Latest news with #RedHand
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
GAA team news: Michael McKernan back in Tyrone squad but no changes in starting XVs for Red Hands, Royals or Donegal
Tyrone have recalled attacking half back Michael McKernan to their match-day squad, raising Red Hand hopes that he may feature against Kerry in the All-Ireland semi-final tomorrow.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Match-ups and restarts - Kerry and Tyrone key battles for Croke Park showdown
Should Kerry make as many inroads on the Tyrone kickout as they did on the Armagh restarts last time out, it could lay the foundation for victory in Sunday's All-Ireland SFC semi-final. That's the view of former Kerry player Tomás Ó Sé, who says the aggressive approach from Jack O'Connor's men was the foundation block in dethroning the All-Ireland champions at the quarter-final stage. In the opening 35 minutes, Kerry won four of Ethan Rafferty's long kickouts (kicks that went beyond the 45m), while in that dominant 15-minute period after the resumption where the Kingdom hit 14 points unanswered, it was better again as they claimed nine of Rafferty's 11-long restarts. In Niall Morgan, Tyrone possess one of the biggest, and accurate boots in Gaelic football. Should Kerry once again adopt a high press, he has the artillery to clear a large swathe of players. "The problem with that is that Kerry will have bodies out there as well," Ó Sé told the RTÉ GAA podcast. "If he booms it long, Tyrone have to win it. If they do win it, and spook Kerry a couple of times, then Kerry mightn't get as aggressive with the press." Ciarán Whelan, also speaking on the podcast, is fully expecting Tyrone to differ from Armagh in adopting a man-to-man marking approach to try and snuff out the danger of the Clifford brothers, Paudie and David, as well as the in-form Seán O'Shea. Paudie Hampsey has picked up three-time Footballer of the Year Clifford in the past, while if he has a clean bill of health, Conor Meyler could be tasked with following the older of the Clifford siblings. All four of Tyrone's All-Ireland victories saw Kerry defeated along the way and Whelan feels the Red Hand be full of motivation to take out the Munster champions. "Tyrone didn't perform massively well against Dublin, but they beat them," he said. "I think they will approach the game in a different way defensively, a more man-to-man approach. "Tyrone are going to improve and they will relish this opportunity to try and stifle that Kerry narrative." Despite the changes in defensive strategies, Ó Sé insists that traditional approach is something that Tyrone have mastered. "If you are going man-for-man, they are going to have to be very tuned in, but that's what Tyrone have been brilliant at over the last few years."
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Tyrone's thirty-somethings bolstered by young guns in pursuit of All-Ireland glory
We keep going because we love the game – Peter Harte's philosophy on the sporting longevity of Tyrone's thirty-somethings. Along with Mattie Donnelly and Niall Morgan, Harte is still going strong 15 years after his inter-county debut and chasing a second All-Ireland title. And one of the reasons for his passion for gaelic football comes calling again this weekend when he throws himself into another high stakes championship battle with old adversaries Kerry. 'Myself and Niall and Mattie are very similar, we love football,' he said. 'When you play this long, you put an awful lot of your life into it, and you do grow an appreciation of trying to make the most out of it, if you can. 'Very soon you'll not be playing, you'll be coming down with your family to watch matches, so you want to make the most of it when you are playing, and please God, we can do that.' Young blood breaking through the Red Hand ranks has added a freshness to an evolving squad that has been moulded by manager Malachy O'Rourke into a force with genuine ambitions to bring Sam back to the county for a fifth time. 'Thankfully we have some great young lads, and we're starting to see just how good they are,' said Harte (34). 'We've seen them in club football a lot, and we're just hoping that that can continue, because as we've seen over the years, you need a big impact in the last few minutes in Croke Park to win these games.' Tyrone suffered an alarming slump following their All-Ireland triumph in 2021, failing to make it past the quarter-final stage, and last year suffered a shock exit at home to Roscommon. 'We have been the ones that were watching over the last few years, sitting at home and not getting to Croke Park on the bigger days. 'You probably appreciate it more in the latter part of your career, but it's great to be back, but it's about making the most of it now. 'Beating Dublin and then going out in the semi-final would still be a disappointment, that's the harsh reality of the sport you play, so we just want to keep building, keep the heads down and train hard for the next day against a serious operator.' Harte believes any one of this weekend's semi-finalists can have realistic aspirations of going all the way, such is the unpredictability of the new-look game. 'There's definitely an openness feeling towards it all now. 'When the Dubs were at their peak, unless they didn't play to their full potential, you knew that they had the team that was very hard to rein in. 'But now everybody left in it has serious ambitions to win it. 'We just want to make sure that we're there with them, that we put our best foot forward in an All-Ireland semi-final again.' Kerry go into Saturday's semi-final as favourites to advance to the decider, thanks to their stunning victory over reigning champions Armagh, while Tyrone needed a late flourish to get the better of an off-colour Dublin side. 'We have plenty of things to learn and work on, but there was great grit and determination in that last ten minutes to wrestle the game back in our favour, and then when we got that bit of momentum, we had the quality with boys coming off the bench to kick us over the line,' Harte said. 'It probably wasn't the cleanest game of football by any stretch. In Croke Park you're basically playing on a new surface, you play with new footballs, and when it's greasy like that, mistakes just seem to happen more readily. 'The new rules mean that every minute you're attacking and defending, and if you don't win enough of those wee breaks, you probably lose the game over not doing an awful lot wrong.'
