Ulster MFC quarter-final: Derry v Tyrone (Sunday, Celtic Park, 12pm, extra-time if necessary)
WHILE Derry are targeting a third Ulster minor final in succession under manager Damian McErlain, Tyrone are aiming to reach that stage for the first time since 2013.
Whoever comes out on the right side of tomorrow’s contest in Celtic Park will also be aiming to capture the Ulster minor title for the very last time, due to its being replaced completely by the U17 grade from next year on.
Not that either side will need much incentive for this encounter. As well as being near-neighbours, Derry and Tyrone have gotten to know each other extremely well at this level over the last 12 months.
At the same stage last year, Derry easily accounted for the Red Hands at Celtic Park before going on lose both an Ulster final – to Donegal – and an All-Ireland quarter-final – at the hands of Kerry.
More recently, both sides featured in Group B of the Ulster Minor Football League, playing out a draw in Ballinderry in March, with the Oak Leafs eventually finishing top of the group, ahead of Tyrone in second place.
After both Derry and the Red Hands won their semi-finals, they faced off again in the league final in April. This time, Tyrone come out on top of a tight contest by the margin of a goal.
So over the space of 12 months, that leaves a finely balanced record of played three, won one a piece and drawn the other. Something has to give in Celtic Park tomorrow then.
Both teams will be much changed from those who lined out at the start of last year’s championship. Derry have only four players included on their panel who featured in last year’s run to the All-Ireland quarter-final, with captain Pádraig McGrogan among the experienced heads. Tyrone, likewise, have a handful of survivors from their 2016 incarnation.
While Derry manager Damian McErlain guided the young Oak Leafs through to the All-Ireland series in both of his first two years in charge, Tyrone’s management team of Iggy Gallagher and Paul Devlin still await their first big championship win.
Whether that big win comes at Celtic Park tomorrow will probably depend upon which set of new arrivals adapts quickest to the big stage of championship football.
The experience of McErlain on the sidelines and McGrogan with the captain’s armband on may just see Derry through.
