Boss Darren McCann insists Tyrone always felt in total control of title destiny after savouring All-Ireland Intermediate glory

Belfast Telegraph

19 hours ago

'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 their 2024 Final defeat to Leitrim to win the TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate title for the first time since their sole previous success in 2018.
Tyrone enjoyed a 1-07 to 1-05 interval lead, with Horisk's 27th-minute goal cancelling out an equally superb finish from Laois' Shifra Havill four minutes earlier.
There was little to separate the teams throughout a nervy second-half, but the decisive moment arrived in the 54th minute as Muldoon left Laois goalkeeper Eimear Barry helpless with a shot from close range.
It was Tyrone who seized the early initiative through points from Sorcha Gormley and Cara McCrossan before Laois struck back to level parity by the fourth minute courtesy of scores from Jane Moore and Emma Lawlor.
Lawlor edged Laois in front in the seventh minute, immediately after their corner-back Faye McEvoy had produced a superb goalline clearance at the opposite end, with parity restored soon after through a Niamh O'Neill free.
Parity continued as Emily Lacey and Aoife Horisk (free) traded points by the end of the first quarter, with the Ulster county re-establishing their two-point advantage thanks to Sláine McCarroll and the lively Gormley.
However, their inaccuracy up front undermined their general control as O'Neill placed her shot too close to Barry in the 22nd minute, and that profligacy was punished in an instant as Lawlor worked well in releasing Havill for an emphatic finish to the roof of Amelia Coyle's net.
Frustration continued for Tyrone in the 26th minute as Gormley was denied from the penalty spot following a foul on Horisk, but the latter made no mistake a minute later as she drilled home from 10 yards to edge her side two points clear by half-time.
Laois wasted little time in getting back on level terms as Mo Nerney and Fiona Dooley both scored within three minutes of the restart.
Crucially, Laois were unable to get in front this time as O'Neill (free) and Horisk responded for Tyrone, with the latter becoming increasingly influential as the contest evolved.
The same could be said for Nerney, who added two points in quick succession to bring Laois to within a point by the 43rd minute.
However, their momentum stalled 10 minutes from time as Ciara Crowley was yellow-carded, and O'Neill's subsequent free helped double Tyrone's advantage.
Tyrone wrapped up the issue when Muldoon followed up well to net after fellow substitute Emer McCanny had been denied, and they pulled away by the final whistle thanks to insurance points from O'Neill, Gormley and captain Aoibhinn McHugh.
Scorers, Tyrone: N O'Neill 0-07 (3f); A Horisk 1-03 (0-01f); S Gormley 0-03; K Muldoon 1-00; A McHugh, S McCarroll, C McCrossan 0-01 each.
Laois: E Lawlor (3f), M Nerney (3f) 0-05 each; S Havill 1-00; F Dooley, J Moore, E Lacey 0-01 each.
Tyrone: A Coyle; J Lyons, G McKenna, E Quinn; C Campbell, M Mallon, C Canavan; A McHugh, S McCarroll; E McNamee, S Gormley, A Horisk; N O'Neill, C McCrossan, M Corrigan.
Subs: E McCanny for McCrossan (36), K Muldoon for McNamee (45), A McGahan for Campbell (53), C McCaffrey for O'Neill (58), J Barrett for Horisk (59).
Laois: E Barry; S Farrelly, C Dunne, F McEvoy; A Gorman, A Moore, A Moran; F Dooley, J Moore; S Havill, E Galvin, C Crowley; E Lacey, E Lawlor, M Nerney.
Subs: L Kearney for Gorman (39), M Cotter for McEvoy (45), K Donoghue for Lacey (47), A Fitzpatrick for Havill (56).
Meanwhile, Dublin claimed their seventh All-Ireland Ladies Senior Football Championship title with a clinical display against Meath at Croke Park.
The Sky Blues prevailed on a 2-16 to 0-10 scoreline, with most of the damage done in a whirlwind first-half.
A bumper crowd of 48,089 – the highest Final attendance since the 2019 decider – made it a memorable day at GAA Headquarters.
But it was Dublin who settled the quickest and raced into a 12-point lead by the 24th minute.
Hannah Tyrrell's two early points were followed by a goal from Nicole Owens in the seventh minute. Kate Sullivan tagged on another point before Meath finally got on the scoreboard with a pointed free from Emma Duggan.
Carla Rowe then restored Dublin's six-point advantage before Tyrrell grabbed her third score of the game.
Niamh Hetherton notched Dublin's second goal in the 23rd minute as Meath struggled to keep up with a blistering Sky Blues display.
Meath rallied but couldn't make inroads into the Dubs' advantage. Sullivan increased Dublin's lead, but Duggan grabbed two more pointed frees to bring her – and Meath's – total to four for the first-half.
With the half-time scoreline at 2-09 to 0-04, the Royals needed a big response in the second-half.
Duggan was once again on hand to reduce the arrears to 10 points, and she followed that up with Meath's first point from play – a beautiful, curling effort from distance on 41 minutes.
Vikki Wall then got in on the act with another point for the Royals, but Rowe restored Dublin's nine-point advantage just after.
The Leinster rivals traded points thereafter with Sullivan, Hetherton and Crowley on target for Dublin, while Meath responded with points from Cleary and Duggan, making it 2-14 to 0-10 with 15 minutes left to play.