By Alan Rodgers A CLASSIC derby encounter against the reigning All-Ireland champions is providing Tyrone with every incentive as they bid to make their mark in what’s arguably the county’s most important clash since the glorious Sam Maguire victory four years ago. The championship form of the Red Hands has been mixed since they last achieved […]
KEVIN CASSIDY: The battle to join Donegal
WE were treated to a proper Ulster Championship clash last weekend when Donegal locked horns with Monaghan. As for the game itself, it went along the lines of how I thought it pan out with Donegal just having a little too much in the end up. At times in the game, Monaghan caused Donegal some […]
McCusker laments ‘heartbreaking’ defeat after Down leave it late
By KATRINA BRENNAN FERMANAGH captain Declan McCusker said it was a “missed opportunity”, and that summed up the feeling of Erne players and supporters alike, on Saturday evening. Down clawed their way back from seven points down to win by one, a result that looked highly unlikely with seven minutes to go. “They were winning all […]
McBride isn’t daunted by the All-Ireland champions
By Michael McMullan IT’S more than a home championship game for Antrim’s Patrick McBride. Saturday brings him back to his spiritual home. Corrigan Park. Stepping on the patch of grass that made him. Having pulled on an Antrim jersey over 100 times, he knows about county football. He knows what it takes. He is seated […]
O’Rourke extols virtues of hard work
By Niall Gartland HARD work will be absolutely pivotal if Tyrone are to enjoy success in the coming weeks and months, according to manager Malachy O’Rourke. The vastly experienced bainisteoir is happy to acknowledge that there is no shortage of talent within the senior ranks, which will no doubt be augmented in the coming years […]
KEVIN CASSIDY: Decision time for Derry
THE championship got up and running last weekend and, if I’m being 100 per cent honest, I think it was a step below what we saw in the National League as opposed to what we all expect with the championship. Obviously, the main focus was on the Donegal and Derry game. Perhaps that lack of […]
Burns not taking Antrim for granted
By Shaun Casey ALL-IRELAND champions Armagh will be unbackable favourites to secure a spot in the Ulster Championship semi-finals this weekend and see off Antrim at Corrigan Park with the minimum of fuss. In recent championship clashes in 2023 and 2021, played at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds, the Orchard men cruised to victory, winning by […]
Lynch ruled out of Tyrone match
By Niall Gartland CAVAN forward Paddy Lynch ‘won’t be in contention’ to make his return to the field of play for Sunday’s Ulster Championship opener against Tyrone, states manager Raymond Galligan. Lynch sustained a season-ending ACL injury in training at the tail-end of last April, just days after playing in Cavan’s Ulster Championship defeat after […]
Preview: Donegal face the hard route back to provincial summit
By Michael McMullan IF Ulster champions Donegal are to keep their hands on the Anglo Celt Cup, they must travel the hard route. They have been drawn in the preliminary round and face their neighbours Derry on Sunday. The prize for the winners is a quarter-final clash with a Monaghan team who’ve gained momentum on […]
100 years of the Anglo Celt Cup
By Niall Gartland IT’S one of the most iconic trophies in the game. The Anglo Celt Cup. The Ulster Championship trophy been raised to the skies by a litany of famous captains down the years – Peter Canavan, Kieran McGeeney, Michael Murphy, Henry Downey, we could go on, and on, and on, and apologies for the […]