Ulster SFC

CAVAN V TYRONE, (Clones, 2.30) RTE1

Like its Leinster hurling counterpart, this weekend's Bank of Ireland Ulster football final hasn't been exciting great hopes of a cliff-

There is a further similarity in that, like Wexford, Cavan have some recent success to their long odds. The benefits of that success though have been long dissipated and although this is the county's first provincial final since 1997, they arrive this year through the easier side of the draw and glad to be there rather than desperate to regain their title.

Time moves on. Tyrone appear to be on the verge of bringing another talented under-age generation of fruition at senior level. They have beaten the Ulster champions of the past three years en rote and are clearly entitled to their status as red-hot favourites.

Caveats have however been entered about the precise merits of these victories Maybe it's pedantry and time will tell but Armagh and Derry had their problems. The qualifier route has proved a more therapeutic route for defending champions than the intensity and attrition of retaining an Ulster title. Derry had an injured Anthony Tohill at centrefield and, although Cormac McAnallen is blossoming into a force at this level, he will face a stiffer test in the shape of an in-form Dermot McCabe. Derry's defence was also negligent even if there was no doubting the quality of the finish for the three goals.

Not that Cavan haven't generated their own reservations. Their running average of 16 wides a match is not encouraging. There has been some cheerful stuff about the day they bring their shooting boots but this inaccuracy has dogged the team through the winter as well and it may just be part of what of they are. It is likely that Cavan will concentrate their attention on the middle of the field.

Even if Cavan succeed in slowing down the tempo and cutting out easy ball, they don't look as capable - putting it mildly - of converting more of the scarcer chances into a greater haul of scores than a confident Tyrone.