Armagh V Cavan - Ulster Championship - 15th June 2008

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Thoroughly enjoyed the match today. Thought we played very well and only for the missed goal chances could have won by far more. Think we just had a wee bit too much class for Cavan, who were overally reliant on Johnston and McCabe.

Paul McGrane was absolutely immense. After the Derry game last year I had doubts about whether he'd be fit to continue at the highest level - thought he was way off the pace but I couldn't have been more wrong. Don't think I remember him catching more clean ball in one game in his entire time playing for Armagh.

Clarke and McDonnell both played well without cutting loose altogether. Ronan was probably our best forward. Stephen Kernan also had a decent dame although both he and McDonnell shoulda buried their goal chances. Also kicked 2 balls needlessly into the goalies hands and at least 1 resulted in a Cavan score. Charlie had a good game as well, his point in the second half after Cavan got within 2 was crucial. Only real problem in the forward line was Paddy McKeever, apart from one good score he wasn't at the races at all.

Thought the backs done reasonably well. Ciaran was fairly quiet, Aidan O'Rourke was very effective sweeping in front of Francie. Andy mallon was superb on Johnston in the first half, Moriarty done well and Francie broke well off McCabe.

Only negative point was the amount of possesion Cavan got from short kick outs. Very slack from Armagh.

All in all, a decent performance and if we carry on improving hopefully we'll be fit to at least put it up to Down in a fortnight. Keeping it competitive against a Down side clearly on their way to a 6th Sam Maguire after their heroics last night would be a superb achievement. 

[bennydorano]

Good result and performance.  McGrane was immense but I actually would have given MOTM to Toner, for such a young man he was outstanding.  All the debutants did well including Finnian Mo whom i would still have serious reservations about- I'd like to think Donaghy should get at least the corner back position but McDonnell's fondness of F Mo is pretty evident. thought Flannagan gave Andy Mallon a torrid time of it in the second half.  AOR looks like he's carrying a hip/back injury, although he still played well.  MOR got through his usual shift but some of his passing was poor.  Some great movement going forward, but overall the style's not overly different to anything Joe Kernan ever did.

Happy to see Vernon have a good debut, still looks a bit nervous and could have got involved more, but he was obviously assigned a role - which he did very well, and he took a great point at a crucial stage after Cavan had scored 3 on the bounce.  With a bit of experience he will be a big player for us for years to come. Thought we should have used the bench more, I would have had Paddy McKeever off after 20mins, but his great point probably saved him.  The 2 subs used looked brought on as an afterthought.

Down will be a tougher task, they are not the jokers or recent years and they will be well up for it(must be 10 years or more since Down beat us??).

[ONeill]

McGrane was majestic to watch today. Kept it simple and didn't attempt crazy defence-splitting passes he used to. McCabe was given a bit of a lesson in what a classy 70 min midfielder is like.

[johnpower]

McGrane is some man .Clark McDonnell looked back on form.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Thought we should have used the bench more, I would have had Paddy McKeever off after 20mins, but his great point probably saved him.

Fair enough Benny his point might have saved him after 20 minutes but to play the whole 70 minutes and only produce one decent moment isn't going to be good enough at this level. Can't understand why there were no subs brought on for 65 minutes.

[ONeill]

McGrane is some man .Clark McDonnell looked back on form.

They do to an extent but the newbies aren't of the same quality compared to the school or '02. Good players but not of the McEntee/McGeeney class. Still don't see what many see in Ciaran McKeever.

[trim blue]

McGrane was majestic to watch today. Kept it simple and didn't attempt crazy defence-splitting passes he used to. McCabe was given a bit of a lesson in what a classy 70 min midfielder is like.

Thats a bit unfair on McCabe who wasn't even playing midfield but he has nothing to prove anyway and has delivered many a classy performance himself in that area. McGrane was terrific today but bear in mind what he was up against as Cavan did not have a midfield to speak of, think of the huge amount of short kick outs they took to avoid midfield. I dont think anyone in Cavan can understand why Walsh and Brady were not given a chance there at some stage given the shambles it was but that is just one of the many imponderables that Mr Keoghan has constantly presented to us since he became manager, maybe Donal and his team will go to Chicago this year instead!

[brokencrossbar1]

A decent performance with Armagh never really looking like they were going to be beaten.  Defence played reasonably well, Vernon had a strong game going forward, but could still do a bit going back.  Midfield very well and Toner looks like he could be the big plus of the year.  The forwards moved well as a unit and had some great back up play.  The understanding between the front two is something else.


BUT....Cavan as a team are poor.  They have a number of excellent individual players who on their day will cause any opposition trouble.  They, however, have no discernable game plan or style of play.  It is all very individualistic and opportunistic.  The Cavan defence played reasonable well considering the pressure they were under.  They had no midfield.  the forwards are not a unit and did not seem to know what they were at.  Given all that they still took 12 points off Armagh, and in any ones language that was too many. 

Down will be a different proposition as they have their dander up and will be cocky going into this game, but I am not fooled by yesterday's win.  They are a good team but Tyrone were not physically fit for them and basically that is where Down won it, they wore them down.  Tyrone do not have the safety option of giving it to O'Neill or Canavan so they are not the force they were.  Armagh will take the hits and give back more with interest on them.  It will be a tough encounter but I think Armagh will be too strong around the middle diamond and will launch the win from there.

[mhacadoir]

McGrane is some man .Clark McDonnell looked back on form.

