A long ball to the edge of the square proved Armagh’s undoing last weekend as Galway plundered a late goal, and they can expect more of the same on Sunday.
Tyrone’s ploy of alternating towering midfielders Brian Kennedy and Conn Kilpatrick as target men up front has been highly effective in recent weeks, yielding goals against both Kerry and Monaghan.
The Orchard men travel to O’Neills Healy Park needing a win to ensure survival in Division One, and facing a Red Hand attack with a varied approach and potentially lethal options.
“We have been given more of a licence, but the onus is still to get back, put in the work and help the defenders out. That’s the first and foremost,” said Kilpatrick of his new attacking brief.
“As a pairing, we’ll keep going and battle out every game as much as we can.”
As one midfielder presses forward, the other will hold the middle, with Joe Oguz providing additional cover in the central area.
“It’s kinda depending on the game, where we’re at. If I’m in, then Brian knows to stay out, and if he’s in, I’ll stay out. And we have Joe there as well,” Kilpatrick added.
“It has worked well, but there’s still improvements there to be made as well.”
One point will be enough to secure safety for a Red Hand side which has found form after losing three of its first four games.
And they’re unbeaten at Healy Park, which will be heaving with rival fans for this all-ticket derby encounter.
“We have won every game at Healy Park this year in the League, and we’re looking to continue that,” said Kilpatrick.
“But we know the task that is ahead of us.
“They punished us well last year in the Championship, and we will have to re-group, put a few things together in training and look forward to the match.”
Armagh will take heart from their recent record against their neighbours from across the River Blackwater, having beaten Tyrone in both League and Championship last year.
“They have definitely come up through the ranks in the last couple of years. They have put it up to us in the last couple of years as well,” Kilpatrick said.
“They have top players, a great management team behind them, and we know the calibre of players that they have and what damage they can do if we let them.”
As reigning All-Ireland champions, the Red Hands endured a miserable campaign last season, and it looked as if the malaise would persist when they struggled in the early rounds of the current League.
But a defiant display against Kerry saw them rediscover the hunger and intensity that the county is famed for, and they backed it up a morale-boosting victory with a win over Monaghan last week.
“We had a good win against Kerry two weeks ago, we still have things to improve on, and coming into the clash with Monaghan, we knew that we had to up the game again,” Kilpatrick said.
“We probably haven’t put wins back to back like that in a while, and it’s just great for the group to get a performance.
“Things went well for us, and there’s also things to improve on, but we’re just happy to have backed up our performance against Kerry.
“It’s important to stay in Division One. It’s where we belong, where we feel we belong.”
