TYRONE HAVE HARTE AND SOUL TO STAY IN HUNT
TYRONE made a statement of their own by retaining their Ulster title yesterday. Ranking the genuine Sam Maguire contenders, I’d have Dublin at No.1, Kerry two, but Tyrone a close third. They were really clinical in dismissing a Down team that ran into a superior force. Down exposed everything in their cupboard when defeating Armagh and Monaghan — and there’s no better man than Mickey Harte to prepare for a challenge like that. Tyrone nullified Down’s strengths but the Mourne men suffered with Kevin McKernan’s black card. Caolán Mooney scored a couple of points but wasn’t as influential as previous games and, while Connaire Harrison was the conduit for success against Monaghan, there wasn’t enough support for him yesterday. Darragh O’Hanlon’s missed goal chance finished the game as a contest and Tyrone, like Dublin, have genuine strength in depth. Ronan O’Neill scored two fine goals and Tyrone were running their bench well before the finish. On this evidence, you’d have to say that Tyrone have improved since last year, when they were desperately disappointed to come a cropper against Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final. They have the bit between their teeth and they won’t be fazed by what’s in front of them. That’s the hallmark of Harte teams, who had to fend off Ulster rivals Armagh in 2002 to win their first All-Ireland, before slaying Kerry in 2005 and 2008. They’ll relish some of the titanic clashes that lie in store and with themselves, Dublin, Kerry and Mayo all still in the mix, we’re in for an incredible climax to the 2017 championship. Tyrone are very much in the hunt but — to finish where I started — it’s Dublin’s All-Ireland to lose.