They do to an extent but the newbies aren't of the same quality compared to the school or '02. Good players but not of the McEntee/McGeeney class. Still don't see what many see in Ciaran McKeever.

i think its hard to compare these newbies on their first game to mc geeney/ mc entee's etc, i thought they did well today. mc keever was relatively quiet today but didnt need to be as effective, he will have down tortured in the semis.

[corn02]

Not the most entertaining match I have ever been at but kicking 17 points, 14 from play, is encouraging as it is not far off what we kicked in our two games last year.

Hearty - One awful kick-out and dropped only catch of the day (5.5)
Mallon - Did not give Johnston a sniff in the first, poorer in the second but still oozed class (7)
Bellew - Does not fill me with as much confidence as he ued to but solid. (6)
Finn Mo - Played well, conceded little and encouraging (7)
McKeever - Alot quieter than usal, which is probably good for a defender. (6)
AOR- Took a big hit early on, cleaned up well but did not get forward as much as usual (6.5)
AK- Very good at linking attack and defence. The one thing that has annoyed me about Kernan is the fact he wll sprint, catch up with  a man but will not bothe putting in  a tackle or a block (7.5)
Toner- What a game, rarely put a foot wrong (8.5)
McGrane  Gave a display in fielding to match Gordons last week. (9 MOTM)
MOR- Gave away three stupid passes from four at the end of the first half yet the amount of ground covered by him was crazy. Must have set up about five or six points (7)
McKeever - Nice point but hardly touched leather. Misjudged alot and may lose his place (5.5)
Vernon - Thought he was poor to be honest looked a little lost. Kicked a great point when needed and grew as the match went on (6)
S Kernan - To stupid kicks into the 'keepers hands which resulted in at least onecore for Cavan. Poor at winning breaking ball but still kicked some superb scores. Proving me and alt of others wrong. (7.5)
Clarke - He's back. Excellent performance and caught a superb ball for Mconnells goal chance- (
McDonnell- His man did not touch the ball all day, a complete roasting (

Negatives:

- We dominated midfield for 70 mins and only won by four.
- Our tactics sill remain a touch negative
- Midfield can't possibly perfom as well again.

Positives

- 14 from play
-some fantastic moves and scores

[corn02]

That supid smiley is eight.

[cavanmaniac]

BUT....Cavan as a team are poor.  They have a number of excellent individual players who on their day will cause any opposition trouble.  They, however, have no discernable game plan or style of play.  It is all very individualistic and opportunistic.  The Cavan defence played reasonable well considering the pressure they were under.  They had no midfield.  the forwards are not a unit and did not seem to know what they were at.

Well observed, opportunistic is the word. The lack of cohesion and pattern on the field is entirely in keeping with the scatter gun, panic-button, try anything/try everything approach of the manager off it. It's basically a whole lot of different parts being slotted and moved hither and yon in the hope some of it sticks and something comes off. Never was this better exemplified than when McCabe was forced to stride 40 yards to bawl Martin Cahill out of it for going for a point instead of dropping the ball into the square, promptly ignored by Cahill who just turned his back and trotted off. We singularly failed to hit McCabe for most of the day, despite a number of other apeals from the big man himself. What was our manager doing on the sideline and in training that this hotch-potch, disparate collection of individuals couldn't be coached to play a team game and hit big Dermot with high ball? Three times in the second half a decent ball went into him, the first he blasted over for a point and on the other two occasions the ball broke to Johnston I think and scores came of it. But still we refused to hoist them in there despite the evidence it had Armagh in a degree of trouble. The result probably wouldn't have been any different but it was baffling all the same and I suppose just another bewilderment in the crazy chapter of Keogan's messy reign.

Overall the game went as expected. I'd have taken a four point loss before the game, I expected us to be carved up for goals and only for Miller we would have been dismantled entirely. Our 'midfield' was an embarrassment to our county. McDonald tried hard but was literally stuck to the ground all day, Mulvey's rank lack of fitness was so glaring he looked like a bizarre panto character or something instead of an intercounty footballer and only the industry of McKeever saved us from total and utter wipeout. His performance along with that of Miller, Flanagan, Jelly, Mackey sometimes and Sean Brady to an extent show that there is still something there to work with if we take the long view and are prepared to build from the bottom up for the next two seasons. We'll be a soft touch in the qualifiers now and hopefully that'll be the end of Keogan and we can close the book on this disastrous money-saving adventure.

Armagh still have work to do in my opinion. No other team they meet will offer carte blanche in midfield like we did which will curb the influence of Clarke and McDonnell inside, who are serious box office with the ball in hand and the type of players you're glad to say you saw playing in the flesh. Neither hit top gear today and were still head and shoulders above everyone. I'd also be worried about the full back line against a more mobile, team-work oriented unit who are winning more ball around the middle, but they're worries for another day. Well done to Armagh and best of luck for the rest of the year now.

My day was more or less done once the minors won anyway, fair play to them they made heavy weather of it but in hindsight it's best to come through with ample room to improve and without making too many headlines. It'd be massive for us to make an Ulster final now and get back on the national stage for the first time since the 70s, here's hoping.

[Goats Do Shave]

I thought McKeever did ok, he won alot more break ball than he normally does, & after a slow start, where he made some poor decisions, got a fine score & came into ait abit more. Helped out with the aerial bombardment of the Cavan full back line.

[Stevie Nicks]

Down will be a tougher task, they are not the jokers or recent years and they will be well up for it(must be 10 years or more since Down beat us??

They haven't beat us since 1992 in the first round of the championship. Long may it continue!!! Although they seem to be making a better shape at it this year

[SouthArmaghBandit]

Not a very convincing performance but a wins a win and it always heps to get a game under your belt. I wouldn't be too worried about Down - lets sort out our own game.