Tyrone's defence to be tested by Dublin

TYRONE'S defence faces its greatest test of the championship so far as it takes on a potent Dublin forward division in this weekend’s All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final at Croke Park.

But Cormac Quinn is confident that the Red Hands have the quality, the mentality and the organisational structure to withstand whatever the Metropolitans can throw at them.

Quinn has reclaimed his place in the corner of the Tyrone rearguard following a lengthy battle with injury, and he’s edging closer to a return to top form.

He has an unbreakable trust in those around him to stand firm in the crunch moments that will unfold at GAA Headquarters.

“We have some quality defenders. We saw Aidan Clarke coming on (against Cavan), and you wouldn’t have known there was a difference at all.

“Niall Devlin has been flying all year, and you have Paudie (Hampsey), Pete Teague all playing well.”

And should injuries or tactical adjustments be required, the Red Hands have a strong bench well stocked with ready replacements.

“Then we have the likes of Michael Rafferty and Nathan McCarron, boys you haven’t seen much of, but we’re confident that if any of those boys came in, it would be the same impact.

“So it’s really good, there’s good competition there and it drives us on, and you’re seeing that every week.”

Tyrone are coming off a morale-boosting 13 points win over Cavan in their final game in the round robin series, but there were warning signs at Brewster Park, where they coasted to a 0-31 to 0-18 success.

“It’s always a good sign that we were hitting that sort of level, because some of the days we would have been disappointed, so it’s definitely encouraging.

“But we had plenty of problems, Cavan got a lot of shots away, and they would haven’t have been happy with their efficiency compared to ours.”

Having skipped the preliminary quarter-finals as a reward for winning their round robin group, Tyrone will go into this weekend’s tie against a Dubslin side facing into its third game in as many weeks.

“It’s the first time we have topped the group since this format has come in, so it will be something new for us,” said Quinn.

“Getting that extra week’s rest is an advantage, plenty of rest will help, and help us shore things up.

“It gives us a chance to get any knocks we have cleared up, that wee extra window to take it easy on those lads for a bit.”

The Red Hands amassed their highest ever points total as they landed 31 against Cavan, but drew a blank on the goal-scoring front.

One of two half-chances fell to corner back Quinn in the second half, but he laid off to Rory Brennan for a fisted point.

“I went through myself with one and I gave it to Rory, the boys were giving me a bit of stick for not taking the shot on myself.

“It’s definitely something we’ll be looking for. We were good on taking the points, but you definitely want to be creating goal opportunities.

“There’s plenty to work on and that’s one area where we could improve.”

The wide open spaces of Croke Park will offer attackers the opportunity to exploit the extra room afforded to them by the new playing rules, and the Red Hands will have to stand firm if they are to reach the last four for the first time since 2021.

“It’s a learning experience every week, and when you’re one on one inside with your opponent, it’s a personal battle and it’s always a tough one when you’re playing against good forwards week in week out, but it’s good to be doing it,” said Quinn.

“Croke Park is where you want to be playing your football at this time of year.

“I’d say the game will be completely different when we get to Croke Park, bigger pitch, but it’s going to be the same for everybody.”

Meanwhile, Kieran McGeary is hoping that Tyrone can impose themselves on the contest and develop a level of consistency that has been lacking so far this season.

And he feels that having topped their round robin group, they have built confidence and fluency that will stand to them as they move on to an even greater challenge.

“We just had to take each game as it came. We rose for Donegal, dropped for Mayo, rose again,” he said.

“It's maybe not the worst outcome. We've had groups in the past where we've scraped through the width of a post.

“But do we finish it now? Is that the job done or do you push on and see what you can achieve down the lane? That's our target now, but all we can do now is just focus on ourselves again, tidy up on a few things that didn't go well and look forward to the next day out.”

The Pomeroy Plunketts man warned that the comfortable 13 points winning margin over Cavan may have masked underlying problems which could come back to haunt Tyrone.

He knows that Dessie Farrell’s side will punish any weaknesses that may be identified in a Red Hand side seeking to make the last four for the first time since 2021.

“There were a couple of fumbles and bad errors too that you just maybe won't get away with against a different team,” he said.

“We lost some kick passes, we lost some very easy hand passes. I was involved in it myself and then we tend to give other teams oxygen.

“But there were big moments where we got out in front and we got scores.

“I think that happens in every game. Teams get purple patches to do and when you have a cushion, you naturally take the foot off the gas and a team gets a couple of scores, so it was important that we kept that cushion and when we did at times, there were a couple of big moments where we broke there maybe two or three scores in a row.”

Tyrone kicked four two-pointers at Brewster Park on their way to topping the group with a 0-31 to 0-18 victory, but allowed Cavan to get too many shots away from around the 40 metre arc, according to McGeary.

“We maybe kicked them, but we missed quite a bit. The two-pointers was something that Cavan maybe had targeted, and there's days where they go over and we could have been in more trouble than we could have but they missed a right few. I'd actually love to see the stats on it.

“We were sometimes out in their toe but sometimes we weren't, and they're a big changer in the game. It's about finding the balance of stepping out too far and then they get in the back door.”

For all their dominance, Malachy O’Rourke’s men failed to raise a green flag, but a huge points total more than compensated for the absence of goals on the score-card.

“When you look at those 31 points, you’re creating chances. You maybe go for them, miss them, give another team oxygen to get them down the pitch, but I think there's still a lot to be said for keeping the scoreboard ticking.

“There were a couple of opportunities where we could have played another pass but we decided not to. Look, those openings could come someday but to keep the scoreboard ticking on was huge as well.”

Having skipped this weekend’s preliminary quarter-final round as group winners, the Red Hands will benefit from a two-week break ahead of a last eight clash with an opponent facing into a third game in as many weeks.

They’ll utilise the welcome break with a thorough recovery process leading into intense preparation for a big Croke Park date.

“Look, there'll be teams next week who will come champing just as hard as we will but it is important to have the break.

“It's about how valuable you make it to yourself. You can't afford to waste any night out on the pitch, or recovery or whatever it may be, because we were pushed to the pin of our collar at times.”

McGeary paid tribute to the determination of Conor Meyler to make his return to the Tyrone team despite a catalogue of career-threatening injuries.

“A man that's fought for everything to get back, he just wanted to get running out on a pitch and credit to him. Nobody can question his return at all.

“He's put everything into it and he just needs to make sure now that it pays dividends.”