Ard Mhacha v An Dún - Cluiche Ceannais Rionn 2 - Pairc an Chrócaigh 25/4/10

[mackers]

Good to redress our worst performance of the season. A lot of positives to be taken from the League were reinforced in today's performance. Our HFs are now an attacking force again. To think that Peter McDonnell didn't think Nippy Swift was good enough for the county panel..............suppose that was down to the way he was using his HFs. Nippy was my MOTM, closely followed by Finn Mo. Stevie is a legend nothing more needs to be said.
Hearty breeds uncertainty in his defenders and although some posters are right in pointing the finger at Lavery too, a good goalkeeper commands his square and calls for the ball coming in.
Was Clarke even togged out today? Bit worried, don't think he was. Jaimie Clarke and Malachy Mackin did well when they come on.

[balladmaker]

Loved Armagh's mobility and attacking space today, impressive performance with brilliant passing and score taking.  Down met a different outfit today than that in Newry a few weeks ago, plus Croke Park seemed to suit Armagh better. 

Armagh are on an upward curve and that's all we can take out of winning division 2.  The thread this time 3 weeks will be interesting to say the least. 

[downredblack]

Loved Armagh's mobility and attacking space today, impressive performance with brilliant passing and score taking.  Down met a different outfit today than that in Newry a few weeks ago, plus Croke Park seemed to suit Armagh better. 

Armagh are on an upward curve and that's all we can take out of winning division 2.  The thread this time 3 weeks will be interesting to say the least.

In fairness Armagh met a diffrerent outfit today than in Newry a few weeks ago and took full advantage of it and good luck to them , they were worth their win .
The loss of Ambrose and Dee Raff can't be overstated but the no show from some of our senior players has to be looked at too . Thankfully the real business is a while away yet and this might be the type of grounding result players and fans alike need .

[Armaghgeddon]

Loved Armagh's mobility and attacking space today, impressive performance with brilliant passing and score taking.  Down met a different outfit today than that in Newry a few weeks ago, plus Croke Park seemed to suit Armagh better. 

Armagh are on an upward curve and that's all we can take out of winning division 2.  The thread this time 3 weeks will be interesting to say the least.

In fairness Armagh met a diffrerent outfit today than in Newry a few weeks ago

A bit of an unfair statement there. I agree that Down never played to the same tempo but on the other hand Down played a 14 man Armagh team for a good bit of that game. Moriarity over the league campaign has proved his worth to the Armagh team. That game in Newry Armagh were beginning to find their feet and were knocked out of shape again when he was sent off.

You can say that you were missing Ambrose but for the past two meeting we haven't had Ronan Clarke.

Things are looking grand for both teams in the coming seasons and a little rivalry wouldn't go a miss.

[Mourne Rover]

We cannot complain about the result, as Armagh made less mistakes than Down did and had a little more know-how in key areas, but we almost sneaked it at the end and the experience should bring us on a fair bit. A concern is that by my reckoning today was our fifth appearance at HQ since the 1994 AI (Kerry in a league play-off about 96, Monaghan at the same stage in 97, Offaly in the D2 final of 04 and Wexford in the 08 final qualifier) and we have lost them all. We don't want Croke Park to become our unlucky ground.

Armagh won mainly because of a fine half-back line and McDonnnell up front, although asking Brannigan, who is a fringe defender at best, to come in and mark Armagh's top forward from the start was a very curious management move. McDonnell scored after less than 15 seconds, and Brannigan was switched immediately. He gave away a 45 which was scored by McDonnell shortly afterwards, and, although he settled later, it was also a surprise that he was not eventually replaced.

McVeigh was sound, apart from one handling error, with decent kick-outs, while McArdle is still on a learing curve and should benefit from the experience. McCartan, yet again, was our best defender, until his foolish moment in injury time. Kernan seemed to drop the knees on him in the first place, and there was definiitely no stamping movement from McCartan, but his foot completely unnecessarily landed on the chest of an opponent.  While a three-month ban would be very excessive, he is pretty unlikely to be involved in Ballybofey, which is a blow.

Colgan had some reasonable touches, but was never the same after taking a big head-high hit due to yet another misplaced pass from Fitzpatrick just before half time. McKernan tired hard without looking comfortable, and lost possession on a couple of costly occasions - once when we had a certain score on near the end. Garvey battled away and kicked an excellent late point.

King began slowly but improved steadily, and his late point might even have been a goal, so he looks nailed on to start in Donegal. Fitzpatrick had one of his frustrating days, apart from one good point, repeatedly gave the ball away and might even have been taken off earlier. Much the same could be said about Hughes, as apart from his brilliant point before the break, little went right for him and he was indecisive when it counted. Kearney never really got going, and was the first to be benched, which was a pity after his league form.

