This is the story of a hurricane. Storm Franklin eddied through the land on Sunday and had its way with the National Football League, causing matches to be called off in all but the top division. Where games went ahead, the conditions caused those attending to question their own sanity. They may not thaw or dry out this side of the championship.
Quality-wise, it was a day for reminding yourself of the old saw about a dog walking on its hind legs. The impressive thing isn’t that it was done well, it’s that it was done at all. There were no style points on offer anywhere. It was bog-snorkelling in six-stud boots.
In Omagh, Tyrone came through a deep and thorough examination of both their playing resources and their collective moxie, grinding out a 2-7 to 0-12 win over Kildare. Despite missing a host of frontline players through suspension and injury, they were able to find goals through Conn Kilpatrick and Darren McCurry that made all the difference against a Kildare side full of vim and punch.
This was precisely the kind of league game you’re allowed to leave behind you when you’re All-Ireland champions. Bad weather, small crowd, an opposition who fancy making their mark in Division One. And yet though Tyrone trailed for virtually the whole of the first half and long stretches of the second, they found a way to breast the tape a stride ahead of the visitors.
“For the first 10 or 15 minutes we struggled to get any cohesion or any structure,” said Brian Dooher afterwards. “But after that they settled. We had a lot of changes, a lot of changes in general this year with men returning and things like that. That’s what a panel is for. That’s the value from today, the take-home message, those boys there.”
Straight Bat
Predictably enough, Dooher dead-batted all questions about Tyrone’s four suspensions that left them short-handed for Kildare’s visit. They were missing Mattie Donnelly too with a shoulder injury picked up against Armagh that will mean he has to sit out a few weeks. But regardless of who was out - or why - Dooher wasn’t having the idea that their absence served as motivation.
“Some people can say that and you always look at things in hindsight but I don’t think so. These lads here knew they had an opportunity today on first and foremost to say, ‘I am staying here, I am good enough to be on this team.’ And that’s their first focus. Surely, they were doing it for everybody but I think the challenge they had was to prove the point that they were good enough to be on this team
“It is good that guys got valuable experience and that is the kind of experience you want to get where you are tested like that in that environment. They stood up to the challenge well, it gives them a chance to develop and us a chance to see them. They stood up well.”
For Glenn Ryan, this was a familiar tale to Kildare’s opening day draw at home to Kerry. They were the better team for huge chunks of this game but they missed too many opportunities when they were on top in the first half. They could have stolen it when Daniel Flynn stormed through on goal in the dying seconds but he whistled his shot over the crossbar.
They sit second-bottom now, with a relegation four-pointer in Newbridge next weekend against Dublin. Ryan isn’t one for ifs and buts and maybes. It wouldn’t take much for the table to look differently. But it looks how it looks.
“I’m happy that we’re getting to look at a number of players,” he said. “We only have these fellas a couple of weeks, realistically. They’ve done everything and more that you could hope a group of players would do in the short period of time that we’ve had them.
“But there also has to be an urgency to get better as we go along. And all we can do after each game is look at it and ask are we improving as we go along. That’s something for us to decide when we sit back and look at it. That’s ultimately what we need to be gearing ourselves forward for.
“Because we will improve. We are getting better. We’re looking forward with enthusiasm. Once these players come and play and represent the people that come to see them, who are very proud of them, that’s our starting point. The results will come.”
Unbeaten Kingdom
Elsewhere, Kerry continued their strong opening to the league with a 1-13 to 0-7 victory in Killarney. David Clifford scored the only goal as they eased to a result that leaves Jack O’Connor’s side sitting on top of Division One, ahead of Armagh and Mayo on points difference.
Once again, however, there’s no question where the story of the day lies. Down in Division Four, London pulled off a 2-5 to 0-9 win against Leitrim, leaving them as one of only two teams in the country along with Derry who have won three from three to start their league campaign.
Goals from Chris Farley and James Gallagher saw them haul themselves back from six points down to secure the victory, and marking the first time they have ever put together three league wins in a row. They didn’t play a match for two years during the pandemic and it hasn’t taken a pick out of them.
Much more of this and they’ll be promotion candidates. Mad stuff.
