Mayo travel to Omagh this weekend for a rematch of their controversial All-Ireland quarter-final against Tyrone.
The Red Hand County will be looking to set the record straight, as they see it, following last August’s 0-13 to 0-12 loss at Croke Park.
Mayo looked to be cruising towards top flight survival, their main aim for the springtime campaign, but an unexpected defeat to Cavan last Sunday now leaves them looking over their shoulders at the trapdoor.
What: Tyrone v Mayo, Allianz Football League Division 1, Round 6
Where: Healy Park, Omagh
When: Sunday, 3.0pm
Last season Tyrone arrived at GAA Headquarters as newly-minted Ulster champions and lukewarm favourites, but they came unstuck in a gritty encounter against a Mayo team that took the long way through the qualifiers, finishing with 14-men following Sean Cavanagh’s sending-off with the sides lock at 0-11 each.
After that the Green Above the Red want to push Dublin to within a kick of a ball in an All-Ireland final replay, but since then standards have slipped alarmingly.
With five games played they only have two wins - away to Kerry, impressively, and at home against Roscommon - togo alongside defeats to Dublin, Cavan and Monaghan. The manner of the hammering by Dublin and the loss to the Breffni Blue last weekend will have been particularly concerning for their fans.
Their scoring rate is healthy enough, their 1-68 the equal of Dublin’s 2-65, though they could do with more goals. It’s in defence where the alarm bells are sounding having shipped 4-65 to leave them with a minus six points difference.
Manager Stephen Rochford’s team have adopted remarkably open tactics and have been vulnerable to long balls and hard-running down the middle, something most top teams attempt to stop with the use of a sweeper.
After Tyrone, Mayo face a home game against Donegal in Castlebar, a venue they have struggled in during the League over the past two seasons.
If they fail to win either of those and Cavan pick up so much as a point, which they could easily do in their final game against a Roscommon team who may already be relegated by then, they could be staring at Division 2 football in 2018.
The latest Tyrone model fashioned by Mickey Harte had been steadily moving in the right direction for the past 12 months, winning Division 2 of the League last year and adding the Ulster crown to the silver cabinet.
They were unbeaten in the League before last Saturday too, but their trip across the border to Ballybofey brought a realty check Donegal-style in the form of a double-scores 0-12 to 0-06 reverse.
That leaves them in a four-way tie at the head of the table on seven points alongside Dublin, Donegal and Monaghan, with only two spaces available in the Division 1 final.
This weekend is the start of the pointy end of the League season, with play-off, promotion and relegation spots being decided. Both of these counties have a great need for the points on offer and there’s the added incentive of last year’s quarter-final fresh in their mind.
