THRILL OF THE SKILL
Tyrone chief Logan says Red Hands’ technical ability isn’t given credit it deserves
FEARGAL LOGAN reckons the ability of his All-ireland winning stars has been overlooked in the rush to hail Tyrone’s grit and determination.
Joint-manager Logan saw four of his back seven – including goalkeeper Niall Morgan – score against Monaghan and Mayo, with five of them hitting the target against Kerry.
“I sort of felt people generally underestimated how good the footballers we were dealing with are here,” said Logan.
“That was shown out during the summer.
“Going into the final when Mayo were favourites, I felt, there is a double edge to that.
“You are nearly glad they are favourites and you think let’s just get in and out, win this and show them how good we are.
“Because for all that is said about Tyrone – it’s grit and it’s this, that and the other – fundamentally there are very talented footballers at play in Tyrone.”
Logan revealed that he was worried about Tyrone’s lack of goals during the National League, with the likes of Kerry (13), Dublin (8) and Monaghan (6) bagging majors for fun.
Tyrone hit just three in their four games.
But, they finished out the year with five goals in the All-ireland semi-final (3) and final (2) to claim a fourth Sam Maguire.
Conor Mckenna (2), Cathal Mcshane (2), and Darren Mccurry – palming home a Mckenna pass in the All-ireland final
– got the five crucial goals.
Mckenna, who left Essendon Bombers last year, and Mcshane, who rejected overtures from Adelaide Crows, could both have been on the other side of the world had things worked out differently.
In the end, Tyrone needed all the pieces of the jigsaw to fall into place.
“Every piece,” said Logan. “I said to myself, and to Brian too, ‘When is this team going to open up and score a few goals?’
“We had struggled in the League. I thought, ‘There must be goals somewhere. There is something wrong.’
“Every other team is able to score goals and we weren’t but happily they came for us.
“It was better keeping them to the last.”