10 YEARS AGO

THE fall-out from ‘rufflegate’ continued with Tyrone confirming that they were appealing the eight-week ban handed out to Tiernan McCann after he hit the deck after being patted on the head by Monaghan’s Darren Hughes in their All-Ireland SFC quarter-final.

McCann took a torrent of abuse online and in the press afterwards, and Red Hand boss Mickey Harte said they would be standing behind their defender.

“Surprised isn’t the word I would use. I would use a stronger word,” Harte said of the eight-week ban.

“On behalf of Tiernan McCann, I’m saying if he had the chance again, he probably would have responded differently. We all accept that,” added the Tyrone boss.

“But I don’t think he’s the first person to ever have over-reacted to anything and I don’t think he will be the last.

Galway booked their place in the All-Ireland SHC final following a thrilling 0-26 to 3-16 win over Tipperary at Croke Park.

Noel McGrath looked like he had given the Premier County the edge with a 69th minute score, but Anthony Cunningham’s side responded in fine fashion with Jason Flynn and youngster Shane Maloney turning things around.

Cunningham had told Kilkenny boss Brian Cody after the Leinster final that sides would meet again in the All-Ireland decider – and the premonition came true.

Down’s hopes of reaching the All-Ireland MHC B final came to an end as Kerry defeated them 2-22 to 3-9 in their Newbridge semi-final.

The Ulster outfit had started brightly, Daithi Sands finding the net early doors, but despite a further two goals, they came up short.

20 YEARS AGO

THE Tyrone 2005 championship journey picked up another stop as they were handed another replay date following a 1-14 to 1-14 draw with Dublin in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

Manager Mickey Harte was left scratching his head as his side had easily been the better team, but the Dublin team had a bit of grit about them and managed to find a way to save their season – temporarily at least.

The Ulster side had actually trailed by five points at the break, but they easily caught up on the resumption, Owen Mulligan, now with a new lease of life, grabbing their goal.

From that stage there only looked one winner, but Stevie O’Neill missed a glorious goal chance after a delightful Peter Canavan pass and Dublin took advantage of the reprieve to force a second outing.

There was disappointment for the Down hurlers as their Christy Ring Cup hopes came up short following a 1-23 to 2-18 final loss to Westmeath.

It was the first year of the competition, and a place in the Leinster Championship was up for grabs, but Down couldn’t get over the line.

They looked like they would have a second chance, at least, as a Martin Coulter free levelled it up with the game moving into additional time, but Westmeath hit two late points to win it.

It was a redemption story for the Midlanders who saw manager Tom Ryan walk out mid-season due to poor attendance levels at training, Seamus Qualter coming in as interim boss and it worked out better than anyone expected.

Down had briefly thought about an appeal as the first half was blown up four minutes early, but that was decided against.

30 YEARS AGO

TYRONE booked their place in All-Ireland final for just the second time ever as they overcame a stern Galway test to win 1-13 to 0-13.

Unsurprisingly, Peter Canavan was the star of the show as he hit 1-7, 1-3 of that coming from play.

Galway were tougher opposition than expected, and brought it back to a single point late on, but the Red Hands hit the afterburners with a few late white flags to secure a final date.

Galway tasted double defeat on the day as their minors went down to Derry on a 3-7 to 1-12 scoreline.

Enda Muldoon was the Oakleaf hero as he struck their third goal in the final minute to break Tribe hearts. Joe Cassidy and Johnny McBride were their other goalscorers on the day.