It’s a big enough day for us tomorrow, with the lads facing into a match that could well decide our fate in Division One, even if, as I suspect could well happen, events elsewhere eventually dictate who finishes where in the table tomorrow evening. Heading into tomorrow’s clash with Cork at Páirc Uí Chaoimh (throw-in 3pm) we at least have the luxury of knowing that our destiny rests squarely in our own hands: if we win, we definitely stay up and maybe even qualify for the semi-finals. The Kerrymen, in contrast, could win in Omagh and could still find themselves falling through the relegation trapdoor if ourselves and Donegal do as well. My heart bleeds for them.

We can’t, of course, rely on others to do our dirty work for us – for what it’s worth, I think Kerry could well beat Tyrone but I doubt if Donegal will hold what looks like a very strong Dublin selection – and neither should we be thinking too much about how the team has been weakened by the recent spate of injuries that has hit us. We’re still fielding an experienced fifteen tomorrow and, as has already been pointed out over the last few days, Cork have their own injury problems at the minute which means they’ll be missing a few of their marquee performers themselves.

Both sides have something to play for tomorrow and with recent history between the two sides bordering on testy there could well be a bit of an edge to this one. We certainly owe the Rebels one from last year’s league final – that day they were at pains to show that they wanted to square the account from the previous year’s championship quarter-final – and so I’d be hoping that our determination to stand up to them will be evident right from the throw-in tomorrow.

I’ve been posted missing for a fair few games this year myself – somehow or other I’ve managed to miss all four of our home matches in the league this year – but I’m heading South in the morning to catch the action tomorrow (which will mean that I’ll have made it to all three away games in this league campaign). It’s a long enough trek from here in the capital but at the same time it’s an easy enough drive as it’s motorway all the way. I did a similar day-trip for our league clash with the Donkey Ayters at the same venue back in 2010 and that one worked out okay. A similar result tomorrow wouldn’t go amiss, although that’s as far as I’d like to see the similarities go with that ill-fated year for us.

Because I’ll be at the game tomorrow, I’ll be doing the usual audio nonsense from the ground (if the O2 network holds up, I might even rise to a half-time report too) but with the return trip to Dublin to complete after it could be late enough tomorrow night before I manage to get the match report sorted. ‘Till then.