‘We’re massive underdogs, but maybe that’s a good thing’ says Armagh U20s boss Barry O’Hagan ahead of Tyrone clash

Armagh U20s take on Tyrone this evening in the Ulster Championship Quarter-finals, with the action live on TG4.

Barry O’Hagan’s side will be underdogs against an impressive Red Hand side who comfortably defeated Down, Fermanagh and Antrim to this point, but lost out against Donegal.

Armagh’s campaign got off to a poor start with a heavy defeat against Derry, and although they improved their performance against Cavan, they were defeated by three points.

However, the Orchard County put in an excellent second half display last week against Monaghan to bounce back from four points down at the break to win by five – a win which kept them in the competition.

Heading into tonight’s contest, O’Hagan concedes that his side will be underdogs, but they have been improving week-on-week and he believes they are a talented group of players.

“I do (think we're getting better),” he told Armagh TV.

“I think we're not quite back to the levels we were maybe five or six weeks ago when we were playing the likes of Dublin and Meath, when we had a couple of good victories against them.

“But I think, this group in particular, there's a bit of scarring from when they were Minors. I think maybe in League and Championship the only team that these lads beat was Antrim.

“So that was probably their first victory at that level, against a good team - a Monaghan, a Derry, a Tyrone. So I think that'll give the lads great confidence. I'm lucky with some very good footballers there, but it's just about belief, and we have been building. I think we played well most of the game last week in Cavan, but just didn't get over the line. I think we were better tonight in the second half.

“But look, we're going to play the All-Ireland champions, who have won two of the last three All-Ireland U20 titles, and we know that we're going to be massive underdogs, but maybe that's a good way to go into it.

“The lads have been building; it's important we put two 30 minutes together and play for 60 minutes, the way we did in the second half.”