McAliskey and red-hot Tyrone are aiming high
TYRONE’S star forward Connor McAliskey has claimed that the Ulster side must ‘push on’ after reaching the Super 8s.
McAliskey has been one of Tyrone’s principle driving forces on the way to the last eight, where tonight they will face Roscommon in the opening round in Croke Park, having racked up 2-27 — 2-9 from open play.
But after a surprise defeat in Ulster at the hands of Monaghan and an opening round scare in the qualifiers to Meath, McAliskey insists that his team have to build on their recent momentum and not just settle for qualifying for a place in the Super 8s.
‘We worked hard for the McKenna Cup and the League, but the one we are all aiming for is the big one at the end of the year,’ insists McAliskey.
‘Our primary target was making it to the Super 8s but now we want to qualify out of the Super 8s. The crowd is getting behind us, the fans are coming out and we want to keep that going now.’
Tyrone’s form is on an upwards curve, especially after hammering Cork by 16 points last weekend, which was in sharp contrast to their early summer form when they needed a late point from Cathal McShane to force their game against Meath into extra-time.
‘We have taken full advantage from that, and maybe we have learned from it too,’ claims McAliskey.
‘We had chances in the first half of that game to stretch out the lead against them and we did not take them and over a couple of games we had struggled to push on when we had a lead.
‘That is something we focused on and it showed against Cork.’
Along the way, McAliskey’s own form has taken off, which was critical after Tyrone lost his inside forward colleagues Mark Bradley — who scored a goal on his return off the bench against Cork — and Lee Brennan in the defeat by Monaghan.
But McAliskey, sidelined last season with a cruciate injury, says he didn’t feel any pressure taking on the scoring burden.
‘I knew people were saying that and Lee and Mark had been going well all year. We obviously knew we had to extend our panel to the limit but Richie (Donnelly) came in and adapted very well in the full-forward line. Ronan O’Neill and Harry Loughran were there to provide that extra option inside.
‘You look back at the Meath game and the impact that Cathal (McShane) made, the impact that Rory (Brennan) and Harry (Loughran) have had, Rory’s vision and Harry popping up at the back post to score that goal in extra time. That is credit to us as a squad that we can deliver.’
“We’re on plan, and we want the big one now’