ALL-IRELAND FOOTBALL SEMI-FINAL ALL HANDS ON DECK All out defence then all out attack is Blueprint says Harte

IF the scoring machine Tyrone have unleashed this summer is the real deal, then they’ll go close to pulling off an ambush on Dublin.

Any repeat of the small totals they’ve clocked in big Croke Park defeats over the past decade, and they have no chance.

That is the big unknown heading into Sunday’s eagerly awaited All-ireland semi-final showdown and of course Mickey Harte, always a bundle of positivity, has a good feeling about his side. “I can’t say the transformation just takes place in one year but there has been a whole lot of thought around the idea of finishing better,” said the Tyrone boss.

“We’ve hit some purple patches this year and when you do that it’s not so much the scores themselves, but it’s the confidence they give the entire team.

“I would say we play football in every aspect of that term.

“I don’t want to describe it as total football, because that sounds a bit pompous. When we don’t have the ball, everybody should work to get it back.

“When we do, everybody is always on the case to see how they can help or play some part.”

It’s been said Tyrone haven’t been tested this summer, but an average of just under 24 points per game in four big wins over Derry, Donegal, Down and Armagh is still noteworthy, particularly given the spread of scorers.

It’s in stark contrast to the totals they’ve managed since their last All-ireland victory in 2008.

When their season has ended in Croke Park, against Cork (2009), Dublin (2010, 2011), Mayo (2013, 2016) and Kerry (2015) they’ve only scored an average of 13 points.

Tyrone’s brilliantly organised defence should stop the steady flow of easy frees from Dublin’s two top-scorers Dean Rock and Con O’callaghan.

Of the 3-37 that duo has clocked up, 0-27 of it has been from placed balls so Tyrone’s discipline should slow down Dublin’s scoring rate, but they still have to stick the ball over the bar at the other end.

“It’s a two-way process,” says Harte. “If we spend all our time thinking about Dublin and forget what we need to do, then we’ll not be coming up with any particular answer useful to us.

“Our focus has been on improving on what we can offer individually and collectively.

“Every team we’ve played we looked at what we need to be very mindful of, and this is probably more complex, in that Dublin provide more problems to any team we have faced in the last eight or nine years.”

In that case, what wouldn’t

Harte give for a

Peter Canavan, Owen Mulligan, Stephen O’neill or Brian Mcguigan to prey on any Dublin vulnerability.

Harte knows comparisons are futile and is tired defending the merits of a very different modern forward line.

“At that time you always had a big-scoring forward which probably isn’t a phenomenon of the modern game.

“I don’t think it’s right to compare this team to a previous era. They have to be allowed to be judged in their own right. “I believe that potential is there.

“Whether it is realised or not right now, that’s a big question, but I think this Tyrone squad is on the way to reaching the top level.”