Tyrone champions made winning start to Ulster campaign on Saturday evening

In more than a decade and a half of service to the Edendork cause, Conor Mallon feels that for the first time, he’s part of a team that has structure and purpose.

After claiming a maiden county title. A winning start to the provincial series has opened up another new world of opportunity for the Tyrone champions.

And it’s all about building the capacity to establish control, as they did at Newry, where they contrived a five-point win over Clonduff.

“I’m playing senior 16 years, but it just feels this year that there’s been something brewing in that team,” said Mallon.

“We’re very tactical, but I think Tyrone football is very tactical. I don’t watch enough of the other counties to know.

“For many years we have been going out, and thinking that if you play the football, you win the game, thinking that the best players on the day are going to win.

“But that’s not the way it works, we have always had the players, we have always had the talent and the hard work, but you have to have that tactical side along with it, or you’re not going to win the big prizes.”

The addition of Conleth Gilligan to the Edendork management set-up has added vital knowledge and understanding of the intricacies of Ulster club football.

A provincial and All-Ireland winner both as player and coach, with Ballinderry and Kilcoo, Gilligan’s insights are nuggets of the precious variety.

“It’s very hard to get control in the new rules, but we’re trying our best, and that’s probably ‘Deets’ coming into the equation. He loves control, he’s a control freak, so we try and listen to him as much as we can.

“You’re not going to get control the whole game, especially against really good teams, but we manage to get it for long periods, which was great.

“First ten or fifteen minutes, we tried to take the sting out of it, and I thought we did that well, we were composed.

“We probably knew that they didn’t have as much legs as we do.

“We were very composed up until the last five, ten minutes, when it turned into a bit of a basketball match. I think we are a composed team.

“I think Donaghmore was probably our best game in the championship, where we controlled the game.”

Niall Morgan, a match-winner in the Tyrone SFC final replay, once again came up with a couple of two-pointers, while Darren McCurry mailed a 0-8 tally at Páirc Esler.

But it’s the scores that come from elsewhere that make all the difference, according to team captain Mallon.

Niall and Darren are quality players, but we rely on scores from everywhere, and that’s the great thing about it.

“I’m sitting at corner back, but I usually chip in with a score.

“We have sores from all over, and that’s great, it takes the pressure off Darren and Niall.

“It’s hard to beat having a lot of boys in the team that are able to take scores, and you’re not going to win anything without that.”

Edendork had just a week to celebrate ,recover and prepare for their provincial debut after beating Errigal Ciarn at the second attempt to win the O’Neill Cup, while the Down champions had a three-week run-in to their first Ulster Club SFC appearance in 26 years.

But Mallon said: “The body of work is done, we have the training done, so this week it was all about tactical stuff and recovery, trying to get the minds right.

“The first ten, fifteen minutes, we didn’t know where our bodies will be, but your muscle memory takes over.

“To be honest, I thought we looked the fitter team.

“They had a couple of weeks break, bit sometimes that doesn’t work in your favour. We have a lot of young boys driving the thing on.

“We got dealt a few blows, we had a few injuries before the start of the match, but our squad depth is unbelievable.

“It was just about managing that game, trying to take the sting out of it and trying not to make it into an up-down match.

“In the last five, ten minutes it turned into that, but thankfully their shooting boots weren’t there and we got over the line.”