Plenty of optimism ahead of Omagh opener

Be careful what you wish for.

Next Sunday a 14-year dream will become a reality when Meath make their return to NFL Div 1 with a daunting trip to Omagh to take on 2018 All-Ireland SFC finalists Tyrone.
Not since Meath were relegated from Div 1B in 2006 have the Royals plied their footballing trade at the top table.
While there is an air of excitement ahead of a return to the top flight the realisation of the difficulty of the task is starting to dawn.
Home games against Donegal, Mayo and Galway and away days against Tyrone, Kerry, Dublin and Monaghan await a Meath side in a Div 1 landscape that is very different to the one they operated in 14 years ago.
Back then Meath were relegated along with Wexford from a group that included Laois, Galway, Derry, Down, Kildare and Armagh, it's fair to say, without much fear of contradiction, that this year will be tougher than that campaign.
However, this is where Meath want, and need, to be.
After a breakthrough 2019 that saw Andy McEntee's charges reach a first Leinster SFC final since 2014 and make it to the Super 8s for the first time there is a feeling that for that progression to be maintained Meath need to be competitive in the top flight.
The Super 8s were an eye-opening experience for Meath in 2019.
One where they proved to themselves and the entire country that they are a rising force, but one where they also learned the harsh realities of the gap that exists between the top four or five sides in the country and the rest.
In their return to NFL Div 1, Meath will once again face their three opponents from the 2019 Super 8s - Donegal, Mayo and Kerry, while Dublin and Tyrone are the other Super 8 sides from 2019 that will make up NFL Div 1 in 2020.
Despite three brave performances in the Super 8s the reality of last summer is that Meath lost those games by a combined total of 28 points.
Kerry inflicted a 10-point defeat in the final game after Mayo and Donegal had both beaten the Royals by nine points each.
Meath's last championship meeting with Tyrone was in 2018 when they lost out in round one of the qualifiers by a point in controversial circumstances after extra-time.
Off the back of that display Meath will be hopeful going to Omagh next Sunday.
The last time Meath faced Galway in competitive action was in round four of 2017 NFL Div 2 when they scored a 1-13 to 0-15 victory in Navan.
That was Galway's only defeat and they have more than held their own in Div 1 since going through the 2018 group stage unbeaten before losing to Dublin in the final and winning four of their seven games in 2019 to stay out of trouble.
It is 2014 since Meath last took on Monaghan in the league and that was a day no one will recall fondly as the Royals were hammered by 12 points.
However, Meath went close to securing promotion that year, but lost out with Monaghan climbing up to Div 1 and remaining there since.
The moral of the story of Meath's last few league campaigns is that the teams that have gone up from Div 2 have tended to do fairly well.
Can McEntee's men do the same?
It is going to be a huge ask for Meath to stay up and it has been made all the more difficult by a raft of injuries that have hit the camp hard.
Starting with a difficult trip to Omagh is as tough as they come, but Meath will take heart from their recent record against the Ulster men.
Without their ace attacker Cathal McShane, Tyrone might, just might, be ripe for the picking.
Good results at home to Donegal, Mayo and Galway are key to the Royals survival prospects - win those games and pick up something from the away trips to Tyrone and Monaghan and Meath should be safe.
Simple - right?