Of course there are those who will undoubtedly point to the great record of teams from the province over the past decade, or indeed the huge appeal of the games up there, but none of that takes away from the fact that the style of play up there has long past the point of being competitive and is now comprised of 30% cynicism, 30% skill, 30% physical power and 10% brutality. Games in Ulster are the one reason why the yellow card system had some merit, although watching the games up there, one sometimes wonders if referees simply ignore half the rules that still exist within the Clár Oifigiúil and simply wait for the wafting scent of blood to hit their nostrils before they decide that some sort of sanction may be called upon.

The clash between Fermanagh and Down some ten days ago did little to redeem the province, so it now falls to the two flagship teams, Tyrone and Armagh, to prove that there’s more to football up there than wallops and whistles. (Let’s be clear here, before any Northern readers get offended – Off the Ground is not suggesting that Ulster teams can’t play football – they have proven without doubt that they can, the problem is that when they meet each other, they often choose not to. The rapier gets returned to the scabbard while the broadsword is invariably brought into play)

Tyrone’s narrow win over Westmeath in this year’s NFL was a remarkable game for several reasons, but one reason why it stood out will probably have escaped the notice of most people. The game finished with Tyrone winning by two points, 1-15 to 2-10, and it was the only one of the fourteen NFL games featuring either Armagh or Tyrone this spring where the two teams involved didn’t finish on the same number of goals. Indeed seven of the thirteen games where the sides did finish on the same number of goals, that number was one we have become very accustomed to seeing in modern football where goals are concerned – zero.

These two sides simply don’t do goalfests and with the elimination of the yellow card system meaning that both teams will resume old habits of pulling down any player who gets within a sniff of the opposition goal, that trend is unlikely to change in Clones on Sunday. Normally this would mean that we would advise a bet on the over/under goals market, but in this instance we can get an extra 1% of value (and if this column teaches nothing else, it’s that 1% is always worth taking where possible!) by having two separate bets. So we advise 1pt on no goals at 10/3, and 1.5pts on exactly one goal at 9/4 in the Tyrone vs Armagh match this Sunday.

Taken together, these two prices add to around 54%, one better than the 55% that would be paid if we were to back the 4/5 about exactly one goal in the match.

In the weekend’s other football championship encounter, the meeting of Roscommon and Leitrim in Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada in Carrick-on-Shannon, there will be a strong temptation to side with the home team since Roscommon look extremely vulnerable and have come a cropper against their neighbours on more than a few occasions. However initial quotes of 11/8 about Mickey Moran’s team are more than short enough to make any suggestion of betting on Leitrim somewhat fanciful, and if anything they leave a little bit of value to be found in the visitors. Off the Ground is not about to go so far as to recommend a wager on Roscommon as they remain a very inconsistent and possibly even over-rated outfit, even at their current rating of mediocre, but Leitrim appear to have gone backwards under Moran and another famous valiant defeat could be on the cards here. Neither side looks destined for bigger things, but Roscommon still have a good young panel with plenty of talent and while the lack of support from older players will take a toll in the long run, they can scrape home here and will probably just about do so.