Cool champions ride out the storm

ALL-IRELAND SFC QUARTER-FINAL/Tyrone 0-16 Kildare 1-11:IN HOW many half-forgotten matches has this happened? Champions, brought to the verge of disaster, respond sufficiently to ride out the storm and continue their journey in pursuit of the county's first successful All-Ireland defence.

During yesterday’s GAA All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park (attendance: 49,761), Tyrone initially appeared to wilt in the face of the enthusiasm of Leinster finalists Kildare during a lively first half. In the high-tempo exchanges the champions may have recognised themselves, as they struggled to stay with the pace and athleticism of the challenge.

There may have been only four points in the match at half-time but Kildare had grown in confidence and, with Dermot Earley pushing himself as close to an All Star as any beaten quarter-finalist can, and captain John Doyle having his best match of the summer, a shock looked distinctly possible.

Tyrone, however, dealt with the prospect firmly. There had been evidence in the first half that Stephen O’Neill was capable of hurting Kildare and so it transpired. In tandem with Owen Mulligan, the 2005 footballer of the year closed the interval gap within six minutes of the restart.

Their giddily-assembled lead wiped out, Kildare were in for the long haul but, to their credit, Kieran McGeeney’s team stayed true to the principles of their manager, staying the pace and taking the pressure but ultimately they lacked the sharpness up front to bring off a major surprise.

The match opened on an unsightly playing surface, re-laid after the previous week’s U2 concert but bearing the blemishes of having been kept in refrigeration too long during last week’s dispute with local residents. Nonetheless, discoloured rather than scarred, it played perfectly and none of the four teams had any complaints when asked about it afterwards.

Tyrone looked over-chilled themselves in the first half, having started well enough, teaching their opponents the importance of quick release and using the ball quickly. But Kildare got the hang of it quickly.

Early points from Doyle were neutralised by Brian Dooher and O’Neill before Kildare got the decisive score of the first half in the 14th minute. Good work by Gary White continued with a quick transfer from James Kavanagh to Ronan Sweeney and the big Moorefield player, operating in the right corner, created enough space in a tight spot – and how much tighter could such a spot be than against Tyrone – to drill a low shot to the corner of the net.

The champions weren’t easily put off their stride and in the 20th minute Davy Harte, on a familiar raid from wing back, evaded the badgering presence of Doyle to swing over the sort of point that most forwards would be proud to dispatch.

Overall though, it wasn’t proving a typical day for Tyrone. They struggled at centrefield despite Seán Cavanagh’s relocation to what is considered his best position.

Earley had solid support from Daryl Flynn in Kildare’s engine room. But it was the Sarsfields player who controlled the match for the Leinster county. Dominating the high ball and distributing it shrewdly, he was the prompt behind his team’s second-quarter superiority.

Up front, Doyle kicked his frees and a fine sideline ball and Alan Smith, 4-8 under his belt in the championship up to yesterday, menaced without getting the breakthroughs. James Kavanagh was also effective, playing his part in the goal and setting up Eamonn Callaghan for a point before adding one of his own within a minute – eventually forcing the unusual spectacle of Tyrone’s Philip Jordan being moved.

You didn’t need to be a master of cliche to understand that a good start to the second half would be important for Kildare.

But, crucially, instead they lost their way, thus allowing Tyrone an uninterrupted staccato burst of six points in 12 minutes.

Although Kildare were plainly unhappy with some of referee Gearóid Ó Conámha’s decisions, particularly when O’Neill appeared to have impeded Andrew McLoughlin in the lead-up to a point by Mulligan, McGeeney’s stoical acceptance that refereeing decisions hadn’t been decisive was wise in that errors contributed generously to at least half of Tyrone’s salvo.

The whole burst was delivered by the full-forward line with Mulligan shooting three points in less than 10 minutes, O’Neill chipping in with two and Martin Penrose, whose elusive running caused major problems for Kildare, supplying the balance.

Kildare’s recovery was assisted by Tyrone’s wastefulness with frees. Three different players – Tommy McGuigan, O’Neill and Mulligan – were wide with attempts at scores that could have effectively buried the opposition. Instead they found themselves back battling for their championship lives.

Doyle rebuilt his team’s challenge. In three minutes at the start of the final quarter he rattled over three points, two frees and a really well-taken shot from play, intervening as his team-mates appeared to be running out of options under pressure of tight marking.

Back in the lead, 1-10 to 0-12, Kildare nearly had a goal in the 56th minute but replacement Robert Kelly slipped and with the ball bobbing dangerously around the goalmouth goalkeeper Pascal McConnell eventually cleared.

A fine catch by Seán Cavanagh, who had a much better second half, set up a score for Dooher after which O’Neill and Michael Foley traded points to send the match into the closing 10 minutes level at 1-11 to 0-14.

The essential difference between the sides played out predictably in the time remaining. O’Neill kicked his seventh point after a run from defence by Conor Gormley and five minutes from time Justin McMahon hoisted another after coming upfield on a raid from the back.

During the same period Kildare, increasingly haunted by the spectre of a narrow defeat, panicked and kicked five wides in the clammy end-game that Tyrone play better than anyone.

Formidable Cork will be next up to test the champions’ resolve.