Down's tenacity impresses Canavan

Wednesday 12th July 2017

Down's tenacity impresses Canavan

Down's Peter Turley and Darren O'Hagan tackle Dessie Ward of Monaghan.
©INPHO/Presseye/Philip Magowan.

Peter Canavan says Tyrone will have to be aware of Down's tenacity and will to win.

The Mourne County demonstrated remarkable reserves of determination in their Ulster SFC victories over Armagh and Monaghan and they will be bidding for a third successive surprise win when locking horns with Tyrone in Sunday's Anglo-Celt Cup decider in Clones. Double All-Ireland winner Canavan says the holders - who brushed aside Donegal at the semi-final stage - will have to be on their guard:

“The question is, can they replicate that level of performance that they reached against Donegal, because I thought it was exceptional, it was brilliant to watch. The level that they were playing at was something else,” the Tyrone legend states in The Irish News.

“It’s very difficult to repeat that. Tyrone had Donegal eyed up for some months, they had a lot of reasons why they wanted to get one over on Donegal.

“This is different. Down are the team that have shown a ravenous hunger so far in both their victories in the Ulster championship. It was their tenacity and their will to win against Monaghan that really stood out, so Tyrone would need to be ready for that.

“I think if Tyrone can match that aspect of the game, I believe Tyrone have the better footballers. Every game will bring up different variables and different ways to go at it, and Tyrone may need a different type of approach maybe at some stage to get over the line against Down.”