February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
No county since Cork in 1990 has managed two Sam Maguire Cups in a row, and while Tyrone had showed evidence of their well-being in the previous round, an earlier defeat in Ulster and this setback only further underlined the difficulty of stringing a series of high-quality performances together.
While Mickey Harte’s charges hit the woodwork three times in the second half, and if a hamstring injury to Brian McGuigan deprived the team of its playmaker for much of the game, it was Mayo’s day. So often frustrated in Croke Park in recent years, theirs was a truly convincing display of tactical intelligence.
With Kieran McDonald playing a pivotal creative role around midfield and with Alan Dillon scoring six points from six shooting attempts, Mayo did what other opponents had failed to do against Tryone’s blanket defense. When they had possession, for the most part they kept it with confident, controlled passing.
Meanwhile, Ronan McGarrity managed to limit Sean Cavanagh’s influence with a critical marking job, and Brian Dooher was permitted to play only a bit part due to the presence of Peadar Gardiner.
“You can’t always say that Tyrone are off form,” Harte said. “When someone beats you, they beat you because they played well.”
As Mayo celebrated a wholly deserved win, Harte put his team’s demise into perspective by stressing the irrelevance of football when compared with Cormac McAnallen’s sudden and tragic death earlier this year.
“Losing this game, as bad a sporting blow as it is, when put in the context of what happened last March, it pales into insignificance,” Harte said. “Cormac is the most important thing in our lives this year and will be for a long time to come. I hope that some time in the future we can go and win an All-Ireland and honor his name in that way.”
On the field, there was an early sign of Tyrone’s problems when Peter Canavan was introduced as a substitute after just 23 minutes. By then, McDonald’s consummate distribution, Dillon’s accuracy and some direct running by Trevor Mortimer had the champions in serious difficulty and Mayo could have been further in front than 0-9 to 0-7 at the break.
Even though Mayo still had the upper hand, Tyrone drew level 10 minutes into the second half when the excellent Stephen O’Neill struck for a goal. Previously, Tyrone would have been expected to build on something like that, but this time it was the last time they raised a flag.
Instead, the Mayo rearguard held firm and Dillon with two, Trevor Mortimer and the forceful David Brady added scores at regular intervals to seal a famous Mayo triumph.
“That’s a game we deserved to win,” manager John Maughan said, “and the last thing I wanted to see was Tyrone snatch it at the end. Like everybody else, I dream occasionally and the idea of Mayo winning an All-Ireland flashes through my mind, but then I think of the next game and I don’t allow myself to look beyond that.”
FERMANAGH 0-12
ARMAGH 0-11
Tom Brewster will be remembered for the most famous point — to date anyway — in Fermanagh football history, but last Saturday’s sensational quarterfinal victory over solid favorites Armagh was a collective effort that simply defied logic. No-hopers just a matter of weeks ago, Fermanagh seized their day in style to book a place in the All-Ireland semifinal for the first time.
Remember that this is one of only two counties never to have won a provincial title, and which was riven by in-fighting last season to such an extent that over half this year’s team was new to championship football. Fresh after their demolition of Donegal in the Ulster final, Armagh were ready to pounce.
But on the back of victories in the qualifiers against Meath, Cork and Donegal, there was a growing self-belief in the ranks of unfashionable Fermanagh and that newfound confidence was to find its ultimate expression last weekend. At the end, it might have been a desperate scramble, but Brewster’s score in the fourth minute of injury time will never be forgotten.
As the contest entered those dramatic closing stages, the expectation was that Armagh’s experience and resolve would see them over the line. However, it wasn’t to be and in truth, they were a pale shadow of the team that had promised so much earlier in the summer.
Enda McNulty was sent off toward the end of the first half following a reckless challenge on Martin McGrath, and Oisin McConville struggled with a back injury. While Kieran McGeeney was his usual inspirational self, and if Steven McDonnell had a prominent first half, there was little on offer from Diarmaid Marsden and Paul McGrane.
By contrast, the likes of Niall Bogue, Mark Little, Eamonn Maguire and Peter Sherry were supercharged for Fermanagh. Such was the movement and interplay that at times they were reminiscent of the young Kerry side of the early 1970s. Yet, they were four points down before they’d hardly got their hands on the ball, but they battled back and with Stephen Maguire on target they led by 0-8 to 0-6 at half time.
It seemed just a matter of time before Armagh would take the game by the scruff of the neck, but instead it was Fermanagh who performed with more resolve despite a succession of nervy wides. Armagh twice led by a point, and each time the underdogs snapped back before it fell to Brewster to land the crucial score.
“We’ve had our fair share of luck this year, but we have a great spirit in the squad, it’s more like a club team than a county team,” said a modest winning manager Charlie Mulgrew. “It’s a credit to the new players. . . . At times, we played Armagh off the park.” Mayo are next, and now anything seems possible