FORMER Tyrone footballer turned pundit Noel McGinn fears the county’s U21 teams as well as Down’s could miss out on reaching the Ulster final after two epic quarter-final draws.
The sides face into a third game next week after they couldn’t be separated after extra-time in the first replay Wednesday night in Omagh.
All in all, it will take at least 180 minutes of football to decide the affair, with the second replay now set to take place in Armagh, and McGinn is concerned the pugilism may affect their provincial chances.
“It could affect them, there’s no doubt about that,” said the ex-Red Hand centre-back. “These are two of the most physical U21 teams I have seen in a long time.
“Tyrone were on the ropes, came off them then went back on them. The players on both teams were out on their feet by the end of it, like two old sluggers and ultimately it came down to each avoiding mistakes that would cost them the game.
“Each side were using, for want of a better expression, cynical tactics, playing right on the edge. But it could take so much out of them.
“On the other hand, Monaghan are awaiting the winners in the semi-final but it’s difficult not knowing your opponents.
“As we saw with Tyrone’s seniors in 2005, nothing compares you for football like more football. But this is a different level.”
McGinn wasn’t surprised things would be tight. Several on each side were familiar with one another at minor level.
“A lot of these guys were on the minor teams of 2008 when Tyrone came back to win late in the game. They are so closely matched it’s difficult to call who will win the next day.
“The likes of Kyle Coney and Peter Harte have been great for Tyrone but Down have some super footballers like Conor Poland and Anton McArdle. The midfielder McArdle mightn’t be the most skilful player but he has such a great attitude.
“I would give anything for him to be a team of mine. There was a time near the end of the last game when he ran 50 yards back to track Peter Harte and Harte is no slouch.
“This tie has had it all. The Tyrone goalkeeper out injured then the sub keeper getting hurt then the injured full-forward being put in goal. Unbelievable stuff.
“My son was talking about the Champions League the other day but soccer has nothing on what these young boys have given over the last couple of weeks.”
McGinn believes the games has caught the imagination of people in both counties.
“The games have had people talking and they’ve created a buzz. You could feel the tension towards the end when there was four minutes of injury-time in normal time and Tyrone were down by a point. It took an incredibly confident strike by Kyle Coney to level things up but thank God he did it.”
The game certainly grabbed the attention of Tyrone GAA surfers. The county’s supporters website, www.teamtalkmag.com which McGinn contributes to, reported 6,000 page impressions on Wednesday night.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/ONzW4ZEy5jY/post.aspx
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