No need to panic

At the end of my column last week I made the comment that a wounded Tyrone team would travel west for their league game with Mayo anxious to atone for the miserable display witnessed in their match against Monaghan, and so it transpired, writes Martin Carney.

The scale of the criticism they shipped as a consequence of their opening day league defeat hurt all involved with the team. Style, artistic impression and any acquaintance with the niceties of the game were parked by the Red Hands for the duration of the 70 minutes on Sunday.

As the morning fog lifted and visibility improved sufficiently to allow the game proceed, an impressive attendance of 9,000 hardy souls was treated to a contest that was never easy on the eye or pleasant to digest.

The bare facts of the game are quite revealing. Of the goal and seven points scored by Mayo, only two came from play from members of the starting forward line. Mickey Conroy and Mark Ronaldson fired over their scores in quick succession midway through the first half at a time when Mayo were enjoying a period of sustained pressure.

Unfortunately, a succession of four wides followed over the next 12 minutes and this, allied to some poor decision making and needless fouling, saw the home side facing a four-point interval deficit. Indeed, the old failing of wayward shooting came back to haunt the team and an accumulative tally of 15 wides tells its own story. Too often shots were taken from very difficult areas of the pitch and rushed on other occasions when patience on the ball was required.

Tyrone’s game plan set the day’s agenda. They were content to draw everyone on the team behind their own 45-metre line and engage in a game of attrition.
There were times in the opening half when their only player in the Mayo half of the pitch was their centre-back Mattie Donnelly!

The onus was placed on Mayo to find a way through this extreme case of blanket defence but despite all their experience, their inability to consistently open up the Tyrone rearguard proved a stumbling block throughout.

Perhaps if Mickey Conroy didn’t have a goal-bound shot brilliantly cleared off the line by a Tyrone defender early in the game things might have evolved differently. As it was, Tyrone were happy to sit back and absorb all that Mayo threw at them. They were content to force errors and turnovers and counterattack at pace. They succeeded in earning frees, many of them of a dubious nature, that added to Mayo’s frustration.

Not all of these were down to Mayo indiscipline. I would strongly disagree with many of Eddie Kinsella’s calls on the day but equally the Mayo tendency to question his decisions resulted in frees being brought forward into more advantageous positions. At least three of Tyrone’s pointed frees were as a consequence of this.

Cillian O’Connor’s return to action was one of the big positives from the weekend. His goal which took us within two points of Tyrone with 20 minutes remaining would normally have been the springboard for a comeback of sorts if the team had been playing to the standards that it had set itself in the recent past.

A couple of bad wides followed before Peter Harte administered the coup de grace with a well worked goal for the visitors. From there to the end Tyrone were able to tighten their defensive grip on the game and ran out deserved winners.

I could fully understand the frustration of Pat Holmes when he spoke at his post-match interview. Trying to break down a massed defensive system is hard at the best of times but when a team is only two weeks into its season and short of maximum fitness, the issue is compounded.

I think it requires savage levels of off the ball movement by a forward line allied to an economical use of possession if one is to penetrate this system effectively. A failure to convert goal-scoring chances when they emerge compounds the difficulties. Remaining patient and maximising point scoring opportunities remain high priorities. Our inaccuracy and, at times, poor shot selection didn’t help the cause. As I have mentioned already, Mayo shot a total of 15 wides. This scale of inaccuracy destroys any chance of victory.

The team now has a three-week break before their next outing with Monaghan and we can expect a big emphasis placed on improving fitness levels and the overall sharpness of the team. Some of the more experienced lads, in particular, will benefit from the extra work on the training ground.

Over the last few seasons the middle third of the team has been the springboard for much of the success enjoyed. Hopefully this sector and the team in general will grow in form, fitness and understanding during this preparation period.

Two points after two games is a reasonable start to the season. Sunday’s display was poor but the break provides an opportunity to address any problems that have emerged. The talent is there to take the team to greater heights as the season evolves. The management deserves time to put its stamp on the squad. Sunday was a day to forget but there is no need for panic.