USFC SF - Tyrone v Donegal - St Tiernach's Park Clones - 26/06/2011

Lads, forget the wides and the lack of a free-taker. Our biggest problem at the minute is on the sideline.

Davy Harte, Mark Donnelly and Brian Dooher are not currently inter-county standard, yet all 3 played virtually the full 70 minutes. To leave one on beyond 50 minutes should be seen as an error of judgement on Mickey's part, but to leave all 3 was ridiculous.

Mugsy is right about Donnelly. He runs and runs and does nothing. He makes doesn't shoot and doesn't create - he just runs. Dooher and Davy can't even do that anymore, yet they seem immune from being substituted. It may be loyalty, it may be sentimentality, it is probably bloody stubbornness, but Mickey just refuses to drop either of them, despite neither of them having been up to the pace since 2008.

Some of our other 'old guard' are still playing very well. Ricey was excellent today, while Conor Gormley is still as good a defender as there is around. Jordan the same. Brian McGuigan can be extremely effective in the right role (playing off a 2-man full forward line), but not trying to be the all-action playmaker he once was. Mugsy is a bit-part player, while O'Neill needs support. Sean Cavanagh and Hub are both still fine.

Of the younger players, Swift was superb, and I felt very sorry for him giving the goal away at the end. Peter Harte is having to carry a very unfair burden, and the likes of Penrose, O'Neill and Cavanagh are doing him a disservice by not helping out with the frees.

So, what to do? Well, looking at the subs, there is very little to come in that will make a difference. Enda McGinley? Colm Cavanagh? Cassidy? All like for like. Coney has to be tried, and Sean O'Neill needs to get a proper chance at half back. As all Tyrone fans on here have said this year, we don't expect an all-ireland, but we do need to see a new side start to emerge. That has to be the top priority for the qualifiers.

the coverage on BBC showed the reaction in the studio after Donegals second goal, one would expect to see McHugh buck leaping round the place but to see Jarlath cuntyballs Burns show his real colours with his celebrations was a bit disappointing to say the least.

Talking about cnuts check this out for a bigot [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

bocerty wrote:the coverage on BBC showed the reaction in the studio after Donegals second goal, one would expect to see McHugh buck leaping round the place but to see Jarlath cuntyballs Burns show his real colours with his celebrations was a bit disappointing to say the least.

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How dare he.

As for Ian McCrea....His twitter might get spammed in the near future

Londonderry / Derry will win it. Of that there is no doubt.

Bar TC we still have a lot of blind faith from Tyrone posters.

Murphy, don't know what he had on his feet but couldn't stay upright. Joe didn't really have to do anything, the one time Murphy stayed on his feet he scored a sublime point at the start of the 2nd half.

I wondered why Mugsy, O'Neill, Cavanagh or someone did not help out with the frees because \Harte hit his first with little conviction today.

Donegal play like the old style Italian soccer teams, don't go near you until you are 30 yards out, loads of room for you around the half way line, Dooher's point being an example. But Tyrone hit loads of wides from that range, just as they did against Dublin last year.

I believe the like of Coney and such should have been introduced over the last few years. Cavanagh, Jordan and co are still good, but some of the others are struggling.

I think Tyrone will beat many teams, there is not a lot out there, but any mobile team who can score should beat them.

At the end of the day Tyrone were leading 6 to 1.

They were then outscored 2-5 to 0-3. Doesn't look good.

Delighted with the win and really looking forward to the Ulster final against Derry. It'll be good for the province that someone other than Armagh and Tyrone will take the Anglo Celt this year.

Tyrone should have been out the gate by half time. We were extremely poor in the first 25/30 min while Tyrone were playing great stuff. There was no movement in the forward line which, coupled with terrible quality passes going in meant that we got little return from our much talked about FF line. It seems to be all long ball or no long ball with us. We need to find the balance and to be able to mix it up between the 2.

We really upped the intensity in the second half. McGee, Lacey, McGlynn and Thompson were immense. McHugh got on some amount of ball and Hegarty added some calmness and control. Tyrone didn't seem to have the legs and got out-Tyroned in terms of intensity.

McLoone should have seen red for his clothesline/punch on McMahon - hopefully it's not a serious concussion. I think Hughes' sending off was justified - 2 fairly obvious yellows.

