McAnenly has faith in Tyrone's minor batch
September 15, 2010
Tyrone selector Cathal McAnenly with manager Raymond Munroe
How to stop the awesome juggernaut that is the Tyrone minors?
Other than team-manager Raymond Munroe, no-one knows the current O'Neill county lads better than selector Cathal McAnenly and, guess what, he ain't telling.
He has the armoured confidence of the hardened mentor and yet the tact of the most taciturn official from the foreign office.
Optimistic yes, but mum's the word all the same.
At times this year, the Tyrone minors McAnenly has helped cultivate have looked a side without a fissure or weakness so there's a mighty challenge ahead of Cork in the upcoming ESB All-Ireland MFC final.
Tyrone/Cork football rivalries may be among the less venerable of the raft that pock mark the history of the GAA but this year the ante has been ratcheted up more than an octave or three.
It's telling that the aforementioned McAnenly admits that the Tyrone think-tank don't possess anything close to the most intimate knowledge of their opponents but that doesn't dilute the respect he holds for the young Rebels and the county's tradition:
"Look at the way they (Cork) came back against Armagh in the quarter-final and then against Galway in the semi-final - those kind of displays showed the character that's in the team," McAnenly stated.
"You've got to respect a team that has come out of Munster 'cause if you don't, you're going to get your comeuppance."
McAnenly knows the course, of course. He was alongside boss Munroe in 2008 when the Red Hand minors won the Ulster and All-Ireland titles.
He talks about Tyrone's Class of 2010 having "the opportunity of a lifetime in front of them now."
"I think our fellas are pretty well grounded and mature and they know that these opportunities don't come around too often.
"We've every confidence in their ability to make it count on the third Sunday; they're a very capable bunch of young footballers."
While the Tyrone minors and their backroom team are counting the days down to another visit to Croker, Tyrone Football Inc. is still going at it full tilt.
Club games continue in the county unabated and it might come as a surprise to some of the counties who have seldom if ever travelled down the road to Croker in September that the Tyrone minors are going at it hammer and tongs as well.
"A lot of the fellas on the panel are playing senior football with their clubs and getting a lot of game time.
"Of course, you'd be concerned that they'd pick up an injury but they could just as well get crocked during training with us.
"We're very disappointed that we're after losing our goalkeeper Mark McReynolds through injury but we have two good lads who are in the running to fill in for him.
"You can't hold up the club scene; those games have to be accommodated and the minor championship has gone on as well."
The influential Liam Girvan shrugged off a niggling hamstring injury to make an appearance after 44 minutes in the team's 3-10 to 0-16 semi-final triumph over Mayo and McAnenly is hopeful that there will be no more concerns in the camp for this month's final.
"Let's just say we'll be keeping our fingers crossed on that one," he cautions. "It would be more a case of hope rather than expectation in terms of thinking about having a full deck of cards to choose from for the final."
As for the past few months, 30 lads will be bursting themselves to nick a starting place for Tyrone next time out.
For Tyrone's Ulster MFL campaign earlier this year, the panel was that bit bigger and a tad different in shape and make-up.
The county reached the final of the league but were swept aside by 2-14 to 0-8 by Dublin at Kingspan/Breffni Park.
Tyrone were 0-1 to 2-3 adrift as early as the 9th minute and never subsequently looked capable of winning their game of catch-up.
Nine of Tyrone's starting line-up that faced Mayo in last month's All-Ireland semi-final did duty in Cavan for the league final.
Contrary to the feeling that might have been expected to prevail in the Tyrone dressing-room after the Dublin game, it wasn't a case of the well of innate optimism draining away to just a damp patch instead.
"That was a comprehensive defeat for us," McAnenly says of the league final setback.
"Losing so badly left us with lot to ponder but the more we thought of it the more we came to the conclusion that Dublin were a lot further down the road of their championship preparations than us and it showed on the night.
"It was a reality check though, all the same, and we realised we had a lot of work to do in the four weeks that followed before the championship game with Antrim."
The clash with Antrim panned out as per the script, mirroring the meeting between the sides in the Ulster league.
Munroe and McAnenly badly wanted to advance their squad's bid for the Tom Markham Cup via the front door so nothing was to be taken for granted.
"There was no question of anyone in the camp being complacent and we didn't start too badly against Antrim but they got a goal on the stroke of half-time which gave them a huge lift and we had to regroup after that.
"Things improved in the second half and we ended up running out winners by a handful of points and that was all that counted."
Down were next up in the Ulster semi-final. A 1-10 to 0-10 result ushered the Tyrone lads into the Ulster final. A means to an end, manager Munroe hastened to explain to journalists at the time.
"This wasn't about getting to an All-Ireland quarter-final," he declared. "I want to go into an All-Ireland quarter-final as Ulster champions.
"They're growing in maturity from the last day; it's a learning curve.
"They're aware they deserve to be in an Ulster final, now it's about going out and trying to win that."
Winning every game was the Tyrone mantra from the spring time. The Down win was seen by one and all as a mere stepping stone.
Down were expected to place a stone inside Tyrone's boot. With a sprinkling of players from the St. Colman's College Newry side that whipped Omagh CBS in the McRory Cup (and who later scooped the Hogan Cup), Down were a lot of people's fancy to be Ulster's flagship minor team in '10.
"The win over Down gave the lads a massive boost in confidence, especially the lads who had come onto our panel after the league from Omagh.
"Sometimes things can click into place for you at just the right time and Mark McReynolds pulled off a great save late in the day which was a big help.
"We had a terrific 15 minutes either side of the half-time break which provided us with a useful cushion to go on and hold them off."
Dame Fortune favoured Tyrone in the Ulster final against Armagh but luck had no part in the O'Neill County running out convincing winners in Clones.
"It was probably our best overall performance of the year so far," McAnenly opines.
"I thought our dominance in the vital diamond area of the field gave us a great foundation to build on but all the lads kept their focus.
"They knew that there was a terrific prize on offer at the end of the game if they could stay put in the driving seat."
It's a long number of years now since Tyrone were a mid-level county at minor level and in beating Kerry by 2-12 to 0-9 in the All-Ireland quarter-final they demonstrated their desire and determination to be totemic standard bearers in the under 18 grade. Mayo are no slouches at minor level either but their All-Ireland dream was ended by Tyrone in the subsequent semi-final on a scoreline of 3-10 to 0-16.
"Our main job as a management team after the win over Kerry was to keep the fellas' feet on the ground," McAnenly explains.
"Mayo were the Connacht champions and have a proven pedigree at minor level but holding them scoreless for the first quarter of an hour gave our lads a lot of confidence which they were able to build on.
"In fairness to Mayo, they worked us hard right 'till the very end and it took a lot of good defending to keep them out in the dying minutes."
Just an hour-plus away from a job well done then?
"There's a lot of work to be done and we know Cork will do their damndest to make sure they do a better job." Tweet
