All-Ireland senior football championship: Tyrone had ‘great spirit’ in Roscommon win – O’Rourke

Tyrone manager Malachi O’Rourke said the news of Frank McGuigan’s departure made his side “determined to put in a performance he would be proud of” during their 3-16 to 2-18 win over Roscommon.

It was announced on Sunday that former Tyrone forward McGuigan has died aged 71.

Later in the day, O’Rourke’s side won their All-Ireland SFC first round match at Dr Hyde Park thanks to a late free from Ethan Jordan which gave his side two chances to reach the last eight of the competition.

“We knew the boys were determined to put in a big performance. They have a great attitude,” O’Rourke told BBC Sport NI.

“We’ve worked hard as well, with the news this morning that Frank McGuigan, a legend in his own right, has passed away.

“Everybody was determined to put in a performance that he would be proud of. It’s not necessarily about winning matches, but as long as you represent the jersey properly and I think we did that.”

McGuigan won the 1973 Ulster title with the Red Hands in his second year on the senior panel at the age of 19.

After a spell in the USA, he played a huge role in the 1984 Ulster final win over Armagh in what became known as ‘The Frank McGuigan Final’.

“I don’t remember him as much as some people, but I do remember going to see him. I was at the 1984 final when he scored a memorable 11 points,” O’Rourke reminisced.

“Five on the left, five on the right and a fistful of points. I also remember chatting with friends who played with him and they said that even though he had all the skills, he was a very tough competitor.

“He’s been a great teammate as well. He’s always got your back and those are the things you want in every teammate and that’s what we were hoping we’d get today and in fairness to the boys, they didn’t let us down.”