Armagh Club football & hurling

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Under 21 Championship final - St Patrick's 0-8 Crossmaglen Rangers 2-8

The under 21 championship which commenced in April 2010 finally reached its conclusion on Sunday last however there was to be no fairytale ending for the Cullyhanna side who were defeated by a well drilled Crossmaglen outfit at Killeavy. After a somewhat tempestuous opening with tackles flying, it was Crossmaglen who drew first blood when a lobbing effort dropped beyond the reach of the St Pat's netminder for a goal. Despite this horrific opening, St Pat's soon responded and a foul on Tony Donnelly allowed Kieran Hoey to open the Cullyhanna scoring after 5 minutes. A minute later an inspirational run from full back Colm Hoey ended in a Crossmaglen player dragging the former county minor to the ground only for Robbie Tasker to strike the ball perfectly over the bar from all of 40 yards. Kieran Hoey and Jamie Clarke exchanged further frees to leave the score 1-1 to 0-3. After 17 minutes, St Pat's finally managed to supply Robbie Tasker with quality ball however he was immediately fouled on gaining possession. Kieran Hoey made no mistake with the resultant free kick to draw the sides level and Cullyhanna went ahead soon after from a Robbie Tasker free. Although Cullyhanna had managed to gain a stranglehold on the match at this stage, their dominance was soon broken as Cross swept forward in a bright attacking movement. Despite some dubious handpasses in the build-up, a penalty was awarded following a clear foul and Armagh star Jamie Clarke made no mistake in dispatching the ball to the net from 11 metres. Cross forged 3 ahead with a Jamie Clarke point but in  first half injury time, a Gary McCooey free kick found Tasker well. Unsurprisingly given what had been happening throughout the half, Robbie was again unceremiously fouled but dusted himself down to score the free.

With the halftime score standing at St Pat's 0-6 Crossmaglen 2-2, the Cullyhanna faithful had every right to feel that they were well in the match. Although the quality of the match had not been high, Cullyhanna had slightly the better of the exchanges but trailed due to the clinical manner in which Crossmaglen made each attack count.

As so often happens, the opening minutes of the second half were to prove crucial and it was in this period that Crossmaglen laid the foundations for their victory. In the 10 minutes following half-time the Rangers achieved almost total dominance of possession and displayed remarkable accuracy to kick 5 unanswered points, 2 of which were from play. Having extended their advantage to seven, Crossmaglen were never likely to falter and so it proved as Cullyhanna never really looked like reducing their deficit by a significant margin. However it might all have been so difficult had Kieran Hoey not seen his powerful shot ricochet off the Crossmaglen post following a superb driving run while there were only four points between the teams. To be fair to the St Pat's side, they did put their opponents under pressure in the final quarter however Crossmaglen defended superbly to ensure that their goal remained in tact. Two Robbie Tasker pointed frees were all Cullyhanna could muster in reply as Crossmaglen ran out worthy victors by 2-8 to 0-8 and we warmly congratulate them on their success.

Although this was not to be Cullyhanna's day, they can take pride in their efforts throughout the competition. Given the haphazard manner in which fixtures arrived it was difficult for the side to build up any momentum. While no doubt the entire team will be disappointed in the second half performance, Pearse Casey, Colm Hoey and Kieran Hoey can take great pride in their individual displays.

Starting XV: D McArdle; E McArdle, C Hoey, S O'Neill; G McCooey, N McShane, M Murray; G McCooey, P Casey; K Nugent, T Donnelly, K Hoey (0-3), T Donnelly, K Nugent; K McEvoy, R Tasker (0-5), R McMahon. Subs Used: K McCooey, A McCooey, R O'Neill

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

was the match any good??cross at full strength..ie clarke playing etc meant to get down to it however the occasion completly slipped my mind!

It was quite a good competive game with Cross only pulling away in the last 10 to 15 minutes.
Cross fielded a very strong team with 6 of them, including Jamie, having played senior championship football this season.
Another 6 are in the senior panel.
There was a vey big crowd at it, probably 3 to 4 hundred.

It was a brutally poor match I thought. Cross didn't score in the last 15 minutes, it was their 6 unanswered points in the 3rd quarter which won them the match. Rangers were much the better team on the day, our lads didn't do themselves justice at all.

[Applesisapples]

I hear that clown murtagh was way out of his depth today!!

A bit unfair to call him a clown. It was surprising though that he wasn't taken off until 60/65 minutes. Full back line was a disaster. Paul Duffy was nowhere to be seen as McGourty pulled the strings and Toner was too slow always behind his man and didn't look like a full back. I don't think too many of the absentees have much to worry about. Grugan was the shining star and Clarke and McParland deserved longer on the pitch than some others. Dyas played well. We had had noone to win the dirty ball around the middle. Lavery was up against three men all the time. McEvoy in goals was poor, the goal seemed to shatter any confidence he had. Having said all that the quality of ball O'Rourke and Murtagh were getting was also poor.

