Frank Roche: Red Hand can rule Orchard
THERE was a time when this fixture had GAA fans everywhere, even those in faraway Kerry and Cork, on the edge of their seats.
When Tyrone and Armagh met in the 2003 All-Ireland final, it wasn't for the purists but there was no doubting that here were the two best teams in the country.
The rivalry reached its high-point in 2005, when they shared the Croke Park stage three times in less than two months -- a drawn Ulster final and controversial replay, won by Armagh, followed by an absorbing All-Ireland semi-final.
The latter was one of the most intense games of the modern era; Tyrone squeezed home by a point en route to the second of three All-Irelands in the Mickey Harte era.
Joe Kernan has long since departed the Armagh hotseat and their status as a team stuck in transition has been confirmed by the fraught nature of their round two victory, requiring two days to eventually see off Wicklow via the predatory instincts of Jamie Clarke.#
Engineer
But Harte remains firmly in situ with Tyrone, hoping to engineer an unlikely fourth trip to the summit over the coming weeks.
It's hard to gauge exactly where Tyrone are right now.
Poor finishing undermined their early dominance against Donegal in the Ulster semi-final -- a recurring trait that undid them against Dublin last summer too.
They had some troubled moments during their 'banana skin' trip to Longford but ultimately survived by five points, and maybe that will prove the springboard to a more sustained All-Ireland challenge.
Harte still leans heavily on his old guard, especially in defence, but the younger guns got more of a look-in against Longford with Peter Harte (0-7, six from play) leading from the front. The manager's latest selection may well be another 'dummy' team but, either way, we suspect them to edge a feisty derby affair.
ODDS: Tyrone 1/2, Draw 15/2, Armagh 9/4
VERDICT: Tyrone
TYRONE: P McConnell; M Swift, Joe McMahon, R McMenamin; Sean O'Neill, C Gormley, P Jordan; K Hughes, S Cavanagh; C Cavanagh, B McGuigan, P Harte; T McGuigan, M Donnelly, K Coney.
ARMAGH: TBC.
- Frank Roche
