THE contrasting sights and sounds of two games at two different venues this weekend will throw into sharp focus the parallel routes to potential All-Ireland glory this season-with Tyrone forced to travel down the less attractive road.
While St Tiernach's Park will be bursting at the seams with 35,000 spectators in attendance on Sunday for the Ulster showpiece blockbuster between Armagh and Fermanagh, less than 24 hours earlier Micky Harte's charges venture into one of the game's lesser know citadels scrapping for their Championship lives.
With the glare of publicity zooming in on events at Clones, the battle to see who succeeds them as Anglo-Celt kingpins will only be of passing interest to the Tyrone players.
They have business of their own to take care of on Saturday night in the cramped surrounds of the Gaelic Grounds in Drogheda (throw-in 7pm), looking to account for hosts Louth in the first round of the All-Ireland Qualifiers.
The unfashionable venue is a million miles removed from some of the superb arenas the northern visitors have graced over the past half dozen seasons but the objective remains the same. Win and the dream of a third Sam Maguire crown remains alive, lose and suffer the ignominy of joining the Tommy Murphy Cup misfits in the 2008 Championship casualty unit.
Tyrone of course have suffered their fair share of high-profile casualties on the injury front over the last two years, but after a weekend training stint down in Dublin, the prognosis is a lot more promising heading into the clash with the 'Wee' County.
The participation of Enda McGinley, Colm Cavanagh, Brian McGuigan, Raymond Mulgrew and Owen Mulligan in the first round of the Club Championship a fortnight ago was a heartening sight and will greatly bolster Harte's attacking options for Saturday night.
A strengthened hand up front also affords the management the opportunity to utilise Sean Cavanagh in a midfield role, if required, an area where the side toiled for long spells in the two titanic tussles with Down, due to a lack of mobility and physical prowess.
One trait that the side didn't lack in the matches with the Mourne men, especially the replay, was heart. The purposeful manner in which they battled back in Newry with four late points (inspired by super sub Tommy McGuigan) to force the tie into extra-time spoke volumes for the determination and hunger of the players.
However having expanded so much energy to turn the contest around, it also compounded their disappointment at not being able to deliver the decisive knockout blow with Down seemingly on the ropes.
Over the intervening five weeks the players have had plenty of time to digest the painful lessons from that defeat and hopefully will come out with a renewed conviction and resolve this Saturday, all too aware that the critics are waiting on another slip up to pen the obituaries on this current team.
Certainly the draw should have helped to focus the squad on the task at hand. Two years ago many viewed Tyrone's paring with Eamon McEneaney's Louth in an opening round back-door encounter as a mere formality for the Ulster giants, but those who countenanced such thoughts were in a for a rude awakening.
That 2006 extra-time classic, played on neutral ground in Navan, saw the then reigning All-Ireland champions held by a resurgent Louth side on a scoreline of 2-16 apiece in a game that had everything that was good about gaelic football. After a lively start from both sides, it seemed as if Tyrone were well on their way to success when they led by 2-7 to 0-6 at the break thanks to two late goals from an in-form Owen Mulligan.
With the wind at their backs in the second-half the Louth side went for broke, and were rewarded for their bravery having trailed by eight points at one stage. Goals from Mark Stansfield and JP Rooney sent the game into additional-time but the sides again remained dead-locked.
Seven days later it was Tyrone who took the spoils in a more low-key replay at Healy Park 1-12 to 1-7, Enda McGinley with their goal and Colm McCullagh top scoring with five points.
That Louth team had given notice of their capabilities by seeing off Donegal in the 2006 National League Division Two decider but aside from claiming the scalp of Kildare after another rousing back-door performance last season, McEneaney's troops have flattered to deceive in the main. Indeed their recent trouncing at the hands of a far from impressive Dublin in the Leinster Championship would suggest they are a team in decline.
That's dangerous talk naturally for any Tyrone player to heed and no doubt the events of Pairc Tailteann two summers back will help to stave off any degree of complacency in the camp of the Ulster side as they seek to book a berth in the second round of the Qualifiers which are scheduled for the following weekend.
With big guns such as Derry, Donegal, Meath and most surprisingly Kerry all now taking the alternative route to Croker after their surprise elimination from their respective provincial competitions, the back-door avenue is even more precarious than usual this term.
Nevertheless Tyrone want to be part of that mix as the summer heats up and despite a mediocre season to date, must be strongly fancied to remain in the hunt for at least another week.