Marty Clarke misplaced a couple of passes, but his quality was there in flashes and his free-taking was immaculate. His brother John was not as prominent as usual, but he may have been replaced a little too early. McComiskey won every ball in the first half but only scored once, although the television replays tonight indicated that another shot was wrongly ruled wide. Again, he might have been given another few minutes before the call ashore.

Benny was outstanding, all strength and passion, hit 1-2 from play, won a couple of important frees and might even have got another goal before he was fouled in the first half.

Gordon and Laverty came on together, but the only real contribution between them was the pass which Gordon picked off the ground before kicking what I think would have been the equaliser before it was rightly chalked off. Gordon certainly needed the game, but Laverty was repeatedly given passes when tightly marked. Murtagh had very little time, but did not make much impact, while Duffin was steady enough.

We have plenty to think about, but the result may take some of the pressure and attention off us for a while. We need Ambrose fit again, and Doyle would be a huge if unlikely bonus as well.

 

[wats that 4 ref]

well done armagh and thank god r paddy o`rourke that armagh have got out of the defensive mode and started playing a better brand of attacking football which they are capable of and which is far more pleasing on the eye. players who were not in the panel or team last year for what ever reason are flying this year,duffy,mackin, etc today defence was v good noticed mckeever let clarke go and marked space in front of full back line ,while effective 2day might be different story v derry forwars such as 2 bradleys,kielt and co. midfield was wel on top making down resort to short kick outs which put them under a lot of pressure. stevie still the man who will get bulk of scores. most of the rest of forward line were in and out mallon and henderson were poor. dont know how kernan got the full game he not a chf full stop. subs took us over the line when we were starting to get tired mackin,clarke and forker all doing their part with mackin and forker getting on the score sheet. good team performance overall and top marks so far to management and coaching staff team looks v fit

[Real1995]

Very please with today's performance, gives us something to build on for the championship, don't care what anyone says about 2day being meaningless, 2day's run out was better than a couple of challenge games...

Stevie is jus on fire at the min and 2day we saw Finn Mo, Nippy and A.M putting in some fine performances......have 2 agree with yellowcard in a previous post, we are a goalkeeper and a centre half forward away from being a real force this year.....it is key for a defence to have a strong goalkeeper playing behind them that they can trust and that is simply not the case at the min....P.H is a big man, but under a high ball he simple doesn't jump  ......

AK wil have to be switched to wing half forward with possibly vernon moving centrally, or else he mite try a fit Ronan Clarke there......but certainly at the min, there is serious competition for places come 3 weeks....Ard Mhaca Abú

[downredblack]

Loved Armagh's mobility and attacking space today, impressive performance with brilliant passing and score taking.  Down met a different outfit today than that in Newry a few weeks ago, plus Croke Park seemed to suit Armagh better. 

Armagh are on an upward curve and that's all we can take out of winning division 2.  The thread this time 3 weeks will be interesting to say the least.

In fairness Armagh met a diffrerent outfit today than in Newry a few weeks ago

A bit of an unfair statement there. I agree that Down never played to the same tempo but on the other hand Down played a 14 man Armagh team for a good bit of that game. Moriarity over the league campaign has proved his worth to the Armagh team. That game in Newry Armagh were beginning to find their feet and were knocked out of shape again when he was sent off.

You can say that you were missing Ambrose but for the past two meeting we haven't had Ronan Clarke.

Things are looking grand for both teams in the coming seasons and a little rivalry wouldn't go a miss.

Ahh come on , Im taking nothing from Armaghs win today and said they were full value for it but from a Down point of view the loss of the 2 players I mentioned was massive . You mention Ronan Clarke , I would judge the loss of him as I would the loss of Dan Gordon . Two class acts who have seen little or no football to date . Both of them could change any game but for one reason or another today wasn't going to be their day .

[Armaghgeddon]

Loved Armagh's mobility and attacking space today, impressive performance with brilliant passing and score taking.  Down met a different outfit today than that in Newry a few weeks ago, plus Croke Park seemed to suit Armagh better. 

Armagh are on an upward curve and that's all we can take out of winning division 2.  The thread this time 3 weeks will be interesting to say the least.

In fairness Armagh met a diffrerent outfit today than in Newry a few weeks ago

A bit of an unfair statement there. I agree that Down never played to the same tempo but on the other hand Down played a 14 man Armagh team for a good bit of that game. Moriarity over the league campaign has proved his worth to the Armagh team. That game in Newry Armagh were beginning to find their feet and were knocked out of shape again when he was sent off.

You can say that you were missing Ambrose but for the past two meeting we haven't had Ronan Clarke.

Things are looking grand for both teams in the coming seasons and a little rivalry wouldn't go a miss.

Ahh come on , Im taking nothing from Armaghs win today and said they were full value for it but from a Down point of view the loss of the 2 players I mentioned was massive . You mention Ronan Clarke , I would judge the loss of him as I would the loss of Dan Gordon . Two class acts who have seen little or no football to date . Both of them could change any game but for one reason or another today wasn't going to be their day .

