KEVIN CASSIDY: It’s open season

BEFORE Donegal and Tyrone have even kicked a ball in the All-Ireland series, it has been blown wide open.

Last weekend’s result in Castlebar now means that anything is possible in this group and we could see one of the big guns exit the competition a lot earlier than they would have wanted.

Let’s just touch on Cavan’s fantastic win first before we move on to this week’s game.

A lot of people, myself included, didn’t give Cavan much hope as they headed into their clash with Mayo.

On the day, their performance was immense and they were full value for the win. It now sets them up perfectly for their remaining two games.

Cavan can always produce a performance like that now and again but I don’t think any of us saw it coming last weekend.

Jim McGuinness and Malachy O’Rourke would have known that their clash was going to be a big game, but after last weekend’s result this game gets even bigger now.

Both teams will be keen to get the win under their belts early and not have to wait until the last day to secure their fate. For that reason, I am expecting a humdinger now this Saturday evening.

A lot has been made about Donegal‘s performances to date and rightly so because we have been the in-form team in the country.

However, if we cast our minds back to last year, we were lucky to squeeze past Tyrone that night in Derry. With this in the memory bank, I’m sure Jim and the lads will be well aware of what is coming down the tracks.

This is the perfect scenario for an ambush and I’m sure that’s what the Tyrone lads are planning for this weekend, as they will see it as a perfect opportunity to knock Donegal off their perch.

The game is in Ballybofey which will be a massive boost for Donegal because, traditionally, we have been very hard to beat there. I’m sure that is something that Jim would be pulling on this weekend as he prepares the lads for battle.

Tyrone are a team that I have earmarked earlier on in the season. I think, on their day, they are a match for anyone in the country and I still think that they will have a massive say in who wins what this year.

It has taken Malachy and Ryan Porter time to settle into the job and some of their performances have been questionable but one thing we know is that these two lads know how to prepare a team for the big stage, so as the summer progresses.

I fully expect to see Tyrone in top gear sooner rather than later. If I was Malachy O’Rourke heading into this game, I’d be saying to the players that this is the perfect game for us to show everyone what we are about.

Tyrone have the fire power upfront and there is no doubt that if they click then they can cause teams serious problems. That is something that Jim and the lads will be trying to curtail this Saturday evening.

We have seen in the past. When Tyrone get a run on you and start to piece moves together, they can be a very formidable opposition. Cutting out that space and limiting the amount of kick passes Tyrone get away inside is a must for the Donegal defence this weekend.

Another key area for Donegal is how they handle Niall Morgan‘s influence on the game. As we have seen in the past, he is central to everything good that happens for Tyrone.

Like I said at the beginning, I am expecting a fantastic game of football this weekend. I feel both teams will go for it and we should be served up another fantastic encounter.

Although I do think it will be a tight game, if I were to put my head on the block I think that Donegal’s experience and know how at this level will see them through. Donegal by four.