Sometimes a final score can be misleading. Tyrone’s 0-18 to 0-14 victory over Monaghan in Saturday’s All-Ireland quarter-final was a lot more emphatic than those figures suggest. Put plainly, Mickey Harte’s side had the game put to bed long before the final whistle.
They simply got their scores a lot easier, and while Tiernan McCann did himself no favours in the way he went down after Darren Hughes (who was one of three to see red) quite literally stroked his hair, Tyrone can now look forward to a joust with Kerry in the semi-final on 23 August.
Harte’s team is progressing nicely. They may not be at the level that saw them break Kingdom hearts in 2003, ’05 and ’08, but Éamonn Fitzmaurice knows that the Red Hand challenge will present a tough examination.
"Sean Cavanagh gave great leadership and he had great support alongside him in Darren McCurry and Conor McAliskey" - Luke Dempsey
Former Westmeath and Carlow manager Luke Dempsey saw much to be enthused about in Tyrone’s win over the Farney.
He told RTÉ Sport: "Tyrone were extremely impressive and there was a fierce hunger in the way they went about their business In hindsight I thought Monaghan’s experience would see them through against what is a new-look Tyrone team
"Mattie Donnelly and Colm Cavanagh in midfield were outstanding and Monaghan had to change their midfield on three occasions during the game.
"Peter Harte, who is on course for an All Star at times ran the show, and Ronan McNamee did a brilliant job on Conor McManus.
"Sean Cavanagh gave great leadership and he had great support alongside him in Darren McCurry and Conor McAliskey.
Looking ahead to the semi-final, Dempsey, however, expects “Kerry to have too much for that Tyrone team.”
Referencing the Kingdom’s win over Kildare last weekend, he added: “They were awesome. Their physicality and the way they took their scores was just so impressive. They are the team to stop.
"Mickey Harte has done a really good job in bringing through players and Tyrone won’t fear Kerry, but it won’t be enough for them reach an All-Ireland final."
