Red Hands cruising in second gear
Tyrone 1-18 Antrim 0-15
Antrim's Paddy Cunningham has a shot on goal despite the attentions of Justin McMahon during yesterday's Ulster SFC final
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Is it that Tyrone are making things look easy at maximum capacity or that they have been taking things easy with an economy of effort that suggests they have so much more in the tank to call upon?
That was the burning question coming away from Clones yesterday evening after Mickey Harte brought his Ulster title count level with the number of All-Ireland crowns he has claimed during his seven-year reign.
Harte was urging caution afterwards, reminding all and sundry that the last time they went to Croke Park for an All-Ireland quarter-final as Ulster champions (2007 against Meath) they didn't handle it well.
But this time there is the feeling that the team is at the peak of maturity, that no matter what is thrown at them they will have the capacity to deal with it.
For sure an All-Ireland quarter-final, the first time this season they will sample a 'win-or-bust' situation after virtually 'sleepwalking' their way through the province, will challenge them, test their mentality. And if they carry the same complacency that afflicted them at various stages of this Ulster final, they'll pay a high price.
They weren't ruthless enough yesterday and sometimes their most experienced players took too much out of the ball in good positions.
But Tyrone look like a team comfortable in their skin. Some of their movement on and off the ball was instinctive and at another level to anything any team has produced this year. It didn't always yield an end product.
Any time Antrim even looked like kicking sand up into Tyrone's faces, their response was impulsive.
Some 32,632 were in St Tiernach's Park for Antrim's first Ulster final appearance in 38 years but within 10 minutes a sense of inevitability hung over the ground after Sean Cavanagh ghosted through a yawning gap for the game's only goal and a 1-4 to 0-1 lead.
The same margin divided them at the end which suggested that Antrim gave as good as they got but, in truth, Tyrone always had them at arm's length.
experience
Their manager Liam Bradley spoke of the experience gained from the occasion and a desire to pick themselves up and dust themselves down quickly for qualifiers. Their desire to play in Croke Park this year is as high as any goal they set for themselves.
The Ulster Council celebrated the 25th anniversary of Tyrone's 1984 Ulster success, commonly known as the 'Frank McGuigan final' after his amazing 11-point haul against Armagh that day.
Paddy Cunningham matched McGuigan's haul 25 years on, albeit differently as seven of his 11 scores were from frees on an afternoon when Padraig Hughes pounced on any minor Tyrone misdemeanour and threw Antrim quite a lifeline in the process.
But they showed a novice streak against the most streetwise team around; the freedom afforded to Ryan McMenamin who pushed forward repeatedly being a case in point.
Antrim ditched their covering defender policy, executed so well in their wins over Cavan and Donegal, simply because they couldn't afford to leave someone like McMenamin loose. But McMenamin still took the liberty to score a point and provide an overlap repeatedly.
With Cavanagh also timing his forward surges to perfection to help himself to 1-4, reminding Harte in the process that midfield remains his most natural habitat, Tyrone attacked that middle channel successfully and it was a measure of the fluidity of their movement that 18 of their 19 scores were from play.
If there is a source of worry for Harte, it was the form and touch shown by Stephen O'Neill and the fitness of Brian Dooher.
It was Dooher's first start since the All-Ireland final last September and in those circumstances he acquitted himself well. But the next game could be just 12 days away and they need him close to peak to drive them on.
O'Neill's deft touch from Brian Dooher's delivery opened the gap for Cavanagh's goal on 10 minutes but otherwise his influence was limited, as indeed was that of the entire Tyrone full-forward line, all of whom had been replaced by the end.
For that, Antrim's Kevin O'Boyle and Colin Brady in particular can take credit while Tony Scullion at right half-back always provided forward thrust.
But it was Thomas McCann who became the real source of hope for Antrim with his enthusiastic runs at the Tyrone defence.
And once his brother Mickey came out from the full-forward line and began attacking from deeper positions, they got more value out of him too.
Cunningham had opened the scoring inside a minute with a quick free but once McMenamin, Tommy McGuigan and the industrious Joe McMahon issued a response at the other end and Cavanagh then goaled, the landscape changed. By the 13th minute, Antrim had racked up a third yellow card amidst signs of creaking under the pressure of the occasion.
McGuigan might have had a second Tyrone goal on 21 minutes when he blazed wide after a move that spanned the length of the field from a short kick-out and involved some eight players without an interruption from Antrim.
By the 27th minute, Tyrone had opened their biggest lead of the afternoon as McGuigan sent them 1-8 to 0-2 clear. At that point you feared for Antrim but they got the last three points of the half to cut the deficit to 1-8 to 0-5. Antrim needed a swift start to the second half but it didn't materialise. Instead, Tyrone went nine clear again with Cavanagh again making his presence felt.
Cunningham might have been more ambitious and gone for goal on 49 minutes but he settled for a point as the lead came down to six again. Cunningham kept chipping away with points from frees and play but Tyrone were never inconvenienced and were able to strike on the break with Cavanagh, Owen Mulligan, Davy Harte and Brian McGuigan all exploiting the gaps that Antrim were leaving at the back.
Antrim can still reflect on their most adventurous Ulster championship in decades and the promise that there is more to come from a young team remains.
For Tyrone, they have won their 12th Ulster title in a canter and have yet to experience the level of challenge that they received in some of their qualifier games last season, games that ultimately made them.
Scorers -- Tyrone: S Cavanagh 1-4; O Mulligan, T McGuigan (0-1f) 0-3 each; K Hughes, Joe McMahon 0-2 each; R McMenamin, D Harte, P Jordan, B McGuigan 0-1 each. Antrim: P Cunningham 0-11 (7f); M McCann 0-2; A Gallagher, C Close 0-1 each.
Tyrone -- J Devine 7; Justin McMahon 7, C Gormley 8, P J Quinn 7; D Harte 8, P Jordan 7, R McMenamin 8; K Hughes 7, S Cavanagh 9; B Dooher 5, O Mulligan 7, Joe McMahon 8; M Penrose 5, S O'Neill 5, T McGuigan 6. Subs: C Cavanagh for Dooher (54), E McGinley for McGuigan (64), C Gourley for McMenamin (67), C McCullagh for O'Neill (70), B McGuigan for Penrose (70).
Antrim -- P Graham 6; K O'Boyle 7, C Brady 7, A McClean 6; T Scullion 7, J Loughrey 6, T O'Neill 6; N McKeever 6, A Gallagher 7; J Crozier 5, K Brady 4, T McCann 8; P Cunningham 8, S Burke 5, M McCann 7. Subs: K Niblock for Brady (24), C Murray for Burke (44), C Close for McKeever (58), D O'Hagan for O'Neill (63), S McGreevy for Graham (69).
Ref -- Padraig Hughes (Armagh).
