Re: McKenna Cup 2012 Thread

**Boxtyeater** Tue Jan 17, 2012 11:40 pm

Penrose now in the once pivotal c/h/f slot. McKenna Cup 2012 Thread - Page 2 Smiley40

Probably being groomed as a long term replacement for Brian McGuigan.......

**bocerty** Wed Jan 18, 2012 8:28 pm

Half time at Healy Park and its Tyrone in front on a score of 10 points to Fermanaghs 1 point. With both teams destined to meet again in the competition Canavan has made 5 changes to the named starting line up including dropping big Quigley to the bench.

most of Tyrones 10 points have come from play including 3 from Stephen O'Neill on his right foot and 1 on his left.

Interestingly there are almost 7000 people at the game in Omagh

**bocerty** Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:31 pm

Full time finished Tyrone 0-13 Fermanagh 1.07. A game of two halves by all accounts but with both teams due to meet in the semi final this weekend maybe there was an element of cuteness on both managers behalf.

Stevie O’Neill scored five points in total, Colm Cavanagh and Mickey Murphy scored two each and the rest of the Tyrone scores came from Peter Hughes, Mattie Donnelly, Tommy McGuigan and Peter Harte.

Of all fecking places the semi final is to be played in Armagh. The other semi final sees Derry play Down.

**Thomas Clarke** Wed Jan 18, 2012 10:39 pm

bocerty wrote:
Interestingly there are almost 7000 people at the game in Omagh

They say that self praise is no praise but, never-the-less, I'm going to give it anyway. Well done the Tyrone fans, the most dedicated in ireland. 7,000 out in the middle of winter to watch a McKenna Cup game against Fermanagh. Great stuff!

**bocerty** Wed Jan 18, 2012 11:18 pm

Thomas Clarke wrote:
bocerty wrote:
Interestingly there are almost 7000 people at the game in Omagh

They say that self praise is no praise but, never-the-less, I'm going to give it anyway. Well done the Tyrone fans, the most dedicated in ireland. 7,000 out in the middle of winter to watch a McKenna Cup game against Fermanagh. Great stuff!

indeed TC there was a time even the Mckennas themselves didnt go to McKenna cup games

**bald eagle** Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:13 am

Thomas Clarke wrote:
bocerty wrote:
Interestingly there are almost 7000 people at the game in Omagh

They say that self praise is no praise but, never-the-less, I'm going to give it anyway. Well done the Tyrone fans, the most dedicated in ireland. 7,000 out in the middle of winter to watch a McKenna Cup game against Fermanagh. Great stuff!

Would that crowd tuned up if Caravan wasn't managing Fermanagh?

**Thomas Clarke** Thu Jan 19, 2012 9:41 am

bald eagle wrote: Would that crowd tuned up if Caravan wasn't managing Fermanagh?

Fair point, and the Canavan factor would have added to the numbers, but there is a bit of excitement in Tyrone just now, as we are finally getting to see some of the younger faces that have been winning all-ireland minor titles in recent years.

7,000 is a still hell of an attendance for a Wednesday night in January, and would be a good early championship or qualifier series turn-out for most counties.

**bald eagle** Thu Jan 19, 2012 12:29 pm

Nearly 7000 fans at a preseason game is a hell of a turn out in fairness, i was impressed with the total McKenna Cup attendances last night that totalled just short of 12,000 on a weeknight! Great to see the fans getting out and supporting their counties at this time of the year!

**Real Kerry Fan** Thu Jan 19, 2012 1:37 pm

Fair play to all you supporters in Ulster. Great turnout all round. I expect very good attendance for O'Byrne Cup (Kildare v Dublin) also. Great to see the interest so early in the year. Myself heading tp Portlaoise on Sundday for Junior and Intermediate semi's. The season has started early Very Happy

**bald eagle** Thu Jan 19, 2012 5:56 pm

Some analysis on Derrys game for you to have a nosey at -

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**Grenvile** Thu Jan 19, 2012 6:07 pm

Good win for Cavan last night coming from behind 3 times to win. Defence porous as per usual conceding 3 bad goals. Martin Dunne from Cavan Gaels kicked 5 second half points on his debut. 4 Gaels lads on the pitch at the final whistle which is good to see. Hopefully this bad feeling between the County and The Gaels will melt away in the coming years.

