Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ALL-IRELAND FINAL COUNTDOWN:
Philomena’s in fine tune ahead of crunch clash Upset may cost bookies £1.8m
NESTLED in the corner of Irish Street in Dungannon, Stewart’s music shop is blasting Come On Tyrone from its outside speakers.
As with previous finals local musicians and singers have been crafting their own tributes to the current squad including the queen of country, Tyrone’s very own Philomena Begley.
Proprietor Raymond Stewart believes this Red Hands side represent how much the sport has changed in just a few years.
He told the Mirror: “I think there is a wee bit of surprise to be here at this stage, it’s sort of crept up on us.
“As well as that football isn’t as attractive these days as it used to be. Years ago we had a lot of excitement and we had a very busy, sharp, nippy full-forward line.
“Now we play very much like a machine, a very, very well-oiled machine.
“The last time Philomena had a song out for the final we had the lyrics, ‘Has he gone left, has he gone right, the full-back calls, the crowd all cheer, the Red Hands roar and wee Peter’s on the ball’.
“There’s not that cheer any more when a player gets the ball.
“When Peter [Canavan] used to get the ball or Stephen O’neill the place would have erupted, but it’s not the players fault, it’s just the way we play and the way the game has changed over the last few years.” A TYRONE win this weekend would hammer the bookies to the tune of £1.8million.
Mickey Harte’s men remain rank outsiders at 11-2 to deny the Dubs four-in-a-row on Sunday.
But a late flurry of cash on the Red Hands has increased belief in some quarters that a shock is on the cards.
Paddy Power revealed: “If Harte’s men step up to the plate the Dubs won’t be the only ones seeing red this weekend as we would estimate an upset will see bookmakers industrywide coughing up in excess of £1.8million to Tyrone’s supporters.”