Armagh v Derry November 1st

[currychip]

Soft frees keeping Derry in it.

You can't be serious.  That last free for Armagh was for what?  Killed any chance Derry could go up the field and get an equalising score. 

[Estimator]

Armagh tackling was poor throughout. Playing the man rather than the ball. Derry should have made more of that. Direct running would've put them under more pressure. Unfortunately Derry missed a few chances when Clarke was in the bin.

[JoG2]

Soft frees keeping Derry in it.

You can't be serious.  That last free for Armagh was for what?  Killed any chance Derry could go up the field and get an equalising score.

Poor call by the ref at the end to be fair. Hurson done rightly today imo. Poor shot choice cost us in the end. Definite signs of improvement. Thanks to the Derry players and management and good luck to Armagh in the semi

[screenexile]

One that got away Derry definitely had chances to win that game. Not to say we were the better side Armagh were probably slightly better in the first half but you'd have to be disappointed with our decision making up front interns of balls given away and poor shot selection.

[Mario]

Armagh tackling was poor throughout. Playing the man rather than the ball. Derry should have made more of that. Direct running would've put them under more pressure. Unfortunately Derry missed a few chances when Clarke was in the bin.

This is were the game was lost unfortunately. Nothing between the teams really.

[Main Street]

No team deserved the win but Derry will rue throwing it away.

[omochain]

We never make it easy. In truth 1 to 15 we are not good enough to win easy. This game fell into the familiar pattern for us.. Good going forward, steady enough round the middle but very average in defense. We can score enough but our poor tackling and our propensity to give away cheap frees in the score zone will make every game a nail biter.
I think Grugan deservedly Man of the Match; he is maturing into a great player. He has added strength to his technique, football IQ and vision. Like the rest of them he could do a bit of work on his tackling.
If we work harder to keep the game in the opposing half, we can give anybody a game.

[Solo_run]

No team deserved the win but Derry will rue throwing it away.

What?!

[bennydorano]

Armagh have to be happy enough with that win, I thought we looked composed in possession when the chips were down, Derry missed scores but thems the breaks. I was impressed with Ryan kennedy today, thought he'd a very good game and it was late on before I'd even realised Brendan Donaghy wasn't gonna feature, with Donaghy & Murnin hopefully to come in we can push on and give Donegal a rattle. Grugan had a great first half, but my MOTM would have been Jamie Clarke, looked brutal in the 2 league games but really turned it on today (stupid black card aside). The 2 O'Neills were hugely influential throughout, Jarly Og had a good steady game as well. Good steady performance overall I thought.

[restorepride]

The behind closed door nature should suit Derry as they are used to playing with no fans there.

I would argue with you but you are correct

Ard Mhacha are rightly favourites and it will take a huge effort from Doire to win.  They will struggle with physicality, especially if they take the ball into the tackle too often, however they do have a bit of pace on the counter.  Grugan for me is the one to absolutely man-mark - Doire might just sacrifice someone to that job - maybe Glass, if he doesn't pick up one of the O'Neills.   Overall I think that Ard Mhacha have more scoring options and have been playing consistently at a higher level than Doire.  Free taking will be crucial and Ard Mhacha again hold the advantage there although with Niall Loughlin back, Doire should be more balanced in that department.  If Ard Mhacha push up, as I expect them to do, on Doire's kickouts, then Doire could struggle to gain primary possession.  Anyhow, here's to a good game!

More or less as expected and as stated above (yesterday).  Until Doire get real about Strength and Conditioning we have no chance of making headway in the Ulster Championship.  Has been a problem for a number of years and very evident again today.  At least they made a fight of it, but Ard Mhacha should have out of sight at halftime.  The Ard Mhacha goal chance was a carbon copy of a league goal in the last 2 weeks - as some poster pointed out - obviously not enough homework done.  Fail to prepare and all that ....  Imagine what Dún na nGall would do to Doire at present - 25 points?  Or just send out the better-conditioned and strengthened U21 team?

[illdecide]

So the game kinda panned out as most expected...Close game with Armagh pulling through with not much to spare...Derry have some good footballers and are 3-4 short of a real decent outfit, def have good players in core positions. Armagh are decent but are poor in their tackling and Donegal will punish them if they tackle like that...Have we a half a chance against Donegal? How good are they?

