GAA: CANAVAN: I DON'T KNOW IF WE'LL COPE; Armagh v Tyrone: Young Red Hands slip into lions den.

Byline: Orla BANNON

PETER Canavan admits Tyrone will be an unknown quantity when they take on Ulster kingpins Armagh in tomorrow's match-of-the-day first round clash at Clones.

With six players making their first championship start the Red Hands will be fielding an inexperienced, if hugely talented, young team.

Armagh could hardly be more different. Their team is filled with household names and reputations earned on the back of two successive Ulster titles.

Canavan describes them as "a formidable team" and says no-one will know for sure if Tyrone can match them until the ball is thrown in and the whistle blows.

"We have so many newcomers we don't what to expect or what we're capable of," he confesses.

"We'll definitely be stepping into the unknown."

Tyrone were fancied early on to have a long summer after some impressive league performances against Dublin, Kerry, Roscommon, Donegal and even in a narrow defeat to Galway.

Yet the Foot and Mouth outbreak put paid to automatic qualification for the Allianz NFL semi-finals and wrecked their hopes of lifting their first senior national title.

Canavan insists those early league displays count for little - especially with the subsequent lay-off due to the Foot and Mouth restrictions.

"We did well in the league, but maybe not too many teams were taking it as seriously as us," he stresses.

"The enforced break due to the Foot and Mouth definitely disrupted our preparations.

"The fact is that for about six or seven weeks we didn't have a full panel at training and for three of those weeks the U21 players weren't there because they had their own commitments.

"Since the Galway game (February 25) we've only had one challenge match and there was a number of players who didn't play in it."

Canavan plays down his side's chances, though it must be a concern for the Tyrone management that their players may be lacking match sharpness.

In that regard they are perhaps fortunate to be meeting Armagh at this early stage, another team frozen out of competitive action since February.

As always, Armagh will be physically strong and confident of getting the upper hand in midfield with McEntee and McGrane up against the 1998 All-Ireland minor winners McAnallen and Hughes.

Both sides have potent forwards, and while a lot is being made of Tyrone's fresh young talent, the return of Canavan is bound to be worth several points.

The 1995 Player of the Year and former Allstar couldn't start the first round defeat to the Orchard men 12 months ago because of injury, and came on in the second-half when it was too late to change the game.

One year on he is back raring to go and the positioning of a fully fit and determined Peter Canavan on the edge of the square is bound to have caused Armagh fullback Ger Reid a few sleepless nights this week.

"The bench is no place to be," declares Canavan.

"I'm looking forward to it and it definitely helps to have natural score-takers like Stephen O'Neill and Eoin Mulligan playing this year."

The young guns should make a difference - though Canavan warns them not to expect to find too much room.

"Last year we only scored one point from play," he says.

Armagh's blanket defence has shut out many attacks, while in comparison Tyrone have three newcomers in an experimental defence - something which will definitely worry Tyrone fans against firepower like McConville, Marsden and McDonnell.

Not too much can be read into last year's first round encounter.

Neither side played well, and Tyrone were particularly poor.

A lot has changed since then - Tyrone look to be building an exciting team while Armagh will be feeling confident and oozing experience.

So often in the past Armagh have filled the pretenders role trying to topple successful Tyrone sides, and now the roles are reversed, it's sure to make for a thrilling spectacle.

Many people believe the winners will go on to win Ulster outright - but Canavan is putting on the brakes a little.

"There is a lot at stake because no matter about the back-door qualifier system, whoever is beaten on Sunday can't win an Ulster championship.

"If Armagh win, they might have loftier ambitions than us. We haven't thought much about anything else - only Armagh."

CAPTION(S):

TOP SCORER: Eoin Mulligan; SANDWICH: Damien Gormley found Armagh to be more than just a handful last year; BIG TALENT: Peter Canavan