[mackers]

Congratulations to those who have put in the hard work on the new build in the Athletic Grounds. I was in the stand and it's a great job altogether.
Paul Duffy never was and never will be a corner back. He is very effective when he bombs forward but that has to be from wing back and somebody has to be covering back for him (probably Kieran Toner when he's in MF). That said he's ahead of AK at the minute for me. AK will have a job on his hands to get back into the team. I know it's early days but if Dyas and Grugan can continue to impress then the HB line would be made up of Duffy, McKeever and Dyas IMHO. AK was a certain starter because of his accuracy from right sided frees, Grugan looks like he may be able to do that for us.
As applesisapples has said I would've kept McParland on for longer as he had just scored a v good point when he was taken off, Murtagh shouldn't be there.
Michael O'Rourke is a very accurate forward but lacks the pace for a top inter county footballer.

[Goats Do Shave]

Could we not try Dyas at corner back?

I think he'd be more diciplined defender than Duffy. & we don't seem to have anyone else bar Donaghy & Mallon! - I think Finn Mo will end up in the corner this year - again a better option here than Duffy.

[CountyMan]

Could we not try Dyas at corner back?

I think he'd be more diciplined defender than Duffy. & we don't seem to have anyone else bar Donaghy & Mallon! - I think Finn Mo will end up in the corner this year - again a better option here than Duffy.

I totally agree, Dyas is a great man marker and im sure he could cope well in corner back. Free duffy to play in HB letting him bomb down the field would be a great assist for Armagh as a midfielder can drop in for him.

[AFS]

Could we not try Dyas at corner back?

I think he'd be more diciplined defender than Duffy. & we don't seem to have anyone else bar Donaghy & Mallon! - I think Finn Mo will end up in the corner this year - again a better option here than Duffy.

Moriarty has been a free machine any time he's played in the FB line. HB or nowhere for me.

Would definitely like to see what Dyas, and in time McKeown and/ or Morgan, can do back there.

[Aghdavoyle]

Sorry lads, Dyas is not and never will be a corner back. It's just not in his make up. He's actually quite a loose half back now but he can improve that area no doubt.

It was striking on sunday that the biggest single factor in the game was Antrim's use of a permenant sweeper in o'neill from wing forward.

I can't believe the assessments that the half back line was good. it was awful for the most part. antrim gave our half back line the ball and challenged us to break them down. we couldn't. the only creative spark came from dyas but not enough. antrim wanted our half backs to carry the ball - apparently impressing - to slow the game down while they set up their trap further back. on top of that, all of antrim's scores came from pouring into the space our half back line conveniently vacated while pushing up.

Antrim's tactics are of 5 years ago but are obviously new to us.

[mackers]

I think James Morgan is our best hope for CB.
We're a bit light there at the minute.

I'm maybe being naive but I don't want to see us counteracting a defensive set up like Antrim's by flooding our own defence like we have done a lot in the past. If O'Rourke wants us to be a bit more offensive then I'm all for that. The personnel on the pitch yesterday will not be within an asses roar of what will be on it come the business end ( I counted 5 players that started championship last year, with 3 of them playing out of position and the other two (V Martin and M Mackin) hardly counted as mainstays of our team). Ciaran McKeever and Brendan Donaghy, in particular won't allow the same gaps in our defence that were in evidence yesterday.

[Hank Everlast]

Personally I'd play mckeever in the fb line, to go man to man on our opponents dangerest forward. We seem to have an abundance of quality half back so taking him from that line shudnt be a problem.
Hearty
Mallon donaghy mckeever
Dyas Kernan Duffy McKenna moriarty (3 from this 5)

[thewanderer]

lets be honest and ask our county manager why not try corner backs from clubs. whats the point in taking murtagh in when he cant even make the cross team and will be released shortly from the panel. andy and finn mo are the only two reconised corner backs in the panel. as for having micheal o rourke on the pitch and then not letting him take a free is staggering as this is his main attribute. the mc kenna cup is for trying players in positions we need to strenghen and outside young grugan, watters and mc parland we learned nothing. surely theres good corner backs in the county. duffy is a half back and proved yesterday thats wer he should play. i thought shorty clarke tried hard and young mc kenna tried but without having a clear understanding of his roll.

[Skiddybadoo]

 How  realistic is it to expect to see McKeown and Morgan get some League time at CB?  I'd consider them to be CBs in the purest sense.   

[Applesisapples]

I think James Morgan is our best hope for CB.
We're a bit light there at the minute.