[JoG2]

The behind closed door nature should suit Derry as they are used to playing with no fans there.

I would argue with you but you are correct

Ard Mhacha are rightly favourites and it will take a huge effort from Doire to win.  They will struggle with physicality, especially if they take the ball into the tackle too often, however they do have a bit of pace on the counter.  Grugan for me is the one to absolutely man-mark - Doire might just sacrifice someone to that job - maybe Glass, if he doesn't pick up one of the O'Neills.   Overall I think that Ard Mhacha have more scoring options and have been playing consistently at a higher level than Doire.  Free taking will be crucial and Ard Mhacha again hold the advantage there although with Niall Loughlin back, Doire should be more balanced in that department.  If Ard Mhacha push up, as I expect them to do, on Doire's kickouts, then Doire could struggle to gain primary possession.  Anyhow, here's to a good game!

More or less as expected and as stated above (yesterday).  Until Doire get real about Strength and Conditioning we have no chance of making headway in the Ulster Championship.  Has been a problem for a number of years and very evident again today.  At least they made a fight of it, but Ard Mhacha should have out of sight at halftime.  The Ard Mhacha goal chance was a carbon copy of a league goal in the last 2 weeks - as some poster pointed out - obviously not enough homework done.  Fail to prepare and all that ....  Imagine what Dún na nGall would do to Doire at present - 25 points?  Or just send out the better-conditioned and strengthened U21 team?

What do you suggest those Derry players do S&C wise that they aren't doing? Who isn't in serious condition? Name a few.
That result was down to shot selection, shot execution and maybe a little bit of inexperience, not down to gym work

[Solo_run]

So the game kinda panned out as most expected...Close game with Armagh pulling through with not much to spare...Derry have some good footballers and are 3-4 short of a real decent outfit, def have good players in core positions. Armagh are decent but are poor in their tackling and Donegal will punish them if they tackle like that...Have we a half a chance against Donegal? How good are they?

I don't think we do but nothing to lose either.

[restorepride]

The behind closed door nature should suit Derry as they are used to playing with no fans there.

I would argue with you but you are correct

Ard Mhacha are rightly favourites and it will take a huge effort from Doire to win.  They will struggle with physicality, especially if they take the ball into the tackle too often, however they do have a bit of pace on the counter.  Grugan for me is the one to absolutely man-mark - Doire might just sacrifice someone to that job - maybe Glass, if he doesn't pick up one of the O'Neills.   Overall I think that Ard Mhacha have more scoring options and have been playing consistently at a higher level than Doire.  Free taking will be crucial and Ard Mhacha again hold the advantage there although with Niall Loughlin back, Doire should be more balanced in that department.  If Ard Mhacha push up, as I expect them to do, on Doire's kickouts, then Doire could struggle to gain primary possession.  Anyhow, here's to a good game!

More or less as expected and as stated above (yesterday).  Until Doire get real about Strength and Conditioning we have no chance of making headway in the Ulster Championship.  Has been a problem for a number of years and very evident again today.  At least they made a fight of it, but Ard Mhacha should have out of sight at halftime.  The Ard Mhacha goal chance was a carbon copy of a league goal in the last 2 weeks - as some poster pointed out - obviously not enough homework done.  Fail to prepare and all that ....  Imagine what Dún na nGall would do to Doire at present - 25 points?  Or just send out the better-conditioned and strengthened U21 team?

What do you suggest those Derry players do S&C wise that they aren't doing? Who isn't in serious condition? Name a few.
That result was down to shot selection, shot execution and maybe a little bit of inexperience, not down to gym work

It has been an issue within the squad for a numbers of years and cost us both last year and today, although I do agree with your points re shot execution and selection.  Ard Mhacha should have been out of sight at halftime.  No power to break through tackles - exactly why Lynn and Tallon had no real impact.  It will be a 3-4 year project if we want to win an Ulster Championship match. 

[illdecide]

It's not all about S&C...Jamie Clarke is not bursting out of his top with weights. For me players that are a bit limited tend to put more into the gym to compensate but if you're worth your salt at all and can put the ball over the bar with ease then you don't need to be bench pressing 100kg.
I know they all need to have the core fitness and need to have the strength to fend off your opponent but they don't need to be running around like you're carrying two TV's