Tyrone have come a long way with team of leaders

DON’T despair reading the above, Tyrone fans. Your team is very much in the hunt for an All-Ireland title and they’ll reach the semi-final by disposing of rivals Armagh today. What I like about Tyrone is that there’s more of a cutting edge about them this year. They were talked up last year but came up short in a quarter-final against Mayo but this season they demolished Donegal and were ruthless in putting Down to the sword in the Ulster final. They look like a team on a mission — perhaps because it’s captain Seán Cavanagh’s last year, or maybe because Mickey Harte wants to stay in charge for even longer — or perhaps forever! On a serious note, it’s down to a lot of quality players emerging as leaders at the one time. Tiernan McCann has moved on from the player lying on the ground and trying to get Monaghan’s Darren Hughes sent off two years ago, while Colm Cavanagh, Ulster final man of the match Pádraig Hampsey, Mattie Donnelly and Mark Bradley are other key men who’ve stepped up to the plate. There’s greater depth, as highlighted when Ronan O’Neill hit two goals off the bench against Down. They’ve certain moved up a notch but Armagh in many ways are the team of the Championship. Kieran McGeeney and his back-room team reacted brilliantly to some awful setbacks in recent times and the fact that he was such a legendary leader in 2002, when they won the All-Ireland, created its own pressures. It’s amazing to see how Armagh are expressing themselves now and playing with greater freedom. You can’t rule out the prospect of an upset in a local derby like this but while Armagh are a team on the rise, they’ll come up a bit short against Tyrone.