By 
BUILDING on their first league victory of the season will be the prime objective of the Tyrone footballers as they embark on a rare journey to Ardee to tackle Louth on Sunday.
The venue might be far removed from the traditional stop off points for the Red Hands in the league over the past decade when they have been operating at the top echelon, but if they are to continue to harbour hopes of a return to Division One then a win is a must against the Wee men.
That’s not to say it will be a formality. Indeed anything but! 2025 marked a milestone breakthrough season for football in the Leinster county, as they annexed both the provincial Senior and Under-20 titles (losing out to Tyrone in the All-Ireland Final in the latter).
Capturing the Delaney Cup for the first time since 1957 with victory over neighbours Meath at a heaving Croke Park in the Leinster SFC decider no doubt provided the defining images of the entire inter-county season, and with Ardboe man Gavin Devlin now at the helm, they are keen to carry that momentum through to the new season.
Sentimentality will be the last thing on the minds on the Tyrone players however when they step off the bus at Pairc Mhuire.
Last Sunday’s emphatic twelve point victory over Cavan in Omagh helped to get the show back on the road for Malachy O’Rourke, with the team demonstrating a pace and intensity not always evident in the first two league matches.
Darragh Canavan of course grabbed the headlines, not only for his silky sharpshooting skills (he hit nine points) but also with the confirmation afterwards that he is taking a month long hiatus after this weekend’s clash, as he heads down to Australia. He will want to sign off in style and further strengthen the Red Hands position in the top four of the table as they look to chase down Cork and Meath.
Of course the onus will be on others to carry the scoring baton in his absence but that predicament can be parked for another day as Tyrone solely focus on the task at hand for now.
It’s over thirty years (Nov 1994) since Louth last beat Tyrone in the National League. They prevailed that afternoon at a rain-soaked Drogheda 1-9 to 1-7, Adrian Cush with the Tyrone goal.
Subsequent meetings in the league have been as rare as hen’s teeth, the last a 2-13 to 0-13 victory by Tyrone in 2012, when Damien McCaul and Peter Harte hit the back of the net for the visitors. With key assignments to come for Tyrone down the stretch against the leading promotion contenders, a ‘Wee’ slip up on Sunday could have ‘Big’ implications.
