Here comes the summer! And while the football championship begins in earnest this weekend, how often have we lamented the absence of a blockbuster to set the season in motion?
Well, the past few years have been an improvement and Ulster in particular has thrown up some mouth-watering early clashes.
Can we seriously call this weekend’s action a blockbuster when the back door is available to the losing team? Probably not, but today is as close as you will get.
"These Ulster games have a once-off, local derby, old-fashioned championship feel about them" - Kevin McStay
Of the four provinces, Ulster is alone in playing their games as if the qualifiers option is an insult to their very existence and so Donegal and Tyrone will go at each other as if there is no footballing tomorrow. Even though, of course, there is.
Of late, Donegal have kept a tight rein on Tyrone and have ensured the Armagh-Tyrone monopoly of the noughties is a thing of the past. Of course, time has played its part – only a couple of the Red Hand’s star names from that period are part of the 2015 panel. But names like Cavanagh and McMahon still mean something in Tyrone when it comes to championship and they will insist on a serious challenge from the underdogs.
On paper, this Ulster Championship looks a nailed-down affair, with Donegal and Monaghan odds on to meet in the final. Yet it rarely goes according to script up north and if Donegal are to retain the Anglo-Celt Cup, they will have to do so from the preliminary-round position.
History does not favour this route, of course, but recent records show that Donegal, above all others, have found a way to win the title over four rounds and I take them to do so again this year.
I must admit to being surprised at the level of performance Donegal reached after losing last year’s final; like many others I thought they might fall away. But the league has confirmed they are rejuvenated and ready to rock.
This is due to a number of key facts: they have the bounce of a new manager, the return to full fitness of star defender Karl Lacey, the return from the US of Mark McHugh and the blossoming of young guns Patrick McBrearty, Odhrán MacNiallais, Ryan McHugh and Martin McElhinney.
I liked what I saw in the league from Neil Gallagher and Frank McGlynn. And if the mood takes Michael Murphy, who never goes missing it seems to me, then that is a lot of quality footballers playing to real form.
Of course, in a once-off scenario, many of the Ulster sides can take each other down and so an upset cannot be ruled out. Indeed I will not be shocked, just mildly surprised, if Mickey Harte finds a way to get past Donegal.
He will have to go with youth, as many managers with their backs to the wall often do, and in most circumstances that would give them a fighting chance. But this is a Donegal team that are hardened, mature, experienced, cynical and clinical and won’t be taking any youthful prisoners. Or ageing ones either.
They are simply a bigger, stronger and faster unit, with a well-rehearsed transition game from defence to offence. When this game is up for grabs, Donegal will have the luxury of the better players and will expect them to deliver accordingly.
It won’t be easy – we know there is no love lost between these rivals and Tyrone had the advantage of first move – they invented the suffocating defensive blanket of the 2003 to 2009 period but back then had the bonus of terrific attackers who could find a way to scoring from limited support.
Modern Tyrone still have a love of the defensive alignment, and why not? It has served them well. But they no longer have a Peter Canavan or Stephen O’Neill to make the difference and so their scoring rate has plummeted. They were the lowest scoring team in Division 1 this year and ended up relegated as a direct result. Their defensive numbers compared extremely well but it is scores on the board that generally make the difference.
Of course, Cavanagh will make a major contribution once again, as will Joe McMahon, if called upon, but it will be the youth of Tyrone that will make the difference if they are to win. Players like Ronan O’Neill, Darren McCurry, Matthew Donnelly and Peter Harte need to step up and be counted and produce consistent 70-minute football. Only then could I countenance a Tyrone victory.
I accept the favourites could fall at the first fence; as mentioned, these Ulster games have a once-off, local derby, old-fashioned championship feel about them and so results don’t always follow a pattern.
But I believe this one will and tip Donegal to continue their recent winning championship sequence against Tyrone.
Follow Donegal v Tyrone from 3.30pm via our live blog on RTÉ.ie and the RTÉ News Now app, watch live on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player and worldwide via GAAGO and RTÉ Radio 1.