Apologies if I came across as making it out as if you were doing down Armagh's performance. If anything very little seperates these teams at the moment. Yes, Down have showed great form throughout the league but Armagh - as evident in the last 10 minutes of todays game, they are building their fitness up towards the championship.

It will be interesting to see how Down cope after today. Now this is just my opinion but Downwent all the way without losing but on the last day they suffered a loss. Now I am not too sure about this but I think Down have peaked, they have beat almost everyone that they have played. I was at the Newry game and Down provided the championship intensity whereas Armagh wanted to play at their own intensity and because of that they were hammered - and rightly so.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

The trophy mean not have been the most meaningful but the opposition certainly was and its nice to see an Armagh team lift a trophy in Croke Park for the second time in a few months. It was quite difficult at times to discern exactly what Armagh's positional tactics were, I noticed 3 different players marking Marty Clarke at times but fundamentally they seem to be playing Ciaran McKeever as a sweeper in front of the full back line, a role that worked well today. I'd expect to see him line out in a similar position against Derry.

I thought the performance of the wing backs was excellent, Finnian in largely curtailing Clarke's influence from play and Duffy in respect of the way he wins breaking ball and links defence and attack. Andy Mallon was excellent also, particularly in the final few minutes. Up front Stevie was sublime, he looks every bit as good now as his peak from 2003-2006 when he was the best forward in the country. If he carries this form on he'll probably win another All Star. The only worry would be if he got injured. We're very dependent on him for scores though Nippy Swift got a couple of points today and had a very effective match. Ronan Clarke wasn't togged out and he must be a huge doubt for Celtic Park now.

Congratulations to the management team also.

[Armaghgeddon]

The trophy mean not have been the most meaningful but the opposition certainly was and its nice to see an Armagh team lift a trophy in Croke Park for the second time in a few months. It was quite difficult at times to discern exactly what Armagh's positional tactics were, I noticed 3 different players marking Marty Clarke at times but fundamentally they seem to be playing Ciaran McKeever as a sweeper in front of the full back line, a role that worked well today. I'd expect to see him line out in a similar position against Derry.

I thought the performance of the wing backs was excellent, Finnian in largely curtailing Clarke's influence from play and Duffy in respect of the way he wins breaking ball and links defence and attack. Andy Mallon was excellent also, particularly in the final few minutes. Up front Stevie was sublime, he looks every bit as good now as his peak from 2003-2006 when he was the best forward in the country. If he carries this form on he'll probably win another All Star. The only worry would be if he got injured. We're very dependent on him for scores though Nippy Swift got a couple of points today and had a very effective match. Ronan Clarke wasn't togged out and he must be a huge doubt for Celtic Park now.

Congratulations to the management team also.

Apparently Ronan Clarke said to the management he didnt want to play. Im sure the commentator said that. Could be wrong.

[JimStynes]

Henderson hasnt a chance of getting a sniff because everyone on the armagh team just looks for Stevie and when Stevie is on fire then i suppose you cant blame them. I just feel Henderson gets a bad press even though he is making good runs but he is always the second option when Stevie is playing. I thought he was doing rightly in the first half.

Martin Clarke doesnt live up to the hype imo, a great player who rarely wastes a ball and is great from frees but from what ive seen of him so far he is overrated or maybe i am just expecting too much.

[our_fella]

Armaghgeddon it was a re-occurence of his past injury. seemed to be limping a bit today when walking across the pitch

[ONeill]

Only got to see the second half. Armagh looked stronger in all departments but still allowed an inferior Down side to hang in there and could've paid the penalty with that last move Down cocked up. Marty Clarke definitely improves the Down side but it seemed to be just him and Coulter v Armagh. Criminal pick off the ground by Gordon.

Was it my TV or is McDonnell carrying a good bit of timber? The Orchard are still the masters of the tackle. Derry'll bate them though. Then they'll lose to Down in the qualifiers and O'Rourke will be tied to a Mace trolley in Forkhill for a week.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Henderson hasnt a chance of getting a sniff because everyone on the armagh team just looks for Stevie and when Stevie is on fire then i suppose you cant blame them. I just feel Henderson gets a bad press even though he is making good runs but he is always the second option when Stevie is playing. I thought he was doing rightly in the first half.

Martin Clarke doesnt live up to the hype imo, a great player who rarely wastes a ball and is great from frees but from what ive seen of him so far he is overrated or maybe i am just expecting too much.

To be fair to Clarke its pretty hard for him to live up to the unrealistic expectations a lot of Down people seem to have of him. To listen to some Down people you'd swear the Lord Incarnate had come down to play Gaelic football. He's a young fella adjusting to a level of football he's never played before and he's performed admirably so far. He wasn't great today but even at that his placed balls were Down's best opportunities for scores. No doubt he'll be one of the better forwards in Ulster over the next decade.