AIQF 2017 Tír Eoghain vs Ard Macha, Sat. August 5th @4pm

[David McKeown]

Only over confidence can derail Tyrone.Philip Jordan as correct cannot see a Div 3 team reach semi-final.

Unlike last year?

[ziggysego]

I've missed this in recent years. Only disappointment is, illdecide seems to have gotten level headed in his twilight years.

[illdecide]

I've missed this in recent years. Only disappointment is, illdecide seems to have gotten level headed in his twilight years.

Easy you...I do still get a bit excited for 70 mins during the game no matter how hard i try...It's still in there just doesn't get out that much these days...Getting old Ziggo

[StGallsGAA]

Just bought my ticket for yhe special train from Belfast and will enjoy the 20 mins peace and quiet until the buckfast brigade in their orange tracksuits get on in Lurgan, still sh*t-faced from the night before for their twice twice a decade trip to Croker.   Don't let the GAA down lads. 

That's weird, is this not our 5th trip to Croker in 4 years?

Yer scraping the barrel of success when you go counting div 3 league games.  Just behave yerselves instead of acting like loyalists on the 12th!

[illdecide]

Just bought my ticket for yhe special train from Belfast and will enjoy the 20 mins peace and quiet until the buckfast brigade in their orange tracksuits get on in Lurgan, still sh*t-faced from the night before for their twice twice a decade trip to Croker.   Don't let the GAA down lads.

I'll have to ask the Kilwilkie lads nicely to disrupt the train service on Sat from Belfast and hopefully you won't encounter the Buckfast drinking brigade at lovely Lurgan

[omagh_gael]

Some crap being talked about the Kevin McKernan black card. One dynamic not mentioned at all was the only footage shown of the incident was in slow motion that makes it look more dramatic. Even in slow mo it's crazy to say Sean made a big deal of it.

[Main Street]

I suspect Sean has a peculiar narcoleptic affliction.

[armaghniac]

I suspect Sean has a peculiar narcoleptic affliction.

He is a bit narcey at times.

[armaghniac]

More tickets likely to go on general sale, not too many I imagine, and not well situated ones.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/gaa/2017/0801/894519-croke-park-sell-out/

[ONeill]

Yous Armagh ones are losing the run of yourselves.

Just be glad you're sharing the same stage as your illustrious neighbours and pray you don't get obliterated.

[LurganHoop]

Yous Armagh ones are losing the run of yourselves.

Just be glad you're sharing the same stage as your illustrious neighbours and pray you don't get obliterated.

We will leave the praying to you!!

Sure if you can't lose the run of yourself in the build up to a quarter final when can you!

[Fuzzman]

Yes smelmoth, I do condemn all that stuff you mentioned. How could you not if you're a true gaa fan though I think the whole diving thing is not so black and white.
If a defender is going to break the rules and foul a man to get an advantage then the fouled player has the right to go to ground in order to win the free. Of course if there was no foul at all then this is indeed diving and what Tiernan McCann did that time was a blatant dive and he got his just reward afterwards.

I think Mickey Harte is very aware that Armagh could come along and upset the excellent discipline this young team have showed in recent times. It would greatly annoy him if they came along and got stuck into us physically and got some of our players sent off and have a huge impact on his plan for meeting the Dubs. So I think that's why Mickey went down that road with his interview.

I also agree with you about lads drinking on the way to matches. I mean I get it you can have a couple but the whole purpose of the day is to go watch a match and to enjoy yourself. I can kinda understand younger lads who are immature and it's just another big adventure out but to watch men over 30 getting boozed up before the game just amazes me.

It's great to have the banter before the game with the Armagh ones again as for too many games there is no craic or big build up talk. I don't think though there are too many Tyrone posters getting nervous or are overly worried about losing to Armagh. I watched your match back last night and I think Armagh will find it much harder to kick the ball into their inside line as Down soon found out. I'd expect Jamie Clarke to spend a lot more time out around the middle and make runs from deep otherwise he'll never be on the ball much.

[mackers]

I think Mickey Harte is very aware that Armagh could come along and upset the excellent discipline this young team have showed in recent times. It would greatly annoy him if they came along and got stuck into us physically and got some of our players sent off and have a huge impact on his plan for meeting the Dubs. So I think that's why Mickey went down that road with his interview.

I know you are one of the more balanced Tyrone posters Fuzz but do you seriously believe what you have written??  You'd swear Tyrone were as pure as the driven snow.  Mickey had only one reason for saying what he said and that was to put the squeeze on the referee.  Tyrone supporters would want to believe that Mickey Harte isn't taking Armagh for granted and planning for the Dubs.  If he was that would suit us just fine.  This line that the (smaller than Tyrone) Armagh team are going to bully this naïve Tyrone team off Croke Park is utter crap.  This Armagh team would prefer a footballing contest than a dour Ulster slugfest as we proved earlier in the year.  They have performed poorly in the physical stakes.  Down bullied us out of it in Newry FFS.  We struggled when Antrim turned up the heat in a Div 3 league game.  We have performed well when teams were happy to go toe to toe with us.

[Fuzzman]

Mackers, where have I said Tyrone are pure as snow and don't want to get involved in a rough game.
I think most neutrals expect Armagh to get stuck into Tyrone as Colm o'Rourke and Brolly said.

I think if Armagh go out and try to play nice attack minded football against this Tyrone team they will get eaten alive. Like playing any of so called bigger teams you have to get in their face, ask questions of them, not let them settle into their stride or play the game they want to play. Did you read McGuinness's article in the Irish Times yesterday?

Of course Harte is playing mind games and like Jim Gavin he has this double side to him where he often says one thing but does something completely different. He is a ruthless man and that's why he has been so successful. My point was that his concern is that Armagh will mix it up with Tyrone and that could cause his team problems so his words are to influence the ref, his own players and probably Armagh as well.
Playing the media has become an important part of prematch build-ups now as we saw last year with Lee Keegan and D.Connolly but remember the media come to Mickey and Co asking questions and he gives his views. It's not like Mickey rings them up with an agenda to get the ref well warned that Sean Cavanagh will be targetted in this game.

Do you really think Armagh will have a better chance to beat Tyrone if they go out and play attack minded football and commit men forward into our 40 where Tyrone will then turn the ball over and attack into the space at pace? I can't see McGeeney being that naive again and against Kildare I think they played more defensively than in other games.

[sambostar]

Harte is worried there will be  a repeat of Armagh's antics from the 2014 game. Several of the Armagh lads held on in the pre-match handshakes including whoever did it to Matty Donnelly causing Matty to get booked. It was obviously a pre-orchestrated plan by Armagh prior to throw-in and it worked.

Harte doesn't want something similar happening this weekend. Armagh will want to turn the game into a dogfight, Tyrone don't as they know they have superior players who if they play to their potential should win the game