SUNDAY’S Ulster derby isn’t a straight relegation shoot-out but the Tyrone and Armagh camps will have one eye on events in Castlebar because a surprise Monaghan win over Mayo could have grave consequences for the loser in Omagh.
A shock at McHale Park and a Tyrone victory will see Vinny Corey’s men wriggle off the relegation hook again, this time at Armagh’s expense. On the other hand, if Armagh win and Monaghan, Roscommon and Kerry do likewise, then Tyrone could go down on scoring difference.
Relegation is unlikely but it is mathematically possible and the best way for the Red Hands to banish lingering doubts - and give themselves an outside chance of making the League final - is to win. A draw would also be good enough to guarantee their safety in the top flight.
Last year it took back-to-back wins against Mayo (at home) and Kerry (in Killarney) to drag Tyrone out of the relegation mire and, after another poor start which yielded just one win from their first four games, the Red Hands have steadied the ship once again in the second phase of fixtures.
Another win over Kerry, this time on home soil, was followed by last Sunday’s convincing victory over a Monaghan side that doesn’t look to have the firepower to hang on this year.
Making it three League wins in-a-row with victory on Sunday would be good preparation for their Ulster Championship opener against Monaghan on April 16.
Armagh travel across the Blackwater River hoping to arrest a worrying slump in form which saw them post just 1-6 against Galway on home ground last Saturday – only London (0-6) and Clare (0-4) have scored less in a game this season.
Despite that, Tyrone skipper Padraig Hampsey is expecting a typically feisty affair against Kieran McGeeney’s side.
“It’s a massive game,” he said.
“It’s nice to have it at home at Healy Park and it’s always a feisty encounter. You are just hoping that the Tyrone support come out again like they did the last day against Kerry and get behind us and push us over the line.
“Tyrone support throughout the years has been brilliant and we are just hoping they come out in numbers next weekend and get behind us and get us across the line.”
Armagh are finding scores hard to come by and Tyrone’s defence conceded just one from open play at Clones last Sunday. Apart from Kieran Duffy’s early point (their first of the game) Monaghan were restricted to marks and frees by the Red Hand rearguard.
“Defensively that’s a good return,” said Hampsey.
“It’s probably something we have been working on in training over the last number of weeks. Defensively away from home we were poor enough - we conceded a lot of goals.
“We tried to brush up on that and thankfully we did. To concede only a point from play… It’s a good return so we are happy enough with that.”
At the other end of the field, Darren McCurry top-scored with 0-4 while Darragh Canavan continues to develop as a creator and a finisher. Goals from Peter Harte and Cormac Quinn sealed an eight-point win for Tyrone that has pushed them to the brink of safety.
“Any time we play the Monaghan side it’s always a great battle,” said Hampsey.
“It’s just nice to come out of Clones with two points and I suppose the two goals gave us that bit of a cushion going into the second half and the two sendings-off (Jack McCarron and Killian Lavelle were both dismissed in the second half) sort of took the sting out of the game.
“We were able to see the game out. We were probably a bit laboured in our attack in the second half and we could have put more scores on the board. It’s something we are probably disappointed in and something we have to look at.”
