Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Tyrone will be on their Hands and knees if they don’t win today
THERE’S scarcely been a busier weekend in Championship history than this one.
Sixteen games across the Sam Maguire and Tailteann Cup competitions, several of them local derbies for good measure, with Tyrone-armagh the pick of the lot.
We haven’t arrived at knockout football just yet, but the reality is that both of them need to stand up now and declare themselves as All-ireland contenders or prepare to walk through the exit door pretty soon.
The psychological boost that a win would bring for either might just light a fire under them for the rest of the season.
So, who needs it more? Since winning the 2021 All-ireland, Tyrone have won just a single Championship game out of five, against Fermanagh. Defeats to Derry, Armagh, Monaghan and Galway have followed.
Two of those were at Healy Park and if they suffer another this evening it’s almost impossible to envisage them being around at the business end of the Championship.
Armagh, on the other hand, have two points on the board but were extremely fortunate to survive the Westmeath ambush last weekend. It took a typical Armagh-style goal from a long dropping ball into the square to save them.
They are now a team at a crossroads. About 12 months ago they were starting to capture the imagination with some brilliant attacking football but now, like the majority of teams, they have become safe and found themselves embroiled in tactical battles rather than focusing on what makes them a dangerous proposition.
You feel it’s now or never for this team to make a progressive step under Kieran Mcgeeney. A win here gives them a shot at Galway in the final game with a direct route to the quarter-final the prize.
Last year, Armagh bamboozled the Tyrone full-back line with aerial deliveries. I have said it before: defenders are not used to defending these situations in the modern game due to the majority of teams shying away from taking risks with possession.
This is an area Mcgeeney must look to again to see if his team can get some joy against a Tyrone side that isn’t overly defensive. Twelve of Tyrone’s 2021 All-ireland winning team started last time out against Galway. The loss of Conor Mckenna and Cathal Mcshane cannot be underestimated but it does appear that the team needs freshening up personnel-wise.
A turbulent League campaign for them ended with a final day win against Armagh at Healy Park, resulting in their relegation to Division Two. There will be big pressure on them to repeat that victory.
In hindsight, a three-point defeat to Galway in a wet and dreary Salthill wasn’t the worst result considering they played most of that game with 14 men.
But this has to be it for Tyrone. The sight of the Armagh jersey might just be enough to get their juices flowing and I expect a narrow win for them.