SCHOOL EDITION 24 APRIL 2024 - Flipbook - Page 30
United scrape past
Coventry to set up
derby
昀椀nal
Ireland put to the sword
at Twickenham
P25
FA Cup
P26
Ulster SFC quarter-final Cavan 3-16 Tyrone 1-23 (after extra-time)
Dooher: Recovery the priority
ahead of huge Tír Chonaill test
Red Hands go the extra mile to edge past Cavan in marathon Kingspan Bre昀昀ni thriller
FRANCIS MOONEY AT
KINGSPAN BREFFNI
R
EPAIR and recovery of damaged and fatigued bodies
is the number one priority
ahead even of the huge task
of facing a formidable Donegal side,
according to Tyrone manager Brian
Dooher.
The walking wounded will have
to pick themselves up and go again
in less than a week, back at the scene
of a Jim McGuinness masterclass in
their tactical triumph over reigning
Ulster champions Derry.
But the Red Hands are only too
grateful to have Sunday’s trip to
Celtic Park to look forward to after
surving a mighty scare at Kingspan
Breffni.
Ahead by eight points, they fell
apart in the absence of black-carded
full-back Padraig Hampsey and the
home side struck for two goals.
“That’s the challenge you have.
They put in a big shift over maybe
a hundred minutes of football when
you add everything into it,” he said.
“It’s tough on the bodies, and
that’s the challenge – we have to get
those bodies ready for next week,”
said Dooher.
Tyrone’s failure to deal with the
setback of Hampsey’s loss was a
worrying failing, one of many issues
which will have to be addressed in
the short turnaround period.
“We didn’t handle it well when we
got it, you can see that by the scores.
“We were lucky enough to get out
“
吀栀at performance,
I haven’t seen a
performance like it for
a long time, the way
Donegal dismantled
the Derry team, and
Derry twice
Ulster champions and
League champions
Brian Dooher
of it ultimately, but we brought it to
extra-time and the boys dug deep
and got out of it.”
He watched on in awe as Donegal dismantled Derry’s highly rated
system a day earlier, and a reinvigorated Tic Chonaill side has another
north-west rival in its sights.
“That performance, I haven’t
seen a performance like it for a
long time, the way they dismantled
the Derry team, and Derry twice
Ulster champions and League
champions,” he said.
“You have to really look at it in
that context, of who they beat, and
how they dismantled them. It was a
phenomenal performance and to get
near them we will have to seriously
up our performance. We know that.
“But that’s the challenge we
Tyrone’s Darragh Canavan celebrates during yesterday’s pulsating win over Cavan
PICTURE: MARK MARLOW
have, and we look forward to it in
a way. That’s what we’re about and
these young boys will look forward
to it too.”
The young boys he referred
to were the rising stars who have
stepped in this season, thrown in at
the deep end to step up to the top
level in the face of an injury crisis.
Yesterday, six of them made a
rst Championship start with a couple of others coming off the bench
for their rst taste of football at this
level.
“A lot of young boys came in
there and you know what, they
got us over the line at the end-up
ultimately and all credit to them,” he
added.
“It’s a learning experience, but it
will stand to them, hopefully. They
dug it out in the second half and in
extra-time and that was the important thing.
“They could have buckled, but
they stood up whenever it mattered.”
All the warnings were there,
written in bold type in accounts
of Cavan’s impressive preliminary
round win over Monaghan, but Tyrone appeared to be well on their
way to avoid becoming another Division One scalp when they carried a
six-point lead into the interval.
That advantage was stretched
out to eight by the end of the third
quarter, but the house came crashing in around the Red Hands as the
Breffni Blues threw everything they
had at them.
“We were in a good position at
half-time, and then we went into a
better position, then we had the
black card and didn’t really cope
with it well after that.
“Them couple of goals and the
momentum went to Cavan, a few
wrong options, a few wrong decisions and we really put ourselves
under pressure.
“You have to give Cavan credit too, they did well. Momentum is
massive.
“We got ourselves settled down
for extra-time, and we looked that
bit better in extra-time and just did
enough to get over the line.”
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