The scoring today was out of this world, anyone can kick great scores without pressure, in Ulster you get pressure, you get difficulty, it is the parameter of the thoroughbred footballers - the scores McGeary, McCurry, Cavanagh, Harte, McHugh and MacNiallas got today were of the highest quality under the most intense of pressure.
We are footballing thoroughbreds as we do it against all the elements, we were fucked and screwed by the referee today but we didn’t mope about it, we came out and played fantastic, gutsy, fearless football in the second half and have the most valued Provincial trophy of the lot. Hopefully, we won’t stop there either.
You called Dublin a shower of diving, flopping, posturing wankers. Then you get offended when a Dublin person takes issue with you. You’re a whinging bag of Wexford wind.
That is all true, but it makes the 15 men back gameplan all the more frustrating. You could understand it if they were poor players but they aren’t, and worse, teams will copy them. I think the Gaa are going to have to look at limiting the number of players inside their own 65 or its going to get worse.
Players are too big, too fast, too strong today and it would make a mockey of the game to have it.
Tyrone beat Cavan 5-18 to 2-17 or something like that a fortnight ago. Today’s game was on another level to that today because space was at a premium, mistakes could not be made as a turnover is the last thing you want, it ups the stakes and it requires something magical to be done to manufacture a score.
Donegal wilted today in the second half but I felt they were very well set up defensively, their discipline and tackling was very good, they made absolutely nothing easy for Tyrone and it was the brilliance of Cavanagh and Harte that got us over the line.
I watched Mayo and Kildare yesterday, it was embarrassing the ease at which Mayo could get scores, lads running 40 yards up the field into a scoring position without a challenge made on them some guy in 10 yards of open space with nobody near them - that’s just simply too easy - it’s not good to watch.
Teams shouldn’t copy them, Tyrone and Donegal have the players to play this game effectively, it’s the way they have played the game for a while. Other teams should go develop their own brand rather just trying to copy us. We’re good at it, it’s good to watch when you do it right. Styles also make games, these two cancelled each other out for large spells but it was entirely gripping and the quality was there to see particularly in the last 10 minutes.