By Barry O'Donnell
GIVEN the awesome attacking arsenal exhibited by Dublin in recent outings at Croke Park, Tyrone will probably have to find the back of the net at least once or twice this Saturday if they are to harbour realistic hopes of reaching the All-Ireland semi-finals.
Goals have proven hard to come by for the Red Hands during their current Championship run (three in five matches) which contrasts markedly with the Dubs who racked up three in five minutes during the course of their recent Leinster Final annihilation of Wexford.
One of those who may be charged with breaching Stephen Cluxton's goal-line at the weekend is Aghyaran marksman Martin Penrose who will be desperate to start having been named as a replacement for the previous round triumph over Mayo.
The St Davog's star has been a mainstay of the attack through the bulk of 2008 and looked like a man with a point to prove when sprung from the bench in the second half against the Westerners.
In a sprightly cameo showing Penrose slotted over a neat point and was also instrumental in teeing up another couple of vital scores as Tyrone eased across the winning line by the bare minimum.
After struggling to escape from the vice-like grip imposed by Westmeath's measly backline the previous week, the Aghyaran forward was the player sacrificed by manager Mickey Harte, but he was pleased with how he bounced back against Mayo.
" It's all about taking your chance when you get it. It was disappointing not to start but once you're on you have to try and make the most of it. I was glad the way it worked out though the main thing was that we were on the right end of the result.
" With the panel of players Tyrone have it's not easy making the starting fifteen so you have to impress any time you go on there. I was really pleased to get on in the second half and to make a point. Hopefully I've done enough to get on in the quarter-final."
The side have booked their berth in the last eight with a series of solid if unspectacular performances, accounting for Louth, Westmeath and Mayo over three successive weekends. Martin acknowledges that they haven't exactly pulled up many trees enroute, but their objective setting out in the Qualifiers had been successfully achieved.
" We are still in there which is what matters at the end of the day. We scraped by with those wins over Westmeath and Mayo but at this stage it's all about the results, no matter the performance.
" However we do know that we will have to improve greatly for Dublin. We are going to have to be more ruthless in putting away our chances, be it goals or points because we have all seen what totals other sides are getting
" It will be more difficult from here on in because they are all quality teams left in at this stage. If you don't perform up to scratch then you are going to be up against it."
And looking ahead to this Saturday's Croker collision with the Dubs, Penrose stated that it was a challenge which the whole Tyrone squad would relish, even though their prospects are being written off in many quarters.
" Going into the match as underdogs is definitely a nice position to be in. All the pressure will be on them because of the expectation levels, so we have an ideal opportunity to cause an upset. It was never going to be easy no matter who we got in the draw and Dublin are as tough as they come."
The GAA's wish to accommodate the Dubs huge fans base by giving them a stand-alone fixture at Croke Park meant that Tyrone were afforded the luxury of an extra week to recuperate following their hectic schedule of 'back-door' games. Martin doesn't believe that will have any particular bearing on the outcome.
" We didn't have any problem playing every week because it helps build up momentum and we were getting plenty of football. Whether the next match was a week later or two weeks later won't make a huge difference, though maybe it gives a few of the boys with niggles and knocks a bit longer to recover."
And Penrose accepts that Tyrone will have to be firing on all cylinders to compete with a Dublin side who were on fire in their previous outing.
" I suppose Dublin were the strongest of the four provincial winners that we could have met. The Dubs put on a great show against Wexford and look at how Wexford have bounced back since. Their performances show how impressive the Dubs were in the Leinster Final.
" But when you get to the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals you are to going to have to respect the opposition but not fear them. We have all our senior players back now and hopefully will be injury free, bar one or two, so we are in good shape going into the match."
