IT’S JUST LIKE 2008 ALL OVER AGAIN ...
Except this time Sean’s glad not to have a pain in his neck
THERE is a buzz generating in Tyrone with supporters giddy of the thought that it’s starting to feel a little like 2008 all over again. The Red Hands are gearing up for their fourth competitive game in five weekends ahead of Saturday’s televised final-round SFC qualifier encounter with Meath.
It took a hard-fought Round 3 victory over Kildare to secure the Royal County date at Croke Park. But there were shades of the old Tyrone in that performance.
On two occasions in the second half against the Lilywhites, Tyrone were stuck on level terms and after wasting a penalty opportunity, they were beginning to wonder if defeat was unavoidable.
However, Mickey Harte’s team converted four late points in a row to seal a narrow win that reminded midfielder and talisman Sean Cavanagh of a win over Westmeath back in 2008.
That season would eventually climax i n September with an All-Ireland final triumph h over Kerry, so fans are hoping that hat the parallels have some me substance to them.
‘It did feel a wee bit like e 2008 towards the middle of f the second against t Kildare,’ said Cavanagh.
‘ Mi n d you, against st Westmeath in 2008, I was lying in Omagh in hospital al by full-time after wrecking my neck. k But it certainly had that feeling to it, in that 10 minutes or so of the second half because we knew that we could be out of the Championship and that’s what impressed me most, the way we responded.
‘Throughout the noughties, we had the Brian Doohers, the Philip Jordans, the Ryan McMenamins, the big characters t hat stood up whenever games were in the melting pot.
‘ Now it’s guys like Mattie Donnelly, Mark Donnelly, younger guys who probably haven’t experienced winning All-Irelands, Aidan Cassidy too.
‘For these guys to experience that sort of melting-pot atmosphere and come through it, that’s probably what pleased us most,’ added Cavanagh.
It remains to be seen if things pan out as well for Tyrone in the coming weeks and months as 2008.
What is certain is that if they defeat Meath on the weekend, then they will have delivered on Harte’s guarantee ahead of Round 1 that they would safely navigate the entire back-door series.
‘We’re probably there or thereabouts in that second tier outside of the likes of the Dublins, the Mayos and Donegals,’ said Cavanagh.
‘But we also knew to make it through the qualifiers we’d have to come through hard games like the Kildare match. That will stand to us and give us the momentum we need to drive on to the next rung of the ladder. Whenever that tie was drawn, we knew it was a big banana skin and that, if we could get a win, it would be a big one for us.’
All the indications are that they will be given a more robust examination by Meath. The Royal County lost the Leinster final to Dublin by seven points though something around half of t that margin would have better bette reflected the quality of their the overall play. ‘They’re ‘ very direct. They’ve got g some fantastic forwards that t just go straight to goal every time and some massive ball winners around midfield. They probably play p quite similar to Dublin,’ said sai Cavanagh. By his own admission, Tyrone play l a more ‘claustrophobic’ game, but Cavanagh thinks that it suits them. They have dropped Joe McMahon back as a sweeper in front of their full-back line, while Martin Penrose also (left) operates in a defensive role.
It is a system that leaves more space in attack for players like Stephen O’Neill, the Donnellys and Darren McCurry to exploit. And Cavanagh believes Croke Park will suit that game-plan on Saturday.
‘The pitch in Newbridge was a wee bit tight and you don’t really get much chance to go one against one with your man,’ said the three-time All-Ireland medallist.
‘We’d regard some of our forwards as being very skillful and I think if they can get space they can do damage. But you have to respect Meath. They could easily catch us.’