So much at stake in a clash of football ideologies

The Ulster championship minefield never allows its participants tiptoe into the escalating heat of summer. But even at that, there’s something climatic about the meeting of Donegal and Tyrone in Ballybofey tomorrow.

Of course, the layout of the championship, since the inception of the qualifiers in 2001, means it’s not strictly winner takes all anymore. But come Monday their momentum will be flowing in different directions, vastly changed by what occurs within the tight parameters of MacCumhaill Park.

The reason for the sheer magnitude of the day, May 26, is because of the emphasis Donegal have continually put on it. Jim McGuinness has hurled the lumps of coal on that fire himself.

In the wake of relegation from Division 1, McGuinness’s laissez faire approach was widely queried. But the Donegal manager’s conviction, agree with them or not, was consistent. And although he did admit afterwards he was “disappointed” with relegation, his abilities, like every other manager, should not be judged on a league campaign, whether good or bad.

The focus has always been on May 26 and Tyrone. For all the myths that surround this Donegal regime, some things are simply black and white.

“Mickey Harte said we put all our eggs into the one basket, May 26, but the reality is we did the exact same thing last year,” McGuinness said.

“We do put all our eggs in the one basket and that is the championship basket. It’s what we do.”

Evaluating the current stance of Donegal is tricky. Gates have been locked at training as championship preparation reached full swing. McGuinness was famously denied a plug socket for his Powerpoint presentation on his second unsuccessful attempt at becoming Donegal manager in 2008. A disgruntled character left Jackson’s Hotel in Ballybofey with his laptop over his shoulder.

That presentation has never publicly seen the light of day. It scripted the path Donegal football would take under his management, outlining the progressive steps he sought to introduce if appointed. His personnel may be the same this year but there might be another step in Donegal’s evolution on year three.

Over in Tyrone, Mickey Harte has frequently shown the means to evolve and this year took a different approach to McGuinness. Having fizzled out for spells against Donegal in each of the last two seasons, Tyrone’s early season training was even earlier. Sessions were longer and harder.

With that, Tyrone were, without overusing the benefit of hindsight, expected to make telling inroads in the league. Their push was greater and barring losses against Cork and Kerry initially, certainly warranted of their final place. Their loss to Dublin by a single point was a fair reflection of the spring.

“We’re looking at the same situation through very different lenses,” Harte said. “We wanted to play as much football as we could and play at a competitive a level to get ourselves prepared for championship. Donegal chose a different way of going about it.”

Tyrone haven’t made an All-Ireland semi-final since 2009. To show how long that timeframe has been in football terms, their last quarter-final win, against Kildare, was on the same double-header as Cork scoring 1-27 against Donegal.

Since then, Tyrone dipped their toes into Division 2 but, in their case, they have form and, with a manager like Harte, class.

But in that time the relationship between the teams has changed. A year later, Donegal won in Omagh in the first round of the championship but refused to change at Healy Park — getting togged off at home in Ballybofey, showering there afterwards.

There has always been a close rivalry. Since Tyrone’s first All-Ireland in 2003 and their earliest championship meeting with McGuinness in 2011, the counties’ record against one another in championship, league and Dr McKenna Cup was symmetrical — winning eight apiece with one draw.

There were two championship meetings pre-McGuinness. A 21-year-old Colm McFadden scored 1-7 as Donegal toppled Tyrone’s All-Ireland champions 1-11 to 0-9 in 2004, before Donegal’s Division 1 winners were hammered 2-15 to 0-9 in 2007.

But, by and large, the rivalry was contained due to the constant shifts in power in Ulster.

It is, though, the talk of the town now. There was friction in the air in the league meeting in Omagh in March. Donegal had Michael Murphy and Neil Gallagher dismissed by Cavan referee Joe McQuillan, who takes charge tomorrow, while injured Footballer of the Year Karl Lacey was allegedly spat at by a Tyrone supporter after a 1-13 to 0-12 home win. Despite the bigger picture telling us it’s not the be all and end all tomorrow, it won’t be far off it.