Eirgrid Ulster U21 Football Championship final: Tyrone v Monaghan (Wednesday, the Athletic Grounds, Armagh, 8pm)
IN A sense, Ciaran McBride cannot lose on Wednesday - either his team or his county will win - but the Monaghan U21 manager refuses to underestimate the importance of victory.
'Dinky' won Ulster and All-Ireland U21 titles with Tyrone at the start of the 90s, leading on to senior provincial success and an All-Ireland Final appearance, so he does not play down the value of silverware for underage teams.
Tyrone have won many trophies at all levels over the past quarter-century, whereas Monaghan last won the Ulster U21 in 1999 and ended a 68-year wait for provincial minor success three years ago.
"You can see where the two counties have had different degrees of success at underage, minors or U21 and - no matter what anyone says - it does have a great effect on boosting the whole morale within the county and players wanting to play at county level," says McBride.
"Look at other counties that haven't been successful at youth level and that does have a serious impact on them."
Indeed, it's arguable that the Monaghan minors who shocked Tyrone with a thrilling comeback in the Ulster decider three years ago helped inspired their seniors to end their own 25-year provincial drought later that July day.
McBride has no doubt that success can have an effect both upwards and downwards: "Tyrone winning the U21 All-Ireland last year had a massive impact on the senior team and the younger teams coming through.
"Monaghan's result last Sunday in retaining Division One status will have a massive impact on teams, because that filters down into the U21s and filters down into the minors."
It's notable that both U21 sides still have the bulk of the teams which fought out that 2013 Ulster Minor Final, when Monaghan came back from eight points down to win.
McBride, who coached those minors before being asked into the U21 management in October 2014, is delighted both counties have avoided the dreaded 'drop-out' of young talent: "It is a very difficult age because there is a lot more pressure put on players from external forces, such as work, university, travel. We were all young once, we all travelled - I went to Australia for a year after my U21s.
"If I was to stand back from both counties and look at them objectively, it is a credit to the work that is going on in both places that they have retained the core players from both of those Minor teams and carried them through. The big fear for counties is a high drop-out rate. It is a credit to management and county boards to have kept these players on that pathway from Minor to U21 to senior."
The Red Hands are, however, much-changed from last year's U21 champions, although skipper Frank Burns, Cathal McShane, Lee Brennan, Mark Kavanagh, and goalkeeper Sean Fox have returned.
Tyrone have had two battles so far, beating Cavan by two goals (2-10 to 0-10) in Kingspan Breffni Park, then seeing off Donegal by four points after their opponents were reduced to 13 men in the 48th minute. In contrast, Monaghan beat Fermanagh by 15 points and Armagh - who had destroyed Down in the quarter-finals - by 13 in their semi-final.
Watch the Irish News preview of Wednesday's Ulster U21 football final:
Yet McBride understands why the bookies still have the Red Hands as slight favourites, saying: "Tyrone are still the Ulster and All-Ireland Champions, that still has credence, and that's the way it should be. You are going to play the top team in Ireland and of course they're going to go in with the 'favourites' tag.
"But there's very little between the two teams, as both sets of players and managers will know. The teams are very equal in many ways… I'm not building Tyrone up too much - but they are still the All-Ireland champions."
Tyrone also beat Monaghan twice in this year's Shamrock Cup U21 competition, on both occasions by six points, effecting a remarkable turnaround in the second-half of the final to transform a four-point interval deficit into a 0-16 to 0-10 victory.
Monaghan, though, will look back fondly to that 4-10 to 2-14 Minor triumph in 2013, when they finally beat Tyrone at that level after losing the Ulster Finals of 2001, 2008, and 2012 to them.
The Farney men have seven players who featured in both those minor finals against Tyrone - goalkeeper Conor Forde (who takes some '45s'), the versatile Dessie Ward and David McAllister, and attackers Ryan McAnespie, Conor McCarthy, Fearghal McMahon, and Adam Treanor.
McAnespie - another Tyrone native in the Monaghan camp - McCarthy, and fellow forward Barry McGinn have all been called up by senior boss Malachy O'Rourke, while Tyrone manager Mickey Harte has used McShane and teenagers Brennan and David Mulgrew.
McBride played alongside the Tyrone U21 managerial trio of Feargal Logan, Peter Canavan, and Brian Dooher, and knows a few of the Tyrone players well from their days at Omagh CBS, where he teaches, including both Sean Foxes, of Killyclogher and Galbally, Cillian McCann (Fintona), Peter Teague (Dromore), and Ben McDonnell of Errigal Ciaran.
Dinky says: "There's a degree of respect between the two counties, prevalent in all age groups. Both managers, myself and `Logie', will be telling both sets of players 'Don't be afraid, games are there to be won. You've earned the right to be in the final.'
"It's like two big heavyweights going into the ring against each other… Healthy respect for each other, admiration in many ways - but us managers won't want any fear. We are very happy to be in this position and to be playing Tyrone in the final."
PATHS TO THE FINAL
MONAGHAN
Quarter-final (Inniskeen): Monaghan 1-15 Fermanagh 0-3
Semi-final (Pairc Esler): Monaghan 2-16 Armagh 0-9
TYRONE
Quarter-final (Kingspan Breffni Park): Cavan 0-10 Tyrone 2-10
Semi-final (Celtic Park): Tyrone 1-15 Donegal 2-8
PREVIOUS ULSTER TITLES
MONAGHAN
Two: 1981, 1999
TYRONE
Twelve: 1972, 1973, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2006, and 2015.
ALL-IRELAND TITLES
MONAGHAN
None.
TYRONE
Five: 1991, 1992, 2000, 2001, and 2015.
