Tyrone's ladies will face Mayo on August 1st two hours before Mickey Hartes side face Sligo at Croke Park, sadly for the Tyrone ladies there will be no Croke Park date for them , their all Ireland qualifier will go ahead as originally planned at Ballinamore County Leitrim.

The ladies fixture planners had confirmed the Tyrone Mayo date on the Wednesday ahead of the Tyrone men's win in Tipperary and the confirmation of their date with Sligo. When that fixture was confirmed thoughts turned to a marketing dream with calls on social media on Sunday evening suggesting a double header.

There was some hope that the Ladies fixtures committee would co-operate with their counterparts at GAA headquarters and double up the two qualifiers featuring Tyrone and Connacht opposition. With the men's game venue not confirmed until Monday afternoon it was still very much a possibility of a double bill.  At one stage even when the GAA announced the Croke Park double bill for the Tyrone men and with several requests from the Tyrone county board already in the system, a potential triple bill was on the agenda. It later emerged from the ladies HQ that this was not an option for the game.

With that brief hope sadly scuppered too the option of another date surfaced, County officials had initially felt a switch to the Sunday may have solved the problem , but a move to August 2nd was also ruled out with several Tyrone players already committed to work and other commitments. The  game will now go ahead in Leitrim on the same afternoon, virtually wiping out much in the way of support and limiting exposure for the county ladies side.

There was an air of disappointment in the camp this week as they try and focus on the difficult task that lies ahead, there was also a call this week for several league fixtures to be postponed as Tyrone prepare for the qualifier against a Mayo side inspired by Cora Staunton.

Quality forward Staunton who hit a massive 9 goals in a recent club game notched up 1-15 against Galway in the Connacht final and will be a real threat to the Tyrone cause, that said Tyrone coach Tiffy Quinn admitted Tyrone will have a game plan and did press Mayo all the way in the national league, the championships a different animal though and Tyrone, management and players will be well aware of what lies ahead.

The frustrations though of missing out on support, except for the hard core ladies followers is very evident throughout the Tyrone camp and has been echoed throughout the ladies football world with calls for changes to what appears to be rigid fixture planning in the future. A new PR and marketing committee have also vented their annoyance. The Tyrone game will not be part of the TG4 televised selection either which should have made a venue switch all the more easier, a move of the fixture to even Parnell Park in Dublin earlier on the Saturday afternoon or to another venue near the capital would have afforded Tyrone at least some chance of support.
As it stands it is not the best outcome but this adversity may have helped galvanise the Tyrone cause, they face a stern examination on Saturday week, yes there's disappointment in relation to no movement on a fixture change but the prospect of taking a big scalp is very much now the focus.

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