Tyrone lost once again as Monaghan landed a one-point win in tonight's Allianz League clash. The final score was Monaghan 0-15 Tyrone 0-14.
The result comes amidst a bad run for Mickey Harte's side. They lost their opening game against Galway 1-9 to 0-08, then lost against Dublin 2-13 to 1-11 and finally landed a much-needed win against Kildare 1-16 to 0-18. They then went and lost the McKenna Cup final against Donegal.
After tonight's game, Sean Cavanagh tweeted the following:
As he has proven in the past, Cavanagh is a measured pundit and articulates the point without veering into extremes. It is, after all, only the league. Harte is a seasoned operator and Tyrone will be well poised to win an Ulster title come the Summer. But fundamentally, there is a flaw within their gameplan.
When the historians reflect on this century of football, the one pivotal moment will be Donegal's legendary victory against Jim Gavin's Dublin in 2014. They were beaten in a way they will never be beaten again.
Gavin adapted after that semi-final loss and hasn't lost an All-Ireland since. Dublin currently set the benchmark and as Tyrone demonstrated last year, they won't be beaten by predominately defensive football.
Even fellow players have noticed it, as Lee Keegan said when speaking to balls.ie earlier this year.
I watched Dublin play against numerous blanket defences and it has just become too easy. it's too structured from other teams, Dublin can break it down very easy. Again, I look at the Tyrone game last year, it was over after 20 minutes because Tyrone couldn't change their defensive structure to an attacking structure.
Tyrone can undoubtedly win an Ulster title, they may even make a semi-final. But ultimately, if Mickey Harte is ever to add to his All-Ireland haul, they will need to progress and utilise their talented forwards better. They started tonight with a trio of Connor McAliskey, Lee Brennan and Richard Donnelly in their full-forward line. They scored a combined one point from play. If not for Brennan's free-taking, the loss would have been far greater.
Harte has recruited Stephen O'Neill and has proved before he is capable of making swift change.
It was telling in the final moments, with the game finely balanced, Tyrone resorted to a long-range Peter Harte effort that dropped short. Tyrone are an extremely talented side, with winnable games ahead, but in need to use this league campaign to become more adaptable.
Over the past two years, the game has evolved. Now Tyrone need to.
