Strap yourselves in for the ride!

A PENNY for the thoughts of Cavan manager Raymond Galligan when the draw for the 2025 Ulster Senior Championship was held late last year- it’s their nemesis Tyrone once again in the first round.

And unlike last season the Breffni Blues aren’t even afforded home advantage for this latest meeting, with the contest fixed for O’Neill’s Healy Park this Sunday afternoon.

1983 was the last occasion that Cavan got the better of the Red Hands in the Ulster series (nine losses and two draws subsequently), though they went so so close to breaking that long hoodoo in 2024, when losing out 1-23 to 3-16 after extra-time at Breffni Park in a first round classic.

Tyrone looked to be coasting to a facile victory, having built up an eight point lead in the second half, but the wheels came off when captain Paudie Hampsey was black carded, and the hosts roared back into contention.

Despite the bear-pit atmosphere whipped up by the Blues rabid followers, the visitors were able to ride out the storm to eventually eke out the win and progress into the semi-finals.

So what are the odds on another equally taut and dramatic afternoon in Omagh this weekend?

Fresh off their warm weather training stint in Portugal the Tyrone players hopefully have banished the memories of their recent league relegation to the back of their minds as they focus in on the business end of the season.

In the pecking order of potential Anglo-Celt winners, Tyrone probably slot in at number three in the power rankings, behind reigning provincial champions Donegal, and reigning All-Ireland champions Armagh. Nothing really during the league skirmishes over the winter and spring will have caused too many to retweak that order.

The Championship hasn’t been a particularly happy hunting ground for Tyrone since they scaled the summit in 2021, when ironically enough they also accounted for Cavan in the Ulster first round at Omagh 1-18 to 0-13.

The previous two management teams (Mickey Harte in 2003 and Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan in 2021) both savoured Ulster and All-Ireland glory in their first seasons at the helm and the current incumbent Malachy O’Rourke will be determined to complete a stunning hat-trick for Red Hand managerial rookies in the coming months.

The manner in which the side finished off the league with a battling draw in Tuam against Galway and two comprehensive wins over Donegal and Dublin will have lifted morale, albeit the results weren’t sufficient to stave off the drop.

But by Sunday tea-time we should be in a better position to gauge where Tyrone stand in the general scheme of things after they get seventy minutes of Championship football under their belts. Strap yourselves in for the ride!