Tyrone look set to be without former captain Mattie Donnelly for at least one more game, including Saturday’s trip to Ballybofey to face Donegal.
Donnelly was taken off at half-time during the round two defeat to Armagh in the Athletic Grounds earlier this month and he wasn’t included in the 26-man squad for yesterday’s game against Kildare in Omagh.
The All-Ireland champions registered their first win of 2022 as they edged out the Lilywhites 2-7 to 0-12 in brutal conditions in Healy Park with second half goals from Conn Kilpatrick and Darren McCurry giving the home side a narrow win.
Tyrone’s squad depth was tested to its limits on Sunday with captain Padraig Hampsey, Kieran McGeary, Michael McKernan and Peter Harte all suspended following on from that loss to the Orchard County.
While the aforementioned quartet will return for Saturday’s Ulster derby in Ballybofey, joint-manager Brian Dooher believes it will come too soon for Donnelly and full-back Ronan McMamee.
“Mattie (Donnelly) hurt his shoulder a couple of weeks ago against Armagh,” said Dooher.
“He is just recovering from it so he’ll be another week or two yet I’d imagine before he’ll be ready again.
“Hopefully we’ll see Ronan (McNamee) out on the training pitch soon. It is a long-term injury. We’d be hoping that he’ll be integrated back into training in the next week or two, so you are talking three or four weeks before you’d see him again.”
In total, Tyrone were without seven of the starting 15 from last September’s All-Ireland victory over Mayo with Conor McKenna also making his first start of the League campaign.
Kildare made the better start in the wind and rain with their full-forward line of Paddy Woodgate, Daniel Flynn and Jimmy Hyland causing the hosts plenty of problems.
Glenn Ryan’s side were good value for their 0-8 to 0-4 lead at the break, although Tyrone did squander a couple of goal chances.
They managed to find the net early in the second half via Kilpatrick before McCurry’s major moved them into the lead on 58 minutes.
However, Flynn missed a last-gasp chance to claim all three points for the Leinster side when he fired a shot over Niall Morgan's crossbar.
“It wasn’t straight-forward and it was a bit too close for comfort - we are just glad to be sitting with the two points,” reflected Dooher.
“A draw wouldn’t have been an unfair result. To be fair, you have to give our boys credit because it was going against them for a long time out there and they dug deep in the second half.
“They didn’t panic and they eventually got ahead and held their nerve at the end. It was too close for comfort, but it showed a bit of steel about them and a bit of perseverance about them.”
“The goals were game-changers for us and we could have had more of them. We could have conceded one or two as well.
“All-in-all, we’re just glad to win the game and we have a lot of learning to take from it. We’re by no means the finished article, we have a lot of work to do before we meet Donegal next week, but at least we’re in a better place.”
Dooher also added that Tyrone had drawn a line under the suspensions saga following on from the Armagh game.
Tyrone had challenged the dismissals last week and sought hearing for their four player, as did Armagh’s Greg McCabe.
Yet, the Central Hearings Committee upheld all five red cards issued by David Gough following the late melee in the Athletic Grounds.
The former All-Ireland winning captain said the issue is over, adding that it wasn’t used as a motivating factor against Kildare.
“The way I look at it is it done and dusted now,” said Dooher
“To me, I’ve drew a line on it. It’s gone. It is not going to serve me or anyone else any purpose by discussing it again. We got our suspensions. We took them.
“We have moved on and those boys will be back and available for us next week.
“These lads here knew they had an opportunity first and foremost to say, “I am staying here and I am good enough to be on this team,” and that’s their first focus.
“Surely, they were doing it for everybody, but the challenge was to prove the point that they were good enough to be on this team.”
