Monaghan and Tyrone name quarter-final sides

I was most impressed by the patience they showed in possession in the Ulster Final. It requires huge fitness to play without the ball for long spells.

“I think Mayo are a very good team”.

“Tyrone are known for their defensive resilience but they are also strong up front”, insists O’Rourke.

“It makes for a very interesting match in that one team wants to push up and the other wants to sit back”. Cathal McCarron may be recalled and given the task of marking McManus. There will certainly be two players brought in to mark him. Stopping McManus is nearly impossible so the aim should be to limit his contribution.

Tyrone and Monaghan have tonight named their teams for this weekend’s All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

It will be the third year in succession that that counties have met in the championship. They need to have the confidence to press on if they get in front; Croke Park is no place for fear.

When the step up in class came Tyrone felt good enough about themselves to defeat Monaghan, who leave the All-Ireland race.

“It is much the same as we have approached it all year”.

“I wouldn’t be overly disappointed to be honest”, he notes of their record there.

Secondly, Tyrone held a major psychological edge on Monaghan in the past.

“We have been there a fair bit over the last number of years with a division three and two final and we won both of them”.

“They are part of our game at the minute”.

The biggest area Tyrone have improved upon during the year is the speed and directness of their running game.

“Sean Cavanagh is the best player in Tyrone by far and is an excellent footballer”. It’s two of the last three now which is better. Most of the Tyrone confidence is based on wins against weak opposition and a belief that the team has been building towards a big Croke Park performance.

They retained a 0-7 to 0-5 half-time lead and limited Monaghan danger man Conor McManus to a single point from play.

However, the heart still says Tyrone can upset the odds.

Mayo and Donegal will be competing to play Dublin on 30 August. They will play counterattack football and I don’t expect any change from the Donegal side.

“Karl Lacey is finding it hard to get into the groove”.

Their reward is an All-Ireland semi-final clash with Kerry that seemed unthinkable when they crashed out of the Ulster championship to Donegal and entered the qualifier series at Round 1.