Wexford away is the first League game. Very hard to see us getting a win down there but it's a big game in Cavan's year. Lose and the pressure is automatically on, win and they will believe they can tighten the Division. Bookies have us as favourites for Div 4 football next year. Crying or Very sad

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Sun Jan 22, 2012 10:27 pm

I've backed Cavan at 250/1 for Sam and am quietly confident of seeing a 5,000 euro return in September.

**bald eagle** Mon Jan 23, 2012 11:39 am

Derry and Tyrone in the final, with 8806 attending the semi-finals hopefully there will be a big crowd at this one! I think there would have been more at the games on the weekend had they been in Casement but still it's a great turnout for January!

Hard to pick a winner really, Derry have been playing better the longer the tournament has been going on and Tyrone are always dangerous! Would love to be able to get to this one!

**Thomas Clarke** Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:59 am

Tyrone side for the the McKenna Cup final announced as below:

1. John Devine
2. Aidan McCrory
3. Justin McMahon
4. PJ Quinn
5. Cathal McCarron
6. Peter Harte
7. Dermot Carlin
8. Michael Murphy
9. Colm Cavanagh
10. Matthew Donnelly
11. Peter Hughes
12. Martin Penrose
13. Owen Mulligan
14. Mark Donnelly
15. Stephen O'Neill.

Subs - Pascal McConnell, Aidan Cassidy, Conor Clarke, Kyle Coney, Jonathan Lafferty, Damian McCaul, Niall McKenna, Joe McMahon, Stephen McNulty, Ronan O'Neill, Sean O'Neill. ______________________________________________________________________

Arguably, although unsurprisingly given the opposition, this is the strongest of the 5 sides that Tyrone have picked so far this year (5 games before the league starts - thank God for the McKenna cup!).

In defence, Aidan McCrory's early promise sees him get a chance to stake a claim for a corner back position, while Justin McMahon presumably has returned to fitness. PJ Quinn, a regular throughout the championship in 2009, is showing signs of regaining a bit of that form.

At half back, Mickey has gone for power, pace and a bit of experience in Carlin and McCarron, and seems to be favouring Peter Harte at CHB instead of half forward. This is Harte's fifth start, and he is already a key player for Tyrone.

Colm Cavanagh also makes a fifth start at midfield, and has played well in all the games so far. Mickey Murphy, who has been on the panel for years without making a breakthrough, may have pushed ahead of Aidan Cassidy and Niall McKenna in the battle to partner Cavanagh, mainly on the back of a few scores from play in the last fortnight.

Two newcomers get a chance to stake a claim in the half forward line. Peter Hughes of Clonoe has looked very good in his 2 games thus far, and has contibuted a few scores from CHF. Mattie Donnelly has played well without scoring, but he is very strong and does a lot of physical work - a good performance tomorrow should see him make the league/championship squad. The half-time introduction of Martin 'best tackler in Ireland Penrose' was the catalyst for the 2nd half turnaround in the semi-final and received a lot of praise from Harte. Penrose's form dipped in 2011 as he struggled with a virus, so his recent form is a big plus.

The full forward line has a more familiar look to it. Stevie O'Neill's early season form has been very encouraging, while Eoin Mulligan's strength is important in games like this. Mickey has thrown the gauntlet down to Mugsy, who needs to be sharp and productive early this year, or yet another season could pass him by. Mark Donnelly got man-of-the-match against Fermanagh (semi), and his pace is a nice compliment to the other two.

A win, and the vast majority of this side will start the league campaign against Kildare next week.

**bocerty** Fri Jan 27, 2012 10:35 pm

TC whats the thinking behind Mickeys decision to play Peter Harte at CHB, he doesnt really have the physique for that role and i cant really see Mickey playing him as a defender. Perhaps its just a way of improving his tackling or something but it seems strange to me, i'd think a half forward position will be Peters likely position this year.

