Dublin v Tyrone, Croke Park, 7.00pm

GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Quarter-FinalDublin v Tyrone, Croke Park, 7.00pm

History

Dublin and Tyrone clashed for the first time in the championship in 1984 - the GAA's Centenary Year - and have since met five times. Overall, it's 3-2 in Dublin's favour with one draw.

Having beaten Tyrone to claim the All-Ireland title in 1995, Dublin have failed to keep 'Sam' in the capital ever since. However, it is over the last six years that the Dublin-Tyrone rivalry has evolved into one of the fiercest in the modern game.

Their 2005 quarter-final set the tone, as Tyrone eventually ran out 2-18 to 1-14 winners following a replay after two classic games, the first of which was memorable for Owen Mulligan's brilliant goal.

Three years later, Dublin manager Paul Caffrey resigned after his side fell to a 3-14 to 1-8 defeat - again in the last eight - before the Dubs, now under Pat Gilroy, gained revenge in 2010, beating the Red Hands by 1-15 to 0-13 at Croke Park.

Flashback...last championship clash

Dublin 1-15 Tyrone 0-13 (2010 All-Ireland quarter-final)Dublin led by 0-6 to 0-2 after 22 minutes before Tyrone scored five unanswered points to lead by one. They led by 0-8 to 0-7 at half-time and by 0-10 to 0-8 after 41 minutes before Dublin put on a spurt. They led 0-13 to 0-11 after 54 minutes but Tyrone equalised ten minutes later. The match-winning score arrived in the 65th minute when Eoghan O'Gara scored Dublin's goal and they added two more points to win by five.

The Story So Far

Unlike last year's meeting, Dublin come into this quarter-final meeting through the front door as Leinster champions, having accounted for Laois easily before Kildare and then Wexford were beaten in rather more difficult circumstances.

Tyrone have made use of the Qualifiers system after they were knocked out of the Ulster Championship by Donegal at the semi-finals stage. Lonford and Armagh were beaten by five and six points respectively, before Mickey Harte's side slipped through the back door to the last eight with a flattering 3-19 to 1-14 defeat of Roscommon at Croke Park last Saturday. 'Flattering' is word Harte used to describe the win, as late goals from Seán Cavanagh and Mark Donnelly added a coat of gloss to the scoreline after the sides had been closely matched for 60 minutes.

You Can Quote Me on That

Dublin forward Bernard Brogan

"It wasn't my best day in blue (the Leinster final against Wexford) but it is not the end of the world. My kicking was off, but everybody has off days. It's all about getting back to training, working hard and getting it right the next day. That's what I've been trying to do.

"I had got myself into places that would have been 90% scoring areas for me and they just didn't go over. I had twelve to 14 chances."

Tyrone manager Mickey Harte

"They have often depended on Bernard Brogan, and to a lesser extent Alan, but they showed in the Leinster final, when Bernard wasn't really on song, that they had plenty of players to bale them out.

"They have two class forwards, but they're not restricted, they have plenty of others in supporting roles."

Talking Points

Tyrone newcomers: Mickey Harte has always shown great loyalty to the players that won him three All-Ireland titles over the last decade. However, with the likes of Brian Dooher now nearly 36, Harte has slowly started to introduce some new faces this year, with Mark Donnelly and Peter Harte amongst the bigger successes in the Championship. Tyrone looked jaded in the Ulster semi-final defeat to Donegal, but they have been reinvigorated in the Qualifiers, culminating in a runaway win over Roscommon last Saturday, the Red Hands finishing with a late scoring burst.

Bernard Brogan: The Footballer of the Year proved that he is not infallible when he had a rare off day in the Leinster final against Wexford, kicking just three points and a string of wides before he was taken off in the second half. Dublin nearly paid the price and a lucky goal was the difference between the sides in the end. Brogan remains Dublin's chief scoring threat and the 0-9 he scored against Tyrone in the quarter-final last year was exactly half of his side's total. Dublin will need their main man to return to that sort of form id they are claim a second successive win over the Red Hands.

Rivalry: This is the fifth time the sides have met in the quarter-finals (including the 2005 replay) in the last six years, over which time Dublin-Tyrone has fermented into one of the biggest intra-provincial rivalries in the game. The seeds were sown in the 1995 All-Ireland final, while the infamous 'Battle of Omagh' in 2006 increased the competition between the sides. Dublin finally confirmed their arrival as a force under Pat Gilroy with their quarter-final win last year, while Mickey Harte will be keen to re-establish his rebranded team's credentials on Saturday evening. Game on.

Key Battle: Bernard Brogan v Joe McMahon

Wexford proved that Dublin's game plan can be seriously disrupted if you can manage to curb Brogan's influence on the game. Although Brogan was reasonably well marked in the Leinster final, it was the Footballer of the Year's shooting that let him down. He won plenty of ball but missed up to 12 chances in the game. Last year, Brogan scored 0-9 in the win over Tyrone and anything like a repeat performance would surely see the Dubs over the line. McMahon is likely to see at least some time on Brogan, but Harte may also opt to move Conor Gormley from centre-back to perform man-marking duties as he did on Roscommon's danger man Donie Shine last week.

Up Next...

The winners play Donegal on Sunday, August 28 in the All-Ireland quarter-final; the losers are out of the Championship for another year.