Tyrone targeting two league points in Mayo

TYRONE will target two league points when they travel to take on a struggling Mayo side at Castlebar on Sunday.

The westerners are bottom of the Allianz League Division One table following back to back defeats, and desperately need to turn their season around and drag themselves out of the relegation zone.

The Red Hands, coming off a disappointing loss to All-Ireland champions Armagh, are keen to get bac to winning ways, having seen off Derry in their opening game.

It’s another opportunity for Malachy O’Rourke’s men to develop their understanding and deployment of the new rules which have transformed the game of gaelic football this year.

In particular, they will want to maximise their opportunities to kick two-pointers from outside the 40 metre arc at McHale Park, as well as exploiting the extra space for their dangerous front men.

Manager O’Rourke wants his players to take the learnings from defeat to Armagh in their last game and rectify a few problem areas this weekend.

“I think that is key, you have to just take the positives out of the games, you have to see what you can learn from them,” he said.

“But that's the way the game goes and it's funny in that a team that gets beaten one weekend has a real focus to try and get back and win the next weekend.

“So I think that is the case, it's just trying to stay neutral, trying to be objective with what's going on and learn lessons from it and try to apply them the next day. And that's easier said than done sometimes, but that's what we'll be trying to do.

The new Red Hand boss admitted that he’s still working on changing the mindset within the squad and getting everyone on the same page in terms of focusing on a particular approach.

“There's no doubt and at that stage you're just trying to change things around, see if you can get a wee bit of a reaction.”

And while he’s earning about his players, he’s also keeping a close eye on how other teams are adapting to the new rules which have transformed the game.

“I suppose from game to game, you're looking at what's working for other teams and you're looking at the profile of the players you have yourself and you're trying to set up and play according to that.

“But there's no doubt you learn from each match and I suppose it's different as well in winter time to summer time football as well.

“So as the year goes on and the pitches get a wee bit harder and things like that there, probably things will change as well. But no, there's no doubt you're looking at what players adapt best and even though it's 15 v 15, there's more space at the different end of the field because you can only have 11 defenders in that area.”

Despite the disappointment of defeat to the All-Ireland champions at the Box-It Athletic Grounds, O’Rourke saw plenty of positives in his side’s second competitive outing of the year.

“The boys worked hard in the first half but it was just, we put all five subs on in the second half just to see if we could get a wee bit of momentum from somewhere and all the lads who came on did do that.

“But hopefully those boys will learn from it, they're young lads, it's their first experience probably playing in front of a big crowd.

“But it's great for them, it's exactly where we want to be and it's a case of learning what we can from it and moving on and trying to play it the next day and that's the secret of the league.”

The top priority from the Allianz League campaign is to retain Division One status, and once that is secured, Tyrone can look ahead positively to an enthralling championship series.

“Well, the first thing is everybody wants to stay in the league, that's the bottom line.

“But I think it's just improving performances.”

Meanwhile, former Tyrone star Peter Canavan believes the new rules have created a greater spectacle for supporters, and that they will go some way towards discouraging negative coaching.

“The new rules are a dream for innovative coaches and a nightmare for those coaches on trying to spoil a game,” he told RTE.

Canavan, a member of the GAA’s Football Review Committee, added: “In previous years it was easy for the spoilers, easy for a manager to set a team up whereby you spoil the game, you give up kickouts, and it's a dreadful game to watch.

"Now it's impossible to do that; it's very hard to try and slow the game up. When you commit a foul you can't stand in front of the ball, the tap and go has things moving much quicker. The net result has been a much better game to watch.

“There was a spell in the Derry-Kerry game whereby Kerry had possession in their full-back line and Derry had pushed up. Kerry could not give the ball to the goalkeeper and so were put under serious pressure and it looked as if they were going to turn the ball over on two or three occasions.

“They eventually managed to get out to the middle of the pitch, were able to look up and kick it in. There was space in there, because there was a 3 v 3. Killian Spillane ended getting the ball in, was one-on-one with his defender, managed to get past him and just kicked the ball wide.

“That passage of play to me summed up the way the game is going to go. It is going to be high pressure, action-packed, and there is going to be an opportunity for inside forwards to shine.”

Canavan also alluded to increased pressure on goalkeepers, who no longer can restart with shott kick-outs.

“I think it is very severe on goalkeepers that they have to kick it beyond the 40-metre arc. Even if you take that rule out of it, it is still a high risk hitting the ball short because the goalkeeper can't receive the ball back in his own half. That is the reason why so many kickouts are being lumped out.

“It's virtually impossible if teams push up for the goalkeeper to find any pocket of space, to risky to hit it short. You play safe and you belt it out the middle and from there it's 50-50.”

But Canavan has concerns over how the new rules will be implemented at club level.

“Whenever you bring in major change, no matter what you are doing, it’s going to be uncomfortable for some people,” he said.

“It presents serious challenges for players first of all, and also referees.

“I know from speaking to some referees, they think it is a far better game and going to help them, make it easier, but in the short term it’s not because they have so much to bring on board.

“There is a lot going on but in the long run I think the referees will appreciate the rules.”

He feels referees will have difficulty in dealing with all the rule changes involved.

“It doesn’t sit well with me. I think it can be accommodated at county level, no problem, because you have a good referee, four umpires and two linesmen, but what about club football? That’s a completely different question and a different set of challenges.

“While I would prefer if there were less rules in number to make it easier for referees, I think every rule change enhancement is very valid and a very good reason for it.”

Donegal made it two wins from two in their rearranged trip to Killarney, where they defeated Kerry by 0-23 to 1-18.

Late points from Jamie Brennan (2) and Conor O’Donnell saw the Ulster side hold on for the victory as the hosts pushed hard down the home stretch.

The Ulster champions made a sizzling start at Fitzgerald Stadium that saw them 0-4 to 0-0 up inside the opening eight minutes and, while Kerry went level by the 23rd minute with Dylan Geaney’s point, scores via Paddy McBrearty, Conor O’Donnell, Ryan McHugh and Oisin Gallen saw the visitors go in at the break with a 0-11 to 0-7 advantage.

Two McHugh scores helped stretch the lead to half a dozen ten minutes into the second-half before the Kingdom hit a purple patch that saw scores sail over from Conor Geaney, Sean O’Shea and Paudie Clifford ahead of Diarmuid O’Connor bagging the game’s only goal with eight minutes left in normal time.

O’Connor’s strike made it a one-point game and although O’Shea cancelled out a point from O’Donnell, Brennan’s point at the death ensured the hard fought victory for Donegal, a first in Kerry since 1998.