O’Rourke hails fighting spirit as Tyrone book quarter-final spot

IT was a picture-perfect moment: Niall Morgan wheeled away in celebration as the fans rose in jubilation to acclaim his sensational two-point free with 90 seconds remaining.

We’d certainly have forgiven Morgan had he missed – he was stationed just yards from the sideline as he stepped up to take the kick – but he judged it to absolute perfection to send Tyrone into the lead at the opportune moment.

Mercifully, Tyrone held out in the closing seconds to book their spot in the All-Ireland SFC quarter-finals on one of those memorable championship days that serve to electrify an entire county.

Nearly 12,000 spectators descended on Healy Park for today’s encounter with Mayo. Speaking after the game, Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke expressed his gratitude to the home support – it all makes a difference.

“It means so much to have the crowd behind us. I always say to the boys that the most important thing you do is represent the team the right way. You fight for every ball, you don’t give up until the final whistle, and I think if you do that, the support will follow you. I’m just delighted they were there today. It means so much, especially coming towards the end of the game. Everybody enjoyed it. It was great to see the scenes after the game, and we’re so delighted to get through it again.”

O’Rourke sensed that Morgan was in confident mood as he took the long walk upfield for that last-gasp free. It had been a rollercoaster encounter with the teams finding  themselves level on 10 separate occasions, but Tyrone held their nerve on the home straight to prevail.

“Ethan has been starting games and maybe taking the frees, while Niall doesn’t hit as many. It was great the way he stepped up. He nailed the 45 first of all and then came up for a really difficult free. I thought the way he approached it, he was very composed, and it was a lovely strike. It was a great way to win it.”

O’Rourke added: “We always thought it would come down to the last 10 minutes or so, and that’s how it panned out. I’m delighted we showed great leadership, great courage and composure towards the end to get those couple of scores and hold out.

“I think the boys really showed their fighting spirit towards the end. We won a couple of crucial balls. The other important thing is keeping the ball and making good decisions, and we were able to do that and get over the line.”

One of the big talking points was a sublime showing from Darren McCurry, who entered the fray with 25 minutes remaining. He scored six points in total, four from open play, but that doesn’t really tell the full story – his accuracy in front of the posts was remarkable.

“Darren was itching to get in. He’s been struggling with injury and hasn’t been able to train fully, but he’s a great influence behind the scenes, helps the other boys along and was just itching to get in and play his part. You saw it in him – he was hungry to get on the ball. He wasn’t hiding behind anyone. He wanted to get out in front, he wanted to take the shot on, and he made a massive impact.”