Armagh v Derry November 1st

[restorepride]

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

Did you think Doire were a physical match for Ard Mhacha today?

[illdecide]

Yes...Derry weren't bullied out of it. Derry had chances and didn't take them, that's why they lost not because they weren't pumping iron

[lurganblue]

Armagh will likely put up between 15 and 20 points.  They'll also give away 8/10 scoreable frees.

As expected then.

[tonto1888]

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 have a chance against them but you never know. It's a free hit so hopefully we just go out and play

[restorepride]

Yes...Derry weren't bullied out of it. Derry had chances and didn't take them, that's why they lost not because they weren't pumping iron

Pumping iron is very different from strength and conditioning. I'll maybe just park it there.  Well done to Ard Mhacha, deserved the victory and good luck v Dún na nGall, Ard Mhacha physically much more prepared for that battle than Doire. 

[illdecide]

Yes...Derry weren't bullied out of it. Derry had chances and didn't take them, that's why they lost not because they weren't pumping iron

Pumping iron is very different from strength and conditioning. I'll maybe just park it there.  Well done to Ard Mhacha, deserved the victory and good luck v Dún na nGall, Ard Mhacha physically much more prepared for that battle than Doire.

Yes, i know it is and didn't mean sarcastically...Maybe Armagh were a bit stronger but genuinely thought Derry weren't bullied nor brushed aside. A few bad wides and few bad decisions at crucial times lost them the game, a game i knew would be close. Good honest game with no dirt and some good long range scores from both sides...I think Derry will go up next year to Div 2 and are going in the right direction.

[twohands!!!]

Armagh will likely put up between 15 and 20 points.  They'll also give away 8/10 scoreable frees.

As expected then.

Derry got 10 points from frees - the highest of any of the 18 teams that played this weekend.
Armagh got 5 points from frees.

[balladmaker]

As expected, Armagh gave away cheap frees.  As expected they racked up a decent tally of 17 points.  As expected, they could have thrown it away, but all credit to Derry for pushing them to the end.  Donegal a different proposition, but we're there and should just give it one hell of a go, leave it all on the field and that's the best we can do.

The most concerning aspect watching the game today ... during a pandemic ... was Rory Gallagher's continuous spitting into his hands ... WTF.

[tonto1888]

As expected, Armagh gave away cheap frees.  As expected they racked up a decent tally of 17 points.  As expected, they could have thrown it away, but all credit to Derry for pushing them to the end.  Donegal a different proposition, but we're there and should just give it one hell of a go, leave it all on the field and that's the best we can do.

The most concerning aspect watching the game today ... during a pandemic ... was Rory Gallagher's continuous spitting into his hands ... WTF.

He always does that

[marty34]

As expected, Armagh gave away cheap frees.  As expected they racked up a decent tally of 17 points.  As expected, they could have thrown it away, but all credit to Derry for pushing them to the end.  Donegal a different proposition, but we're there and should just give it one hell of a go, leave it all on the field and that's the best we can do.

The most concerning aspect watching the game today ... during a pandemic ... was Rory Gallagher's continuous spitting into his hands ... WTF.

Derry never looked like winning that game. Very defensive when behind and even in last 10 mins never pushed on and have a go at it.

Armagh, as someone said, are a Div. 1 team and Derry are a Div. 3 team.  Confidence is a big thing.

Where is Jamie Clarke playing his football now?

[tbrick18]

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

I'd agree with this.
I think it's important, but the difference IMO is the physical size of Derry. We are generally shorter and smaller in stature than a lot of county teams.
That's not to take away from the S&C of those players or their ability....it's just difficult for a player at 5'10" to complete with one at 6'2".
Some of our better players are small(ish). Lynn, McGuigan....the subs we brought on all looked like kids compared to the Armagh subs.
I do think we struggle on the physical size side and that makes it more difficult for us to win primary possession.

[JoG2]

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

I'd agree with this.
I think it's important, but the difference IMO is the physical size of Derry. We are generally shorter and smaller in stature than a lot of county teams.
That's not to take away from the S&C of those players or their ability....it's just difficult for a player at 5'10" to complete with one at 6'2".
Some of our better players are small(ish). Lynn, McGuigan....the subs we brought on all looked like kids compared to the Armagh subs.
I do think we struggle on the physical size side and that makes it more difficult for us to win primary possession.

Shane McGuigan? Wouldn't describe him as smallish in stature in the slightest . Lynn yes, but yesterday aside he's been our most consistent player for years imo. For his size he can fairly ride a tackle and not cough up possession. Sean Leo had the same knack

[tooolonggg]

Shane McGuigan is not small, he is a big unit of a man who was well marked yesterday.

[tbrick18]

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

I'd agree with this.
I think it's important, but the difference IMO is the physical size of Derry. We are generally shorter and smaller in stature than a lot of county teams.
That's not to take away from the S&C of those players or their ability....it's just difficult for a player at 5'10" to complete with one at 6'2".
Some of our better players are small(ish). Lynn, McGuigan....the subs we brought on all looked like kids compared to the Armagh subs.
I do think we struggle on the physical size side and that makes it more difficult for us to win primary possession.

Shane McGuigan? Wouldn't describe him as smallish in stature in the slightest . Lynn yes, but yesterday aside he's been our most consistent player for years imo. For his size he can fairly ride a tackle and not cough up possession. Sean Leo had the same knack

I'm not trying to make detrimental comments about any of the players here, and I agree about Lynn and Sean Leo. But if either was marking a man over 6foot they struggle for primary possession and rely more on breaking ball. McGuigan maybe just looked a bit light on TV....
Armagh are physically imposing as are Donegal.

All in all, I'm not too disappointed in the game yesterday. We looked out of it for large parts of the first half but then looked at least on a par for the 2nd half.
Conditions were difficult but both teams have to adjust to that.
Realistically, I don't think either Armagh or Derry will put up a serious challenge to Donegal.

In terms of development, Derry are really at the start. A lot of young players, some championship debuts, probably should have been promoted to Div2 and gave a decent showing in the championship.
We obviously need to work some more on defending but mostly I think we need to work on our MF, half forward areas and that transition between defence and attack. We didnt get enough ball into shooting positions yesterday and that left us shooting from poor positions.
I think that will come given time and the maturing of some of those younger players.

[Rawhide]

A decent performance, we could have gotten a draw, we had the chances, but we never looked like we were going to win that game. I didn't expect us to win it before hand. We have made progress on the pitch. We are improved defensively but there is a ceiling with this system. We might get promotion with it but we won't win an Ulster championship with it. Gallagher is correct in that we need to keep a consistent panel together to evolve and develop. The next stage is how do we get the team to move the ball faster with the foot to what is potentially a decent forward line that is emerging. Thats the next part of the puzzle, not staying the same. Loads of young players  being introduced to and getting bulk unto some of them is vital for us to progress against the better teams. No doubt getting that 6:4 ball winning midfielder would be ideal also.
On Lynn, don't rate the guy in championship football at all for us. No doubt he has been consistently good in the league, due to the fitness he has, and as the championship gets closer, you can see his performances drop due to the opposition teams getting fitter towards May. But he has rarely been a significant player for us in championship over along period. However we have very little to push him out over the past 5 years so his place on the team was fair enough.