It’s time for Tyrone to make a statement-Cavanagh

CHOOSE your era. It’s hard not to get all wistful when thinking about Tyrone versus the Dubs.

Magic Mulligan, an hirsute Joe McMahon, Stevie O’Neill’s physics-defying point under lights in 2009. You’re pretty much spoilt for choice and two of our All-Ireland wins – 2005 and 2008 – will always be indelibly associated with blockbuster clashes against the Dubs at a rammed Croke Park.

Those are the happy memories anyway. 1995 still rankles, there were those back-to-back All-Ireland quarter-final defeats in 2010 and 2011 (at least 2010 was close), and in more recent times we felt the full force of the Jim-Gavin juggernaut in 2017, 2018 (twice unfortunately) and 2019. That’s six successive championship losses to the Dubs since the blue wave almost completely engulfed the chasing pack for a decade.

Things have changed, though. While Con O’Callaghan, Ciaran Kilkenny, Stephen Cluxton and Brian Howard have more All-Irelands than you can shake a stick at, they aren’t quite the force of old.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t a serious outfit, but three-time All-Ireland winner Sean Cavanagh – no stranger to the Dubs during his own star-studded playing career – believes that this current crop of Tyrone players should absolutely relish Saturday’s showdown.

“In certain games they have been good, but if there’s one place you want the stars to align, it’s Croke Park in a match like this,” he said.

“Whatever those lads have inside them, they’ll all want to bring their best against Dublin because this is the type of game you dream of.”

He added: “If I were to reflect over the last 25 years, particularly my own experience of playing, a lot of the best games that I played in were against Dublin.”

The million-dollar question is whether Tyrone can claim their first Championship victory over Dublin since 2008 this Saturday. Cavanagh, speaking as an ambassador for Minor championship sponsors Electric Ireland, thinks the raw ingredients are there, and it’s just a matter of it all coming together on the big stage.

“It’s a big enough ask but I think we have enough quality in the panel. I really like the structure of the team right now. There’s a lot to like whenever you take into consideration the experience we have. Niall’s as good as you’re going to get as a goalkeeper, Padraig Hampsey has come back into defence, Peter Teague has been a big asset.

“Conor Meyler’s coming back, you could count him as a half-back or a half-forward, he’s a middle sector player. Our midfield is as strong and solid as anyone’s, and up front, a lot of people might say we have a small-ish forward line, but we have an amazing degree of trickery and individual talent and skill.

“I think the one thing we’re all really waiting on, is that forward structure to click together and find a rhythm and a pattern and a chemistry.

“You’ve Mark Bradley, Darren McCurry and Darragh Canavan who are used to playing as a one-up or a two-up and the game has changed and you’re trying to fit a few of them together. You know what they can bring, and then you’ve Eoin McElholm who looks like a fabulous talent. Ciaran [Daly] and Mattie [Donnelly] have been brilliant as well, so I think there’s a lot to like about this Tyrone team – I think we’re just waiting on them to arrive really.”