I'm maybe being naive but I don't want to see us counteracting a defensive set up like Antrim's by flooding our own defence like we have done a lot in the past. If O'Rourke wants us to be a bit more offensive then I'm all for that. The personnel on the pitch yesterday will not be within an asses roar of what will be on it come the business end ( I counted 5 players that started championship last year, with 3 of them playing out of position and the other two (V Martin and M Mackin) hardly counted as mainstays of our team). Ciaran McKeever and Brendan Donaghy, in particular won't allow the same gaps in our defence that were in evidence yesterday.

I think you've hit the nail there mackers, altough I think you were harsh with you earlier assessment of AK.

[armaghniac]

Great to see the Athletic Grounds looking good, the new stand is a fine addition.

I agree with the general sentiments here. Antrim look more up for it yesterday, the Armagh defence wasn't great but as Mackers said Ciaran McKeever and Brendan Donaghy would tighten things up a lot there. McEvoy hasn't made a great claim for the goalkeeper slot. Dyas is looking better all the time. Of the forwards Grugan again showed promise, Watters showed some potential at times.

Murtagh hadn't a good day, but some of the rants here that he couldn't get his place on Cross are misplaced as he isn't eligible to play for Cross in the AI championship. He may well play a role when the new season starts, although he hasn't made a strong claim for inclusion in the Armagh setup. 

[crossfire]

Under 21 Championship final - St Patrick's 0-8 Crossmaglen Rangers 2-8

The under 21 championship which commenced in April 2010 finally reached its conclusion on Sunday last however there was to be no fairytale ending for the Cullyhanna side who were defeated by a well drilled Crossmaglen outfit at Killeavy. After a somewhat tempestuous opening with tackles flying, it was Crossmaglen who drew first blood when a lobbing effort dropped beyond the reach of the St Pat's netminder for a goal. Despite this horrific opening, St Pat's soon responded and a foul on Tony Donnelly allowed Kieran Hoey to open the Cullyhanna scoring after 5 minutes. A minute later an inspirational run from full back Colm Hoey ended in a Crossmaglen player dragging the former county minor to the ground only for Robbie Tasker to strike the ball perfectly over the bar from all of 40 yards. Kieran Hoey and Jamie Clarke exchanged further frees to leave the score 1-1 to 0-3. After 17 minutes, St Pat's finally managed to supply Robbie Tasker with quality ball however he was immediately fouled on gaining possession. Kieran Hoey made no mistake with the resultant free kick to draw the sides level and Cullyhanna went ahead soon after from a Robbie Tasker free. Although Cullyhanna had managed to gain a stranglehold on the match at this stage, their dominance was soon broken as Cross swept forward in a bright attacking movement. Despite some dubious handpasses in the build-up, a penalty was awarded following a clear foul and Armagh star Jamie Clarke made no mistake in dispatching the ball to the net from 11 metres. Cross forged 3 ahead with a Jamie Clarke point but in  first half injury time, a Gary McCooey free kick found Tasker well. Unsurprisingly given what had been happening throughout the half, Robbie was again unceremiously fouled but dusted himself down to score the free.

With the halftime score standing at St Pat's 0-6 Crossmaglen 2-2, the Cullyhanna faithful had every right to feel that they were well in the match. Although the quality of the match had not been high, Cullyhanna had slightly the better of the exchanges but trailed due to the clinical manner in which Crossmaglen made each attack count.

As so often happens, the opening minutes of the second half were to prove crucial and it was in this period that Crossmaglen laid the foundations for their victory. In the 10 minutes following half-time the Rangers achieved almost total dominance of possession and displayed remarkable accuracy to kick 5 unanswered points, 2 of which were from play. Having extended their advantage to seven, Crossmaglen were never likely to falter and so it proved as Cullyhanna never really looked like reducing their deficit by a significant margin. However it might all have been so difficult had Kieran Hoey not seen his powerful shot ricochet off the Crossmaglen post following a superb driving run while there were only four points between the teams. To be fair to the St Pat's side, they did put their opponents under pressure in the final quarter however Crossmaglen defended superbly to ensure that their goal remained in tact. Two Robbie Tasker pointed frees were all Cullyhanna could muster in reply as Crossmaglen ran out worthy victors by 2-8 to 0-8 and we warmly congratulate them on their success.

Although this was not to be Cullyhanna's day, they can take pride in their efforts throughout the competition. Given the haphazard manner in which fixtures arrived it was difficult for the side to build up any momentum. While no doubt the entire team will be disappointed in the second half performance, Pearse Casey, Colm Hoey and Kieran Hoey can take great pride in their individual displays.

Starting XV: D McArdle; E McArdle, C Hoey, S O'Neill; G McCooey, N McShane, M Murray; G McCooey, P Casey; K Nugent, T Donnelly, K Hoey (0-3), T Donnelly, K Nugent; K McEvoy, R Tasker (0-5), R McMahon. Subs Used: K McCooey, A McCooey, R O'Neill

Such a biased report.
You would think the Cullyhanna boys were all angels.