McKernan happy with return to winning ways

TYRONE were left kicking their heels for six weeks after their Ulster exit to Armagh but are certainly keen to make up for lost time.

In a superb game of football, they edged out Connacht champions Roscommon in what could well prove to be a statement win.

In most quarters outside the group the Red Hands were written off but they produced by far their best display of 2026 to date to claim a deserved win.

“We knew how tough it was going to be,” acknowledged Michael McKernan.

“Roscommon put on a great display against Galway in the Connacht final at Hyde Park and they would have been keen to have backed that up.

“They were one of the top sides in Division One this season, so we knew we had to be on our game to get the right result.

“In the end, it all boiled down to serious hard work from us and digging in to get the win.”

On an emotional day for Tyrone GAA with the death of the legendary Frank McGuigan, McKernan was glad that they produced a display fitting of the occasion.

“It was sad news when we heard it and our thoughts go out to the McGuigan family and thankfully we put in a performance that they can be proud of,” said Michael.

“They (Roscommon) were being talked up after winning the Connacht title and rightly so, they fully deserved it.

“We had a six-week break since our narrow loss to Armagh.

“While we put in a massive performance that day we didn’t win and we aren’t really into morale victories.

“We knew that if we brought the same energy here today and produced the things that we had worked on in training since that Armagh game then we could put a performance together and thankfully that’s what we did.

“In the new format, if you were to lose the first game, you still have a chance but a defeat puts you under a bit of pressure.

“You want to be winning every game that you play in and it’s a while since we got a win, so it’s nice to get back to winning ways.”