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Another good game but maybe not as exciting as last week.

A fair result I would have thought, though if Cross had a full hand to choose from they'd have easily beat Kilcoo, fair play to them though as it took Kilcoo two games in ET to beat them. I don't think the Ballinderry men in the crowd will have too much to worry about for the semi-final.

The first sending off in my view was a turning point, after that Cross had Kilcoo rattled and looked like they could near nick it, but when it came to the end of normal time and both teams level, the Down men looked to have more options on the bench whereas Cross hadn't really anyone to bring on.

Would imagine that deep down Cross people will accept that the extended break will do them no harm in the long run, AK can regain fitness and they can go into next season a bit fresher and as well as getting a bit of game time with the county.

Every day that goes by Jamie Clarke looks more interested in becoming a well-travelled and maverick fashionista; and less interested in playing football with Crossmaglen and Armagh.

[The referee was great,]

Absolutely amazing game.  Lots of hard hitting from start to finish.  Darragh O'Hanlon scored a monster free for Kilcoo right at the end, the same as he did in the County Final v Burren.

Kilcoo had a great goal chance in the second half of extra time, but it went into the side netting.  A couple of middle aged Kilcoo men lost the plot in the stand just before half time.  They should have been put out, but the stewarts were reluctant to get involved.

Both teams did themselves proud.  It was tough going throughout.  The referee was great, he just let them play away.  Some other dick of a ref could have sent half of them off.  Ryan Johnston was Man of the Match.  J Hanratty, Garbhan Carragher and T Kernan were excellent for Cross.

Interesting.

As a neutral I think the ref let a lot go, both sets of players showed great discipline (to an extent) keeping their calm over the hour and 20 mins when lesser players would have snapped and earned themselves a red for reacting. If we get half the entertainment we got today we'll be in for a good game!

Apologies, had assumed A Cunningham was fit, he basically spent the game warming up right in front of me.

For me, both teams are extremely well conditioned and have great strength in depth. I felt Cross really missed AK's leadership/influence today and for that alone he would be a massive boost and could well be the difference, what exactly is his injury?

Part of me thinks Kilcoo have missed the boat, but I've been wrong before calling games like these!

Kilcoo were also forced into making a number of changes with key men having to come off. I didn't realise that AK, PK and Jamie Clarke equated to a third of the Cross team?

In any case a great spectacle today, Kilcoo will probably be kicking themselves but at the same time relieved to still be in it. Overall I think they should have won, major blunder for the Cross goal when Kilcoo were really cruising and looking like they would close the game out. That gave Cross a huge lease of life and saw to a hugely entertaining finish. Cross are also lucky, McNamee could have seen red early on.

Let it be. If there's an appetite for something it will be satisfied. I agree there is no point forcing clubs or counties to embrace a code just for the sake of it. In the town near me you have 4 football clubs (one of which actually has a thriving handball club) and a hurling club, with about 4/5 other football clubs scattered around the outskirts of the town.

A sizeable GAA population, but there is little to no interest in hurling. The hurling club itself is Junior level and would cover the catchment area of all the local football clubs, drawing its players from these clubs. While they are holding their own, they won't be competing for senior any time soon.

It doesn't matter if a club is dual Division 1 senior club or a bottom of Division 3 Junior, so long as they promote the ethos of the Association and are the focal point of their community then they are a true GAA club in my eyes.

While I do not speak for Nally Stand, in my own opinion the likes of British state agencies in a lot of cases were in a position to carry out arrests on suspected IRA members rather than shooting them on the spot and then subsequently attempt to deny that they were unarmed or that there was a STK policy in place.

They also did this with non-combatants, as well as blatantly colluding with Loyalists who were inherently sectarian in their selection of targets.

So on that basis, (and granted I think that any member willing to volunteer in the IRA should be aware of the risk to their lives),  I don't see how anyone can view the IRA as terrorists and simultaneously ignore/forget/downplay the acts of the British Gov; and somehow view them as morally superior to the IRA when they played as much an active role in killing innocent civilians as any Republican grouping did.

When you look at the stats
It looks like Cross only starting coming to the fore in 1996, 98 & 99. Was just wondering what are the main reasons for this in most people's eyes.
What did they change or how did they make such a big impact from there on?

Armagh clubs now have 14 Ulster titles with Derry having 11. You have to go back ten years for Derry's last win which was for an Lub.
Am I right to say most teams that win it have a huge pick of players that stay committed to the cause.

I suppose having Oisin & PTG helped their teams over the line a lot.

