Tyrone travelled to Castlebar on Sunday hoping to put last weekend’s disappointing showing against Monaghan behind them. Mickey Harte’s side were facing a determined Mayo outfit who had started their league campaign with an away win over Kerry.
Last weekend we looked disjointed and feeble at times as we struggled to cope with Monaghan’s style of play. This time around we played with greater organisation and commitment. Tyrone had a game plan and every player followed it to the letter of the law. Right from the off the Red Hands were quicker to the ball, stronger in the tackle and much more effective in possession.
With Mc Curry, Hughes, Mc Cann, Mc Nabb and Mc Nulty breaking at every opportunity Tyrone reached the break 0-8 to 0-4 in front. Two fine free kicks from goalkeeper Niall Morgan were among the scoring highlights of an impressive first half.
Mayo began the second half strongly but Tyrone, with Justin Mc Mahon and Aidan Mc Crory imperious refused to panic. A Killian O’Connor goal midway through the second half gave the home side hope but Tyrone maintained their rhythm and style as they built patiently from deep lying positions. Sub PJ Lavery produced a fabulous run and pass to set up Peter Harte for Tyrone’s goal, a score which knocked much of the spirit from Mayo.
Although the home team continued to attack with purpose in the closing stages they struggled to cope with the tenacity and covering play of their opponents and Tyrone picked up their first points of the 2015 season with a convincing 1-11 to 1-7 win.
Mayo – D Clarke, M Hall, K Keane, K Higgins, L Keegan, S Coen, C Boyle, A O’Shea, D Vaughan, D O’Connor, K McLoughlin (0-1), J Doherty (0-2), M Conroy (0-1), A Freeman, M Ronaldson (0-1). Subs – Barry Moran for O’Shea [black card], C O’Connor (1-2) for Ronaldson, P Durcan for Boyle, M Sweeney for Freeman, A Dillon for D O’Connor, G Cafferkey for Keegan
Tyrone – N Morgan (0-2), A McCrory, R McNamee, C McCarron, R McNabb, J McMahon, P Harte (1-0), C Cavanagh, P McNulty, T McCann (0-1), M Donnelly (0-2), P Hughes, D McCurry (0-4), S Cavanagh (0-1), C McShane (0-1). Subs – C McCann for McNulty, PJ Lavery for McShane, N McKenna for McCurry, B Tierney for McNamee
The post Tyrone Dig Deep To Defeat Mayo appeared first on Tyrone GAA News.