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Sat Jan 28, 2012 7:50 pm

Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:08 pm

Looks like nothing's changed in 2012 in terms of refereeing. That was a disgraceful performance. It frustrates me so much to see the referees having such an influence on games, and the people in charge of them sitting back doing nothing.

**OMAR** Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:09 pm

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

Even Peter Robinson spotted that one

**bocerty** Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:52 pm

[quote="Loyal2TheRoyal"]Looks like nothing's changed in 2012 in terms of refereeing. That was a disgraceful performance. It frustrates me so much to see the referees having such an influence on games, and the people in charge of them sitting back doing nothing. [/quote

Loyal the annoying thing is the people in charge of the refs would probably say he had a great game - they are under so much pressure with these assessors it makes an already difficult job even harder.

That said it seems some of them interpret the rules to suit themselves, some of his decisions were shocking to say the least.

**bocerty** Sat Jan 28, 2012 9:56 pm

OMAR wrote:
Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

Even Peter Robinson spotted that one

great to see it if you ask me - times are changing and a development like this can only be good for everyone interested in peace in the North. Interesting that it was kept very quiet but i suppose thats better than giving some morons the opportunity to rise a scene before the game.

Fair play to you Peter i say.

**bocerty** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:03 pm

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

was he booked twice Loyal - when i seen him getting booked along with Conway i did think to myself hes gone but then when he played on i thought i had got it wrong and never paid much attention to it after that - plus my Irish isnt great so i couldnt make out what the commentators were saying

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:10 pm

bocerty wrote:
Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

was he booked twice Loyal - when i seen him getting booked along with Conway i did think to myself hes gone but then when he played on i thought i had got it wrong and never paid much attention to it after that - plus my Irish isnt great so i couldnt make out what the commentators were saying

I don't know for sure - was he was booked for shouldering the Derry player in the back? As far as I could make out, the TG4 commentators never mentioned it, ach nil me cinnte.

That aside, Conway looked very upset at HT at being sent-off and the cameras never picked up anything. There were a lot of yellow cards, and there was inconsistency with some of the frees. Opposite outcomes to similiar fouls. Not to mention Mulligan's Suarez moment and the consolation penalty at the end. A lot of mistakes.

Still the way the game unfolded, Tyrone were the better team on the night. But I would say the positives and negatives were in equal portions for both sides.

**Loyal2TheRoyal** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:18 pm

Small consolation for Derry with the news that Fleadh Ceoil na hEireann is on it's way to the city in 2013.

**bocerty** Sat Jan 28, 2012 10:20 pm

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:
bocerty wrote:
Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Colm Cavanagh two yellows and still playing??

was he booked twice Loyal - when i seen him getting booked along with Conway i did think to myself hes gone but then when he played on i thought i had got it wrong and never paid much attention to it after that - plus my Irish isnt great so i couldnt make out what the commentators were saying

I don't know for sure - was he was booked for shouldering the Derry player in the back? As far as I could make out, the TG4 commentators never mentioned it, ach nil me cinnte.

That aside, Conway looked very upset at HT at being sent-off and the cameras never picked up anything. There were a lot of yellow cards, and there was inconsistency with some of the frees. Opposite outcomes to similiar fouls. Not to mention Mulligan's Suarez moment and the consolation penalty at the end. A lot of mistakes.

Still the way the game unfolded, Tyrone were the better team on the night. But I would say the positives and negatives were in equal portions for both sides.

i dont know about that Loyal Tyrone can take a fair few positives from the game - we had scoring threats from all over the field with the entire half back line scoring, and some decent performances from Murphy, Mark & Mattie Donnelly McCarron, Pj Quinn and Mugsy looked a lot more interested and effective than he has been for a while. Penrose and O'Neill were subdued a little but we still manged to win.

That said we were in trouble up until the sending off so god knows how the game would have panned out had Derry not been reduced to 14.

Derry on the other hand appear the same old Derry relying on Paddy Bradley for scores

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