I guess it takes an exceptionally talented set of players to come along at once; with an exceptional level of dedication, commitment, discipline, belief and courage - attributes that Crossmaglen have in abundance. As well as all the talented players they have, they also have an almost telepathic understanding - they're one of the best drilled teams I've seen across any sporting discipline.

The thing with Cross is that they're able to adapt without their so-called main men. Oisín retiring, Jamie on his holidays, a number of injuries and they're still favourites. Most clubs would be decimated by that. I think Cross may struggle at the latter stages of the AI if/when they reach there, but Ulster should almost be a formality in my view.

[The flip side is that Cross can coast through Armagh in 2nd gear giving reserve players a run out and be fresh for the Ulster Club series.]

The fact that it takes a mammoth effort to get out of Tyrone aloan leaves it difficult to do well in Ulster. The flip side is that Cross can coast through Armagh in 2nd gear giving reserve players a run out and be fresh for the Ulster Club series. I would argue that Tyrone club football is in a much better place than Armagh's one horse race.

I'd near wager a bet now that no team in Ulster will get closer to Cross than Maghery did this year (3 points).

So its just a case of Maghery will be the best team Cross will meet this year as no other team (in your opinion) won't come close to a 3 point defeat? 

It's the case that Maghery gave Cross a game, had them well rattled at one stage and were within 3 points of them.

I'll be mildly surprised to see a team run them that close in Ulster. Which puts to bed this notion that Cross get a bye ball in Armagh, like the way Naomh Gall do in Antrim 

Where on earth are you getting that from?

My point is that there are teams  in Armagh that can give Cross a game. People like to pretend that Armagh is a walkover for Cross, when in reality they get as little/as much resistance in Armagh, as they do when they enter the Ulster Club. I used Maghery as an example because IMO they gave Cross a game and kept them scoreless for 20mins or so.

Thought the commentary was top notch. Very informative. I'm sure neither have any previous experience so it takes a bit of guts to do that...

Am I right in saying though that both men commentated on respective finals featuring their home clubs? Games that they lost? An omen perhaps.

[The flip side is that Cross can coast through Armagh in 2nd gear giving reserve players a run out and be fresh for the Ulster Club series.]

The fact that it takes a mammoth effort to get out of Tyrone aloan leaves it difficult to do well in Ulster. The flip side is that Cross can coast through Armagh in 2nd gear giving reserve players a run out and be fresh for the Ulster Club series. I would argue that Tyrone club football is in a much better place than Armagh's one horse race.

maybe i'm wrong and maybe it changed this year but do you not regularly get division 1 teams playing in the ifc in armagh with some division 2 teams playing in the sfc. surely this makes crossmaglens task a little bit easier in armagh?

You're right and wrong, it was the case for the last number of years, including this season; but as of next year the system will be pretty much the same as the Tyrone club setup. As an example, Annaghmore won the Junior, played Intermediate league and finished second, thus meaning they will be a Senior club next season.

As for EC saying Cross coast Armagh, did they also coast those 10 Ulsters/6 AI's? I'd near wager a bet now that no team in Ulster will get closer to Cross than Maghery did this year (3 points).

Was just curious, its starts every year in September? I know if I was a club footballer in Armagh I wouldn't like waiting until September to play in the championship. I suppose it works for Crossmaglen with Ulster Club football soon after that.

I think they like to keep a two week gap between games, to allow for replays etc. It also removes the need for fixtures having to be changed which is particularly annoying for club players who may have to change their work schedules and what not. Tyrone played their championship off quite promptly this year, no choice I suppose.

Would have had the Down final as a 50/50 game so not that big a shock, though I had fancied Burren myself, so fair play to Kilcoo.

Agree that it should be another formality for Cross but Kilcoo will probably pose a lot more problems than last time round; can't see Cross getting another 11 point lead.

As already mentioned Cross have the ability to rack up a big score in games very quickly. The key to competing with that is to limit their big scores during that dominance they always get in a game. Easier said that done, must be only a handfull of teams in Ireland that have actually beat this Cross team, who are they?

Maghery kept them scoreless for around 20 mins in the semifinal the other week, that in itself is an achievement!

To be fair Armagh isn't exactly brimming with talent, the only team to give Cross a game this year was Maghery. In Tyrone, any number of clubs would give Cross a game, Errigal, Dromore, Clonoe, Carrickmore, Coalisland and even Omagh or Ardboe.

The last Armagh club outside of Cross to win an Ulster championship was Mullaghbawn in 95 and before that Clans in 74. So I wouldn't be too chirpy about trying to get bragging rights on this one!