Blow for Tyrone as Stephen O’Neill and Martin Penrose look set to retire

The Tyrone forward line have been reportedly hit by the retirement of two forwards with a combined five All-Ireland titles, eight Ulster championships and three All-Star awards.

BBC Sport reported this morning that Stephen O'Neill and Martin Penrose had decided to retire from inter-county football. O'Neill is from the golden era of Tyrone football, winning three Sam Maguires between 2001 and 2008. He was often the g0-to player for manager Mickey Harte and is widely acknowledged as one of the finest players of his generation. Penrose has two All-Ireland winners' medals to his name and four Dr McKenna Cup wins, in the club game, under Harte. Both players had their roles reduced to a supporting capacity in recent years, with O'Neill in particular dogged by injuries. He was still capable of bamboozling the meanest of defences when fit, as demonstrated by this luscious score against Kildare in 2013. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3cdgZqkIlI SportsJOE has contacted Tyrone for a comment on the reported retirements. An official statement is due to be released this evening.