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Dunne revels in fairytale as Martin rises to occasion for Tyrone
Tyrone manager Gerard Dunne has revealed new West Ham player Joel Kerr was one of the first to congratulate him on their All-Ireland Minor Football Championship success as Diarmuid Martin grabbed his opportunity to win the game. Kerr had been a vital part of the Red Hand's sea son but his move to the Premier League side, beginning from 1 July, meant he had to sit out the decider. Martin came into the side in Kerr's place and nabbed three points as Kerry were edged out in heart-breaking fashion at Cedral St Conleth's Park. Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the 1-16 to 1-15 victory, Donnelly revealed: "Joel's father is just beside me and he's the happiest man here. "Look, we knew from the first of July that Joel was a West Ham player. From the very first trial last September, I joked with him, I said, 'Joel, we'll push it back a week' and you never think it's going to be going to get this far. "I was just on the phone to him. He's in London. He's starting his career tomorrow morning and I'm so delighted, but isn't it just unbelievable that the man that came in for him, Diarmuid Martin, scored three points, including the winner at the end? "You couldn't script it, could you? You couldn't script it." While it was a special day for Donnelly, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for his counterparts in Kerry, having already experienced losing such a big game previously. He admitted a contentious piece of play fell in favour of the Ulster county. "Look, I feel so sorry for Kerry because I've been there and I thought another one had gone from me. We got the luck at the end, it was a really good tackle from Elliott [Kerr]. "Another referee might have given a penalty and when that final whistle went, I just couldn't believe it. I thought we'd lost another one, but thanks Christ we've got it. It's just emotion, it's just relief. "It was incredible. What these boys did four point down with 15 minutes to go, it's just them. We're standing on the sideline and you just hope they'll go for it. You can't do anything. I have to say, the crowd, the atmosphere, this was incredible and I think it was a brilliant game for everyone to watch." Wayne Quillinan was gracious in defeat as well as filled with pride, ruing the closing moments of a classic as Tyrone bagged late points to win the day. The referee's decision not to award Ben Kelliher a penalty was undoubtedly on his mind as he instead turned thoughts to his own side. "It has been the story of it all year, just never say die, never let up, never give up," he explained. "I think they showed that again today, they've grit, determination and everything. They just have everything you want, the characteristics of a brilliant, special team. And I'm gutted that the game ended that way. "When guys are so young, the first thing you have to tell them is that we absolutely believe in them, and have confidence in what we're doing. "And they had that today. We came up here with full belief that we were going to win that game. And unfortunately, it didn't happen for us." Quillinan didn't want to comment on the officiating in the closing stages, saying "it's for another day's conversation." The Kerry boss added: "I'm just hurting now for my boys inside. It's a tough dressing room, but it's up to me to pick them up and tell them how proud we are of them, how they represented the county with such pride and such distinction for fellas so young. "They showed such maturity, Down at home, they can be nothing but proud of that Kerry minor team. They're just a fantastic group of players."
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Dunne revels in fairytale as Martin rise to ocassion for Tyrone
Tyrone manager Gerard Dunne has revealed new West Ham player Joel Kerr was one of the first to congratulate him on their All-Ireland Minor Football Championship success as Diarmuid Martin grabbed his opportunity to win the game. Kerr had been a vital part of the Red Hand's sea son but his move to the Premier League side, beginning from 1 July, meant he had to sit out the decider. Martin came into the side in Kerr's place and nabbed three points as Kerry were edged out in heart-breaking fashion at Cedral St Conleth's Park. Speaking to RTÉ Sport after the 1-16 to 1-15 victory, Donnelly revealed: "Joel's father is just beside me and he's the happiest man here. "Look, we knew from the first of July that Joel was a West Ham player. From the very first trial last September, I joked with him, I said, 'Joel, we'll push it back a week' and you never think it's going to be going to get this far. "I was just on the phone to him. He's in London. He's starting his career tomorrow morning and I'm so delighted, but isn't it just unbelievable that the man that came in for him, Diarmuid Martin, scored three points, including the winner at the end? "You couldn't script it, could you? You couldn't script it." While it was a special day for Donnelly, he couldn't help but feel sympathy for his counterparts in Kerry, having already experienced losing such a big game previously. He admitted a contentious piece of play fell in favour of the Ulster county. "Look, I feel so sorry for Kerry because I've been there and I thought another one had gone from me. We got the luck at the end, it was a really good tackle from Elliott [Kerr]. "Another referee might have given a penalty and when that final whistle went, I just couldn't believe it. I thought we'd lost another one, but thanks Christ we've got it. It's just emotion, it's just relief. "It was incredible. What these boys did four point down with 15 minutes to go, it's just them. We're standing on the sideline and you just hope they'll go for it. You can't do anything. I have to say, the crowd, the atmosphere, this was incredible and I think it was a brilliant game for everyone to watch." Wayne Quillinan was gracious in defeat as well as filled with pride, ruing the closing moments of a classic as Tyrone bagged late points to win the day. The referee's decision not to award Ben Kelliher a penalty was undoubtedly on his mind as he instead turned thoughts to his own side. "It has been the story of it all year, just never say die, never let up, never give up," he explained. "I think they showed that again today, they've grit, determination and everything. They just have everything you want, the characteristics of a brilliant, special team. And I'm gutted that the game ended that way. "When guys are so young, the first thing you have to tell them is that we absolutely believe in them, and have confidence in what we're doing. "And they had that today. We came up here with full belief that we were going to win that game. And unfortunately, it didn't happen for us." Quillinan didn't want to comment on the officiating in the closing stages, saying "it's for another day's conversation." The Kerry boss added: "I'm just hurting now for my boys inside. It's a tough dressing room, but it's up to me to pick them up and tell them how proud we are of them, how they represented the county with such pride and such distinction for fellas so young. "They showed such maturity, Down at home, they can be nothing but proud of that Kerry minor team. They're just a fantastic group of players."
