By Alan Rodgers

ONE eye will be kept very firmly on the prospect of a Croke Park final at the end of this month when the Tyrone hurlers complete the group stages of their Nickey Rackard Cup campaign with a derby clash against Armagh at Garvaghey this Saturday.

Victory over Fermanagh last Saturday ensured that the Red Hands booked their place in the decider. Now, they will be awaiting to see who emerges from the remainder of the pack to join them at headquarters. At the moment, it’s Sligo and Mayo who are in pole position to battle for that final place.

Tyrone top the table with full points from their four games to date.

In the meantime, though, Stephen McGarry (pictured) and the players will be taking nothing for granted against the Orchard County this weekend. Although the match will have no bearing on either team’s fortunes, there are a number of affairs at stake for Tyrone.

Many players will be aiming to make their mark to gain starting places for the final. There will also be the anxiety to once more defeat an Armagh team which has been struggling for form in 2026.

For Sean Paul McKernan and the players, there is also the determination to maintain the momentum of what has been an encouraging and positive championship campaign so far.

“It’s great to have kept the unbeaten run ahead, but we won’t be looking too far ahead to the final yet. There’s the Armagh match this weekend and they’ve always been tough opponents for us. We have to keep driving on and take things from there,” he said.

“We defeated Armagh in the league, but the championship is always going to be up a gear. No matter what way the league turned out for us, you have to keep on driving forward and that’s what we’ll be hoping to do against them.

“Our play is good and the team is gelling well together. There have been a few injuries and knocks, but there’s always a player stepping in and good competition in the squad. That’s what you want to be always fighting for your place and that’s exactly what we’re going.

“Croke Park is what we’re looking forward to now as well. It’s all about trying to get the chance to play there and win there. That’s definitely what we want to achieve in the next couple of weeks.”

For the moment, though, Tyrone will have taken good satisfaction from the win over Fermanagh, who entered the game hoping to make their mark. Wind advantage in the first half proved crucial for the Red Hands, and McKernan was understandably pleased with the 11 point win.

“We were delighted to get the win over Fermanagh and go through to the final. It was a tough fight against them which we always expected, and I suppose we’ve got Armagh to look forward to this weekend,” said the Dungannon Eoghan Ruadh player.

“They clawed us back a bit towards the end of the first half, but we steadied things in the second half.”

Tyrone are also waiting on news about Mickey Little following his red card dismissal against the Ernesiders.

“We’ll have to see what’s in the referee’s report. James Judge refereed the game fairly decently, so common sense will prevail. We’ll not dwell on it. We’ll get it sorted,” said the team manager, Stephen McGarry afterwards.

“If he has caught him, it will be purely accidental, and that will show on the video. I didn’t have clear view of it myself, I just asked Mickey when he came off, and he didn’t tjhink there was a pile in it.”