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Tyrone rule supreme over Kildare in NFL challenge

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Tyrone team before their meeting with Kildare at Croke Park, Dublin on Saturday evening.

Tyrone 2-11
Kildare 0-12

Tyrone produced a second half performance of supreme quality at Croke Park to get their NFL Division Two challenge up and running with a comfortable win over Kildare.
The Red Hands struggled in the opening period, but slipped into overdrive after the restart, swamping the Lilywhites with a storming attacking display.
They trailed by three points at half-time, but Martin Penrose punched a 41st minute Tyrone goal, and Peter Harte added a second in the 56th minute.
And there was a further boost. Sean Cavanagh's earlier than expected return from injury capped an encouraging evening for the Red Hands, while Owen Mulligan and Stephen O'Neill sparkled up front.
Manager Mickey Harte was forced into a series of pre-match changes, with the McMahon brothers, Justin and Joe, unable to play, while Dermot Carlin also forced to cry off by 'flu.
But the players who came in, Conor Clarke, Sean O'Neill and Aidan Cassidy, performed with confidence and demonstrated that there is genuine strength in depth in the current Red Hand squad.
Harte was delighted with the manner in which his players put a poor first half behind them.
“We were a bit wayward with our opportunities, and after taking an early grip on the game, we let them take a hold on it.
“That wasn't good enough, three points in a half isn't good enough, and really won't win many games for you," said Harte.
“But the turnaround in the second half, I can't argue with that. The players pout in a big, big shift there.
“I suppose they took to heart what we said at half-time, that the standard wasn't good enough, and it was really as good a second half performance as we have had in a long time."
Harte was encouraged by the performances of the new recruits which he sent out at GAA headquarters for a daunting clash with a highly rated Kildare side.
“We're very pleased with it, considering that the McMahon brothers weren't able to start, Dermot Carlin wasn't able to start.
“Justin is injured, Joe was down with the 'flu all week, Dermot Carlin did the warm-up but wasn't fit to go on. PJ Quinn had to come off because of a 'flu.
“So it is very encouraging that the young players who came in held their own at headquarters, and I hope they like it."
And the displays of old hands Owen Mulligan and Stephen O'Neill added further reason to be optimistic about the season ahead.
“I suppose that's what experience is about. You don't shift all men out at the one time.
“You need that experience, but I think that the young men around them provided the energy for them to do that."
Peter Harte was another who turned in a superb performance, getting forward from the back to create a goal before finding he net himself.
“He's a very good player, I think you could play him virtually anywhere in the half back line of half forward line.
“He's got pace, he's got a bit of vision, he's got drive and he can get on the end of scores."
Harte took a heavy knock from the Kildare goalkeeper as he fearlessly dived in to punch home a second half goal.
“He needed to be brave. If he wasn't brave he wouldn't have got the goal and he was brave enough to go for it.
“Thankfully he didn't get a serious injury, but it could have been, and that's the chance he was prepared to take."
And he was fulsome in his praise of teenager Conor Clarke, who was called up as a late replacement for full back Justin McMahon.
“I'm absolutely delighted for him. I have been watching him obviously in the McKenna Cup, and I thought he acquitted himself very well.
“And to have to step in at Croke Park at this level, and to have to perform at full back, out of necessity, he did very well."
Stephen O'Neill got Tyrone going with a superb opening point, and they defended superbly as the Lilywhites laboured in their approach play, trying in vain to bring target man Tomas O'Connor into the game.
O'Neill had doubled the advantage from a free by the time Kieran McGeeney's men got their opening score in the 16th minute, a placed ball from Eoghan O'Flaherty.
The sides were level two minutes later when Mikey Conway knocked over a 13 metre free, and it was corner back Peter Kelly who bombed forward to take Conway's pass and shoot the lead point on 22 minutes.
Kildare confidence increased on the introduction of John Doyle, and they stretched the advantage to three points with scores from Conway and Padraig O'Neill, who with a little more composure could have had a goal when sent in by O'Connor
The Red Hands struggled to find fluency and managed just one score in the second quarter, an Owen Mulligan free.
Kildare, thanks to Conway's third score of the evening, went in at the break with a 0-6 to 0-3 lead.
But it was a transformed Tyrone team that took the field for the second half. They closed down the attacking threat from deep, and pushed forward with purpose, with Mulligan moving to centre forward to pull the strings and pick holes in the Kildare rearguard.
Harte crossed for Penrose to palm home a goal in the 41st minute, and Mulligan and Ronan O'Neill arrowed over points.
But Kildare fought back for Padraig O'Neill and Conway to shoot points, while O'Flaherty converted a '45 after Aidan Cassidy had blocked out a Conway shot on goal.
Tyrone struck for the decisive second goal in the 56th minute, and this time it was the impressive Harte who turned finisher, punching home Mulligan's cross to open out a three points lead.
The Red Hands never allowed the advantage to slip, although Tommy O'Neill and Eamonn Callaghan both broke through to blast in shots which sent narrowly wide.
Conway tagged on a couple of scores, but Mulligan and O'Neill nailed another couple of points as Tyrone tightened their grip.
And the sight of Sean Cavanagh making his return from injury as a late sub, several weeks ahead of schedule, cranked up the feel-good factor for Mickey Harte's side.
Tyrone scorers: Martin Penrose, Peter Harte 1-0 each, Stephen O'Neill 0-5 (2 frees), Owen Mulligan 0-3 (1 free), Damian McCaul, Ronan O'Neill, Mark Donnelly 0-1 each
Kildare scorers: Mikey Conway 0-6 (4 frees), Padraig O'Neill, Eoghan O'Flaherty (1free, 1 '45) 0-2 each, John Doyle, Peter Kelly 0-1 each.
Tyrone: Pascal McConnell, Aidan McCrory, Conor Clarke, PJ Quinn, Cathal McCarron, Peter Harte, Sean O'Neill, Mickey Murphy, Aidan Cassidy, Mattie Donnelly, Peter Hughes, Martin Penrose, Owen Mulligan, Mark Donnelly, Stephen O'Neill.
Subs: Damian McCaul for Quinn, Ronan O'Neill for Hughes, Niall McKenna for Cassidy, Sean Cavanagh for Penrose, Ryan McMenamin for Mattie Donnelly
Kildare: Shane Connolly, Peter Kelly, Ciaran Fitzpatrick, Ollie Lyons, Brian Flanagan, Tommy O'Neill, Eoghan O'Flaherty, Daryl Flynn, Ronan Sweeney, Tommy Moolick, Mikey Conway, Padraig O'Neill, James Kavanagh, Tomas O'Connor, Alan Smith.
Subs: John Doyle for Moolick, Hugh McGrillen for Flanagan, Eamon Callaghan for Smith, Morgan O'Flaherty for Fitzpatrick, Robert Kelly for Flynn
Referee: Michael Duffy (Sligo)

Trillick
E R O'Neills

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