Diarmuid Blake’s solid and effective display in Galway’s victory over Meath from centre-back was one of the talking points after that win, and the Milltown man is relishing the challenge of facing Tyrone this weekend in Tuam.
“It was great to be back in the starting line-up for the Meath game and we were delighted to get the win,” he says. “We have been on the wrong side of too many narrow defeats for the past while, so it was nice to win a tight game by a point for a change.
“We know that this Sunday will represent a completely different challenge. Tyrone use possession really well and they carry the ball with lots of pace and attack in droves. If we sit back, we will find ourselves in a lot of trouble.
“They are after winning four-in-a-row and are hitting big scores, so we will have to show a ferocious work-rate and tackle all over the field. When you play the top teams, everyone has to defend when they have possession, and that is what we will need everyone doing on Sunday.”
Blake is an experienced player who believes last Sunday’s win will help the team to approach the joust with the 2008 All-Ireland champions with confidence.
“The mood is really good in the camp this week and training has gone well so we are looking forward to the test. We played Tyrone in Tuam a few years ago in the league when they came down as hot favourites and we turned them over, so hopefully we can do the same on Sunday too.
“There can be a really terrific atmosphere in Tuam Stadium at league games and hopefully there will be a good crowd on Sunday and we produce a performance to give them something to cheer about.”
