By Barry O’Donnell

WHILE hoping for a reaction after their eight point defeat to Armagh last time out, Tyrone manager Malachy O’Rourke concedes that for the second game running this weekend they are facing a potential wounded animal in its own patch.

Just as the pumped up Orchard boys were desperate for a response against the Red Hands at the Athletic Grounds after losing their league opener, a similar reaction will be demanded from Mayo boss Kevin McStay at Castlebar on Sunday when they welcome Tyrone.

His side were thumped by ten points against fierce rivals Galway at McHale Park in their last outing and the fanatical green and red hordes will be expecting a vast improvement this Sunday afternoon.

Malachy O’Rourke knows that Tyrone will have to be primed to expect some sort of backlash from the hosts, who currently sit bottom of the Division One table.

“ They’ve lost their first two games and have taken a fair bit of criticism so no doubt that will galvanise them. Mayo are a very proud footballing county and always get a great support. Down in Castlebar I suppose there will be a hostile atmosphere in a way. It will be a really tough game for us.

“ Armagh to a degree caught us on the hop a bit with the intensity and directness of their play in the first half. Of course they had a gale force wind behind them as well so it was like a perfect storm in many ways and we found it hard to cope with. We just need to be well prepared and well warned going down to Mayo.”

Tyrone emerged a distant second best in that Armagh encounter and at one stage looked to be starring down the barrel of an unmerciful hammering when trailing 1-18 to 0-4 after 45 minutes. O’Rourke took some consolation from the fact they didn’t allow the match to drift completely out of hand.

“ Looking back Armagh were coming in as All-Ireland champions and it was their first home game since that. They were also looking to bounce back from their loss in the first league game and as well had that strong wind behind them in the first half, so there was a lot of things in their favour.

“ In fairness they really went at the game. We were disappointed playing against the wind that we didn’t control the ball better and be more clinical when we got our openings. We wanted to keep it tight but we weren’t able to do that.

“ At the start of the second half it was obviously looking very bleak for us though the one big positive we took out of the game was that the boys never lay down. We kept battling and tried to work ourselves back into the game though it would probably have taken a goal to make it really competitive and make Armagh sweat but at least there was positives from that second half. The boys showed good character and that is something to build on.”

With the change to the footballing scoring system in operation this season O’Rourke expects to see more drastic swings on the scoreboard, especially when the elements play such a pivotal role as they did at blustery Armagh that evening, when the hosts kicked two pointers for fun in the first half.

“ With the changes the scoreline can certainly creep away on you and that is something we are all going to have to get used to. I think after 20 minutes it was something like 4-1 and we had a chance to get another score, but suddenly they got the goal which we would have been disappointed in and then they added on a few two pointers. Suddenly the gap between the teams was stretched away out and at half-time we found ourselves trailing by quite a bit.

“ Under the new rules the scoreline isn’t going to be as bad as you think because you can chip away with two pointers to narrow the gap quickly enough if you can build up a head of steam. Add in a strong wind and that will definitely be a pattern you will see repeated regularly enough this season.”

Sunday represents a second successive stern test on the road for Tyrone, but O’Rourke believes such assignments will ready his charges for the season ahead.

“ We won our first game at home against Derry but then parked it straightaway and focused on the next one against Armagh. Obviously we were disappointed with some aspects of that performance but now it all about focusing solely on the Mayo game.

“ We know it’s going to be another real battle but we want to be testing ourselves in those environments and see as a team and as individuals who stands up to it. It’s all about seeing signs hopefully that we are moving in the right direction but trying to get league points as we go along. We want to staying in this Division ultimately.”

The Tyrone management should have an extended squad to choose from this weekend, with Ulster University now out of the frame in the Sigerson Cup, and the Errigal Ciaran contingent a month on from their club heroics.

O’Rourke warned though that he would still bide his time before re-introducing players, stating that it was important to keep the wider picture in mind.

“ We would hope to have more available to us. The Sigersons lads are now free of their college commitments and the Errigal lads as well have had another fortnight. So we will be phasing them back in over the next couple of weeks.

“ You just have to be careful not to rush them as they didn’t really have an off season and that won’t help them in the long run. They do need a bit of a break so that when they do come back they are fresh and hungry and ready to go. We just have to manage that situation.”

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