Still a good chance of Tyrone doing well this year (prob better than us) but like everyone else I think they need to change thiings up a bit and consider using some of their older players in different ways.

Anyway onwards and upwards. Up Donegal!!!

Didn’t see any of this game but interesting to read the comments. Seems like many chickens came home to roost. Things really seem to be going backwards in Tyrone – possibly through blind loyalty. I have said before that Tyrone have disappointed since 2008 and this season may be similar. Even the will to overcome adversity – and there has been plenty – does not seem there. Maybe you can only go to the well so often.

We all know the GAA is a huge ask of players at this level in terms of commitment. There may be a real danger that Tyrone’s fine and successful underage teams will look at the lack of opportunity to step up and think – sod it. It’s a real danger.

I think too that Tyrone’s style under MH has changed little in the last few years but the players who carried it out to such effect are all that bit older. And the game is evolving all the time. Tyrone’s underage teams were always more positive than the seniors. MH could have evolved the style by introducing these lads gradually. Seems to me he has stuck to his method – tried and tested, true – but not\effective any longer.

The air of invincibility is gone too and Longford will not fear the Red Hands. Could be an interesting game.

Missed this myself - The Irish summer got the better of me - managed to track down a pub showing the Leinster Final but when I asked about thirteen behind the ball the barman put on a DVD of Elery Hanley and MArtin Offiahs greatest hits- Got a text by text update certainly nailbitng stuff but winning bad games is a good habit. (ask any Man Utd fan) - Great for Ulster to see a passing of the baton - whoever wins - Some mixed memories of Derry Donegal in Clones - 92 and the turnaround when donegal went down to 14 men barry or John Cunningham I think but its hazy - MArtin Mchughs point from the 45 over his shoulder one of the best scores Ive ever seen - 93 and the game that shouldn´t have been played - might have been the game that resigned Donegal to one hit wonders rather that one of the teams of that decade - Tohill scoring a point from bear the 65 - John duffy the great white hope.
not being able to stand in the mud on the hill - and the again in 98 or 99 cant remember which - _Geffory comes on and brolly blowing kisses.

i looked at the team named on saturday before the match down one side tyrone had davy harte and brian dooher along with marty swift. i thought a the time we could have a hard enough time with a player who is done, out of sorts and untested all down the one side of the defence. had joe mac not went off i think tyrone might have scrapped home, also the fact that the free taker was unproven at this level and quite frankly having a stinker of a day ( ironically hauled off the last day when he couldnt miss!) all culminated in our demise, Any team would be out on their feet in that weather on sunday - sure donegals young bucks were out of steam at the last too.

a few nips and tucks to the team with better squad management and a bit luck with the draw and we could still get a right run this year.

bocerty wrote:the coverage on BBC showed the reaction in the studio after Donegals second goal, one would expect to see McHugh buck leaping round the place but to see Jarlath cuntyballs Burns show his real colours with his celebrations was a bit disappointing to say the least.

Talking about cnuts check this out for a bigot [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

i think this twitterer got twatted -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14007043

slabbering about the effect it had on his kids - maybe he should have thought of them before he wrote that sh1te last week.

bocerty wrote:

bocerty wrote:the coverage on BBC showed the reaction in the studio after Donegals second goal, one would expect to see McHugh buck leaping round the place but to see Jarlath cuntyballs Burns show his real colours with his celebrations was a bit disappointing to say the least.

Talking about cnuts check this out for a bigot [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

i think this twitterer got twatted -http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14007043

slabbering about the effect it had on his kids - maybe he should have thought of them before he wrote that sh1te last week.

You see herein lies all the problems in Northern Ireland. The protestant side makes comment designed to rile catholic community, no sense to what he said, but it was said anyway. Catholics respond by putting his car up in flames. Both sides are completely without any sense of rationale, and the attacks and the abuse just keeps going on and on. For what reason - nobody knows. To be honest, I think most of Northern Ireland is full of lunatics. It's ironic. The world would probably be a far more peaceful place without religion. What's even more ironic is that the ideas of life and the cosmos put forward by most religions are nonsense. Why these people fight with one another, I really don't know.