Tyrone 2-11 Down 3-8
An extraordinary second half at Healy Park, Omagh ended with Tyrone captain Seán Cavanagh holding his nerve to shoot two injury-time frees, which tied up this Ulster football preliminary round and sent it to replay.
The home side will be wondering how they managed to lose an apparently irretrievable initiative whereas Down will agonise over a 70th-minute close-range free, which the usually immaculate Donal O’Hare inexplicably missed.
At half-time you could have named your price on either ‘an extraordinary second half’ or the match ending in a draw. Describing this as a game of two halves cannot convey satisfactorily the contrast – a universe of two planets, maybe.
For the first 35 minutes the match bumbled and slid around the greasy pitch. Down looked the more affected as they lost possession, got turned over, had recurrent problems with their restarts and managed just one point from play, as Tyrone without being brilliant just got on with the task and led by five at half-time, 1-5 to 0-3.
Perhaps it's as well to pass swiftly over the first half. The one relevant incident was that in which Conor Maginn fouled Mark Donnelly after the latter had ghosted onto a line ball from Seán Cavanagh.
Scramble
Although he rode the challenge and scrambled the ball into the net, referee David Coldrick had played no advantage, which might have been a sore point had Peter Harte's penalty not been blisteringly converted.
The failure to black card Maginn would later become an issue but at the time of the goal, the 25th minute, it didn’t appear likely that the match had the capacity to generate any burning controversies.
Down manager James McCartan made three changes at the break, all of which would influence the outcome. Centrefield had been labouring, allowing for a few unconnected cameos from Kevin McKernan.
Benny Coulter came on to play in the middle in place of Peter Turley and the two Johnstons, Ryan and Jerome, came in for centre forward Ambrose Rogers and wing back Ryan Boyle.
In the 40th minute Jerome Johnston was taken down by Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan, who was shown a black card and replaced by Michael Cunningham. Aidan Carr put the penalty into the net and the margin was suddenly that of a contest as opposed to a good beating.
Kyle Coney – who had been well managed by Daniel McCartan in the first half – intervened for Tyrone to kick two good points and restore some order but Down were only beginning to get back into the match. There was more urgency in the middle, as Coulter moved forward with intent and with Ryan Johnston pushing up along the left flank, Down’s attack started to look cohesive and exert sustained pressure.
Throw in that Cunningham’s kick-outs weren’t sticking and by the end of the third quarter there was definitely a match in the balance.
Tyrone however responded well. Darren McCurry drilled a 40-metre free into the wind and over the bar and three minutes later, the best move of the match twice involving Aidan McCrory breaking from defence, Coney, returning former Footballer of the Year Stephen O’Neill – introduced to a great response – and McCurry, who finished with a missile into the net.
It was the 55th minute and Mickey Harte’s team looked to have crushed the uprising but within a couple of minutes the match convulsed. Conor Laverty, who had an immense second half, created a wisp of a chance for O’Hare, who squeezed the ball into the net from a narrow angle in a move that came straight from the restart.
In the 58th minute Down scored another goal. This time Laverty created for Maginn to rifle into the net and the margin had slimmed to one, 3-5 to 2-9.
By now Down were rampant. Tyrone’s defensive co-ordinates were gone and in the middle of three glorious unanswered points from Laverty, Mark Poland and Coulter to put Down two ahead Harte threw in All Star reinforcement in the shape of Conor Gormley and Justin McMahon.
Aggrieved
Tyrone rallied but felt aggrieved that Coney wasn't given advantage after being pulled back when shooting for a point only for his effort to trail wide.
Cavanagh’s first free reduced the margin and after a great block by Coulter ran for a line ball, the referee called a foul on Cavanagh closer to goal and back-carded Maginn for the infraction.
Although Down must wonder about what might have happened had they gone three ahead with O’Hare’s free, McCartan acknowledged that a draw would have appeared like a fantasy had they been offered it a half-time.
For Tyrone there will be annoyance that they so completely lost their shape and a couple of sizeable leads. Harte set them up more cautiously than at times during the league with Ciarán McGinley and Mark Donnelly - a late addition instead of Patrick McNiece - as grafting wing forwards.
As an attacking threat Tyrone faded. Coney was value for three points from play and McCurry took his goal splendidly but there was some local puzzlement that Ronan O’Neill - currently shooting the lights out in club football and nine points clear at the top of the scoring charts after just four league matches - didn’t see any action.
The player himself was rumoured to have been unhappy when leaving the field although Harte played this down afterwards. Matthew Donnelly was one of the most explosive forwards during the county’s Division One campaign but management obviously feel they need his ball winning prowess in defence.
Either way there'll be plenty for both sides to consider in the week ahead. Under Harte's management Tyrone have now drawn three times with Down. The replay tally is one apiece but Harte can equally contend that in both 2003 and '08, the county went on to lift the All-Ireland the following September.
TYRONE: 1 Nl Morgan (0-1, free); 2 A McCrory, 3 D McBride, 4 B Tierney; 5 T McCann, 6 M Donnelly, 7 P Harte (1-0, penalty); 8 C Cavanagh, 9 C Clarke; 18 M Donnelly, 11 S Cavanagh (0-5, 0-3 frees), 12 C McGinley; 13 D McCurry (1-2, 0-2 frees), 14 N McKenna, 15 K Coney (0-3). Subs: 10 R McKenna for McCann (28 mins), 16 M O'Neill for Morgan (black card; 41 mins), 31 S O'Neill for N McKenna (53 mins), 28 J McMahon for McBride (60 mins), 19 C Gormley for Tierney (60 mins), 32 M Penrose for McGinley (66 mins).
DOWN: 1 B McVeigh; 3 B McArdle, 7 Conor Garvey (0-1), 2 D McCartan; 6 A Carr (1-0, penalty), 5 D Rooney, 4 R Boyle; 8 P Turley, 12 K McKernan; 10 C McGinn (1-0), 9 A Rogers (0-1), 11 M Poland (0-1); 13 D O'Hare (1-2, 0-2 frees), 14 N Madine (0-1), 21 C Laverty (0-1). Subs: 19 R Johnston for Boyle, 15 B Coulter (0-1) for Turley, 20 J Johnston for Rogers (all half-time), 22 L Doyle for J Johnston (50 mins), 18 D Turley for Garvey (58 mins), 24P Devlin for Maginn (black card; 70 mins).
Referee: David Coldrick (Meath).
