GLORY IS IN OUR GRASP
Red Hands have huge belief, says Donnelly
MATTIE DONNELLY has rubbished the notion that Monaghan will be cowed by their poor record against Tyrone at Croke Park. Despite emerging from their Super 8s group with red-hot form and an unbeaten record, the Farney County are still regarded as underdogs for Sunday’s semi-final clash at GAA headquarters.
That would hardly seem in keeping with the form guide as Malachy O’Rourke’s side have already beaten Tyrone twice — in League and Championship — this year, as well as coming into the weekend’s encounter on the back of a double scores success over Galway.
There is a sense, though, that Monaghan are still a fragile team when it comes to big-match days in Croke Park.
The last, and only time, they won an All-Ireland semi-final on Jones’ Road was back in 1930 and it has also been the scene of four quarter-final defeats inside five years.
The fact that two of those losses were to Tyrone — the other two were inflicted by Dublin — may suggest that Mickey Harte’s men have a psychological hold over Monaghan.
But Red Hand ace Donnelly dismisses such a theory, pointing to his own team’s place in the semifinal as proof that losing records are made to be broken.
Tyrone’s victory over Donegal last weekend was the county’s first in Ballybofey since 1973.
‘I know Monaghan will not be putting any emphasis on what’s happened in the past,’ insists the two-time All-Star. ‘It was the very same as us. If we were to read into what’s happened in the past we wouldn’t have won in Ballybofey because I had never gone there in a Tyrone top and won before.
‘So if you were to believe what happened in the past as relevant to the present we wouldn’t be in an All-Ireland semi-final now.’
But to ignore the past is the ultimate test of a team’s self-belief.
Tyrone passed that exam despite the knowledge that Donegal had not lost a game in Ballybofey for eight years. They stayed true to their gameplan despite gift-wrapping a goal to Donegal as well as being four points behind at the end of the third quarter.
‘Whenever you go anywhere at this stage of the competition you have to go there with serious belief, whether it’s Ballybofey, Clones, or Croke Park. ‘It had been well documented that no team had come to Ballybofey in the previous 21 games and come out with a win so we knew it was going to be a monumental task.
‘It was extremely tough and you would have to be extremely proud of the boys, because we conceded a goal at a bad time and then at the start of the second half we couldn’t break that three-point lead they had.
‘But we kept at it when it would have been easy to accept at a stage that no-one comes to this place [Ballybofey] and wins, but we kept going.’
It has taken them to yet another semi-final — Tyrone’s fifth since their last All-Ireland win in 2008 — but they have not managed to find a way to the final in that time.
Their capacity to get out of trouble has served them well all summer — they looked destined to make a first round exit to Meath in the qualifiers but scraped a win in extra-time — and has added to the sense that this may be their season of destiny.
But Donnelly won’t be fooled into thinking that, insisting the Red Hand County will have to make it happen for themselves.
‘We have serious belief in the work we’ve done, we have serious belief in the players who come on to reinforce what we’ve done until a certain point in a game and we have serious belief in each other.
‘But we’re down to four teams now and all four will have serious belief in themselves and have all those qualities and characteristics. Belief will get you to a certain point, but execution is what gets you over the line.
‘We are meeting a team who are unbeaten in their Super 8s group, a very strong group. They were very impressive against Galway and especially against Kerry, and are the only team to beat Dublin this year so it’s going to be every bit as tough, if not tougher, than it was for us against Donegal.
‘But, at the same time, what an opportunity it is for both teams.’