Monaghan, because they have plenty of experience themselves, and they have quality players to add to that," says McMahon.
“So we have to play well in this game in order to try and win, and probably there's no option this time. What we have done in the last couple of games will probably not be good enough to beat this Monaghan team."
Logic would suggest that McMahon will find himself shadowing Conor McManus, but the Omagh man says he doesn't know what to expect from a manager that moved his full-back into goal earlier in the series.
The Farney side has a host of adaptable players capable of performing a variety of roles, and the identity of his direct opponent will remain a mystery right up until seconds before the throw-in.
“At this stage we're unaware who we could be coming up against, but Monaghan this year have racked up a lot of big scorelines. Even in their league games they were showing that.
“That just shows that they are a quality outfit up front as well, with Conor McManus and Tommy Freeman and Paul Finlay and all those boys.
“They're going to be very difficult men top marshal and we have our work cut out.
“They have the panel of players to do that and they have the quality of players to do that, and whatever they decide to do themselves, we'll just try and adapt to it and on the day, hopefully we can see what they're at and try and deal with it as best we can."
Monaghan's form this season has impressed McMahon. Already, they have blown Armagh and Fermanagh away, and the confidence and flair which they have been playing suggests they will have no fear of Mickey Harte's men.
“You would have to say Monaghan are in great form at the minute and playing some fantastic football.
“They have definitely shown that in their last couple of games and they're going to be a very difficult team to beat on the day.
“They have to be favourites going into this game. They have shown especially against Armagh, when they played some great football, and then against Fermanagh, their quality came through again, especially up front.
“They won by a considerable amount in the end, and it just proves that they are a force this year.
“They have shown that this last number of years, when they haven't been far away. They had a couple of tight tussles against Kerry, and perhaps, when they played ourselves in 2007, they were very unfortunate not to beat us. So there's no doubt that they're going to a difficult team to beat."
Silverware has been a scarce commodity in Monaghan in recent years, and it's 22 seasons since they last won an Ulster title. McEnaney has spent six years building and moulding his squad, and the county's loyal supporters believe it's now or never.
"If you talk to any player, they will say it's always great to have the opportunity to win Ulster, and Monaghan are no different.
“They have been very close this last number of years, they're there again and they will be very hungry to win that Ulster title.
“They have shown, even in their league campaign, that they are very hungry, and that they are a quality outfit."
McMahon has a feeling that the final 10 minutes of Sunday's game could sort out the winners from the losers, and he anticipates that Monaghan are gearing themselves for a big finish.
“We would look at it as another great chance to play in an Ulster final. I suppose going into the last 10 minutes, they are going to be hungry, and we would like to think that we're there to try and challenge to win the game as well."
If Tyrone are to put themselves in a position to see out what is expected to be a fiercely contested decider, then they must make this their best display of the season to date, and by some way.
“We need to improve, no doubt, from our previous game against Down and our first game against Antrim. We need to try and bring a bit of form ourselves into the game."
The Anglo-Celt Cup is still cherished in Tyrone, and the prospect of winning back-to-back provincial titles for the first time since 1995/96 makes it even more alluring this year.
But to Justin McMahon, the most valuable spin-off from a win on Sunday would be the avoidance of the dreaded Qualifiers.
“It's great to have the opportunity to win Ulster again, and when you look at the Qualifiers, it's a very difficult route to try and go into, so that's part of the reason why both teams would want to win.
“Both teams have their own motivation, and that would partly our own motivation as well."

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