O'Rourke counts the cost of injuries after win

IT was a day of mixed emotions for Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke, who weighed up the cost of a couple of injuries against the benefits of an extra competitive game after his side defeated Down to qualify for the semi-finals of the Dr McKenna Cup at Pomeroy.

Ruairi Canavan and Niall Devlin were both forced off early in the first half, and will face a race against time to be ready for the opening game in the National Football League later this month.

The Red Hands proceeded to battle their way to a four points success as they held off a strong Mourne challenge in tough weather and underfoot conditions, with a number of newcomers putting in impressive displays.

“The more games we get the better, but having said that, we picked up a couple of injuries there in the first half to both Niall and Ruairi,” said O’Rourke.

“I suppose that’s the chance you take, but it is going to leave us fairly depleted for the next day with all of the college lads in action on Wednesday night as well.

“We are still glad to get through, glad to get a good look at all of the lads on the panel as well, so they will get the chance to show what they are made of I suppose, and they will get that chance on Wednesday night.”

With at least one more extra outing assured ahead of the visit of Kildare to Healy Park for the NFL Division Two opener, the Red Hand boss will get a chance to further assess the form and fitness of his squad.

“It is a good thing, I suppose it’s just that balancing act because you want to get that run of games, it’s just the fact that they are coming so close and now we play again on Wednesday night.

“You are just always balancing things between playing fellows and risking injury - we could have done without the couple of injuries today, there is no doubt about that, but that’s all part of it.

“We just have to reassess when we go in, and plan accordingly for Wednesday night.”

A wave of success at under-age level is beginning to pay dividends for Tyrone, with a wave of fresh talent coming through to give the manager extra options.

“There are a lot of lads coming through who have done brilliantly at underage level, but as I keep saying it doesn't happen overnight - they have to be given a chance to develop in every way.

“They are great lads, it’s great to introduce them there, and hopefully they can keep going from strength to strength.”

O’Rourke and his coaches were regular attendees at club championship games during the 2025 season, making sure that they were able to offer a chance to any player who displayed the potential to make it at the top level.

“We wanted to make sure that we got a good look at all of the different championships this year - Junior, intermediate, senior - we wanted to give everyone a chance.

“The unfortunate thing is we have to cut the panel down now to around the 35 mark, and we probably have 45 at the minute, so we’re going to have to cut eight to 10 lads off it.

“The good thing is though we have the feeder squad up and running now that we had last year, so hopefully we lose no one to the system.

“Just because of the numbers we can’t include everyone at the moment, but you will still get a chance and if they have that desire they will get that chance.”

A number of players, including team captain Brian Kennedy, are working their way back from injury, and O’Rourke hopes to have a full squad available for the league.

“The boys were all training this morning and they are coming on well - Brian has done a bit, he’s been on the pitch, he’s taken part in full training, but again it’s a matter of being very careful about how you handle them.

“You could bring them back a week earlier, or a day earlier, and you could set them back three or four weeks, so we want to be very careful with them, but we’re hopeful they will be in contention over the next couple of weeks.

“Peter Teague is the same, he had a hernia operation, so again he is working away this morning, but hoping that he and all of the boys will be back in the next couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, Conn Kilpatrick believes Tyrone’s U20 heroes are ready to take the next step and push the county to renewed success at senior level.

With three All-Ireland U20 titles in the past four years, a rich vein of talent is there for manager Malachy O’Rourke to tap in to, and he hasn’t held back.

Seven players from those triumphant teams faced Down in the Dr McKenna Cup at the weekend, and a few more are waiting in the wings.

“The boys that have come in have added a lot to the squad,” said midfielder Kilpatrick.

“We have had success at U20s this past couple of years, and I’m sure the management are always looking out at who is coming up and who wants to be up there.

“We had a lot of debutants, boys getting games for the second time and pulling us out of a hole on some occasions, such as Shane Hughes at the back.

“The management are under no illusion that anybody can play any position on any given day, they have full confidence in them and that’s the reason they’re up here pushing everybody on.”

A four points win over the Mourne men at Pomeroy sent he Red Hands through to Wednesday’s McKenna Cup semi-final against Monaghan, guaranteeing at least one more competitive game ahead of the National Football League, which gets under way at the end of the month.

“It’s good to get miles in the legs and exposure in front of a crowd so early in the year,” Kilpatrick added.

“Our aim was to come and put in a performance and get a result and be out again on Wednesday night.

“We’ll recover over the next day or two, and it’s another game to look forward to before the start of the league.”

Tyrone begin their NFL Division Two campaign with a home game against Kildare on January 24, the first of what Kilpatrick expects to be a series of tough challenges.

“We’re under no illusions that it will be tight this year.

“We have to hit the ground running, and our first two games are at home to Kildare and away to Derry, so it’s a start that will put us to the pin of our collar.

“But we’re looking forward to it, we’re putting in the hard yards, and hopefully the weather picks up to let us play a bit of football.”