Red Hand boss confident his side would deliver

By Rónán Mac Lochlainn

TYRONE manager Darren McCann said he was confident all through that they had the measure of Laois at Croke Park to capture the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate title for the second time in history.

“On the sideline, we felt totally in control. We were creating chances but we just weren’t taking them, which was frustrating for us,” said McCann.

“When we play relaxed football, we are a hard team to stop and we played relaxed football, especially in the second half.

“The whole group have serious heart and determination as a collective and that was a collective performance. I was really happy with their performance today and the key thing was getting on top and staying on top.”

Goals in either half from Aoife Horisk and Katie Rose Muldoon proved pivotal as they edged out Laois by six points to deservedly capture the Mary Quinn Memorial Cup at Croke Park.

In the process Tyrone bounced back from last year’s final defeat to Leitrim to capture the TG4 All-Ireland intermediate title for the first time since they sole success in 2018.

Laois manager Stephen Duff said they were always chasing the game but he was very proud of their effort.

“We didn’t perform in the game. There was a bit of relief that we weren’t further behind at half-time,” said Duff.

“Whether the occasion got to us or it was just a bad day at the office, it just wasn’t a great performance.

“We kept in the game in the third quarter but we probably needed another goal at that time and they managed to pull away in the end.

“We’re savagely proud of everyone and we’ll just take it on the chin.”