Tyrone held to a draw in Division Two opener against Kildare

THERE was no shortage of thrills or spills but ultimately Tyrone had to content themselves with a draw in a high-scoring Division Two opener against 14-man Kildare at O’Neill’s Healy Park this evening.

A late goal from Ethan Jordan – who scored a personal total of 1-9 in an outstanding league debut – looked to have been enough to secure a hard-earned victory for the home side, but two scores in the frantic final minutes from Kildare half-forward Brian McLoughlin left it Tyrone 2-16 Kildare 1-19 at the final whistle.

Played on a blustery, rainy night, this was Tyrone’s first game in Division Two since 2016. Manager Malachy O’Rourke fielded a relatively inexperienced line up and newcomer Ethan Jordan opened the scoring with just two minutes on the clock. It wouldn’t be his last.

Eoin Cully, a real menace in the first-half, fired over Kildare’s first point and a beautiful effort it was too, before Jordan nailed a thumping two-point free into the face of an unforgiving breeze.

Cully tagged on another for a Kildare team whose attacking play was organised and precise, Tyrone responding this time with a point from Ciarán Bogue after trading passes with Joe Oguz, who had an influential game in the middle of the park.

Tyrone led 0-7 to 0-4 at the end of the first quarter following points from Jordan (a two-pointer from play) and Bogue.

The Red Hands were tipping along nicely but the second quarter wasn’t productive on the scoreboard – they were outscored by their fired up opponents by 1-4 to 0-1 for the remainder of the half, their goal coming courtesy of late inclusion Darragh Swords.

Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke brought on captain Brian Kennedy and Loughmacrory starlet Eoin McElholm at half-time, and the early signs were promising with McElholm and Jordan finding the target. Down the other end of the pitch, Joey Clarke was looking really sharp on his league debut, while Ronan Cassidy did well in an unfamiliar defensive role.

Kildare didn’t wilt though with their midfielder Callum Bolton landing a trademark two-pointer to open up a 1-10 to 0-10 lead with 39 minutes gone. They were dealt a big below when Brendan Gibbons was dismissed for a second yellow 10 minutes into the second half, and Tyrone enjoyed a purple patch which yielded dividends on the scoreboard – Joe Oguz with a superb finish to the net, Jordan’s latest effort as well as two points from sub Darragh Canavan, introduced for his first appearance of the new season.

The Lilywhites kept on chipping away but it looked like Tyrone were poised for victory when Jordan blasted to the net after Ben Cullen picked up the break in the middle. Kildare had other ideas – a free from Brian McLoughlin followed by an ice-cool two-pointer from play from the very same man ensured that the game ended up all square on the scoreboard.