Ard Mhacha v An Dún - Cluiche Ceannais Rionn 2 - Pairc an Chrócaigh 25/4/10

[Armaghgeddon]

Armaghgeddon it was a re-occurence of his past injury. seemed to be limping a bit today when walking across the pitch

I thought Ronan was playing when he blocked the Down shot. But then the commentator said he pulled out of the squad.

[JimStynes]

Henderson hasnt a chance of getting a sniff because everyone on the armagh team just looks for Stevie and when Stevie is on fire then i suppose you cant blame them. I just feel Henderson gets a bad press even though he is making good runs but he is always the second option when Stevie is playing. I thought he was doing rightly in the first half.

Martin Clarke doesnt live up to the hype imo, a great player who rarely wastes a ball and is great from frees but from what ive seen of him so far he is overrated or maybe i am just expecting too much.

To be fair to Clarke its pretty hard for him to live up to the unrealistic expectations a lot of Down people seem to have of him. To listen to some Down people you'd swear the Lord Incarnate had come down to play Gaelic football. He's a young fella adjusting to a level of football he's never played before and he's performed admirably so far. He wasn't great today but even at that his placed balls were Down's best opportunities for scores. No doubt he'll be one of the better forwards in Ulster over the next decade.

Thats if hes not away back to oz.  At the minute though opposition teams would be happy enough with him playing deep and playing balls in. Whereas i a centre half forward who runs at defenses and scores goals and points from play would be a nightmare for teams.  I agree though it is going to take him time to get back into it again and after a while all the hype will die down and he will be able to just relax and play like he did for St Louis and the Down underage teams. I remember him playing against Colmans in the semi final or quarter final of the McCrory and they put 2 men on him from the start  of the game plus he was dyingwith the flu and he still got man of the match, some player.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

For a bit of divilment I had a look at the Armagh v Down thread from the match earlier in the League.

Here are some of the highlights;

There is no doubt in my mind that Down are the better team and would beat Armagh should they meet in the final. While it could be argued that Armagh would be better prepared to deal with Down should they meet, I believe that Down would go into the game confident and with the knowlege that they can beat Armagh (and by a big margin too), a feeling that none of these players will have had before. Were the game to be tight say in the 60th minute, this new belief would allow them to push on and secure victory. Then again, we may have finished the game off after 8 minutes anyway 

Are Westmeath Armaghs rivals now? Nothing like beating the oul neighbours, but its not much to brag about thesse days. 

Down are decent side on an upward curve but would anyone be genuinely afraid of meeting Down again in a league final or championship?  I think not.

Obviously a seven point hammering and Down playing keep ball for the last twenty minutes wasn't enough for you.

That may have only been a second division game last night, but Down are in a different league to Armagh. Its alright beating the likes of Donegal and Meath, but even the wee teams like Armagh have to be disposed off as well.  Every aspect of last nights game has been covered over the last few pages, so I don't really need to add anything.

Great Down performance, in which every Man played his part. Mc Keever is an absolute disgrace, and should not be seen on any Football field for a long time, after his actions tonight. Armagh are a second rate outfit, reliant on too many old stalwarts whose best days are behind them. That along with a totally incompetent Manager, will ensure a short summer for them. As for Down, the future is Rosy, and the return of aristocratic football will be welcomed by all lovers of the game

Tony, first of all, Up your hole.
Secondly, a fairly comprehensive victory over a second rate outfit with limited ambition.Sluden did give us a lot in the first 20 although 8 up after 8 , when youse had 15, puts paid to the inevitable 'we only had 14 'argument. He did well to spot the first yellow for Moriarity against Kearney ( one James would have been proud of) and I didn't see the second but was told it was deserved.
Thirdly, I thought we had strong performers in the half back line, Kalum King is my man for MF, Maginn and Lavery were excellent off the bench and the Clarkes ,Kearney,Poland and Benny superb.
In the same way it takes 20 to win a game with our Mc Iver inspired gameplan, it takes different men to rise to the challenge in different games, and 7 points did not flatter us.
Finally, in the last quarter, if Sluden hadn't penalised us 4 times for silly handpass infringements we would have won by 10/12 points.
So , off to Mullingar we go and our opponents go back to the drawing board.

[Armaghgeddon]

For a bit of divilment I had a look at the Armagh v Down thread from the match earlier in the League.

Here are some of the highlights;

There is no doubt in my mind that Down are the better team and would beat Armagh should they meet in the final. While it could be argued that Armagh would be better prepared to deal with Down should they meet, I believe that Down would go into the game confident and with the knowlege that they can beat Armagh (and by a big margin too), a feeling that none of these players will have had before. Were the game to be tight say in the 60th minute, this new belief would allow them to push on and secure victory. Then again, we may have finished the game off after 8 minutes anyway 

Are Westmeath Armaghs rivals now? Nothing like beating the oul neighbours, but its not much to brag about thesse days. 

Down are decent side on an upward curve but would anyone be genuinely afraid of meeting Down again in a league final or championship?  I think not.

Obviously a seven point hammering and Down playing keep ball for the last twenty minutes wasn't enough for you.

That may have only been a second division game last night, but Down are in a different league to Armagh. Its alright beating the likes of Donegal and Meath, but even the wee teams like Armagh have to be disposed off as well.  Every aspect of last nights game has been covered over the last few pages, so I don't really need to add anything.

Great Down performance, in which every Man played his part. Mc Keever is an absolute disgrace, and should not be seen on any Football field for a long time, after his actions tonight. Armagh are a second rate outfit, reliant on too many old stalwarts whose best days are behind them. That along with a totally incompetent Manager, will ensure a short summer for them. As for Down, the future is Rosy, and the return of aristocratic football will be welcomed by all lovers of the game

Tony, first of all, Up your hole.
Secondly, a fairly comprehensive victory over a second rate outfit with limited ambition.Sluden did give us a lot in the first 20 although 8 up after 8 , when youse had 15, puts paid to the inevitable 'we only had 14 'argument. He did well to spot the first yellow for Moriarity against Kearney ( one James would have been proud of) and I didn't see the second but was told it was deserved.
Thirdly, I thought we had strong performers in the half back line, Kalum King is my man for MF, Maginn and Lavery were excellent off the bench and the Clarkes ,Kearney,Poland and Benny superb.
In the same way it takes 20 to win a game with our Mc Iver inspired gameplan, it takes different men to rise to the challenge in different games, and 7 points did not flatter us.
Finally, in the last quarter, if Sluden hadn't penalised us 4 times for silly handpass infringements we would have won by 10/12 points.
So , off to Mullingar we go and our opponents go back to the drawing board.

I do love moments like this. Fans from other counties getting too far ahead of themselves. I have never be dragged to the level of rubbing a victory in because it always comes back to bite you on the arse which I knew would happen.

[Orior]

Anyone know how many were at the match?

[dodgy umpire]

For a bit of divilment I had a look at the Armagh v Down thread from the match earlier in the League.

Here are some of the highlights;

There is no doubt in my mind that Down are the better team and would beat Armagh should they meet in the final. While it could be argued that Armagh would be better prepared to deal with Down should they meet, I believe that Down would go into the game confident and with the knowlege that they can beat Armagh (and by a big margin too), a feeling that none of these players will have had before. Were the game to be tight say in the 60th minute, this new belief would allow them to push on and secure victory. Then again, we may have finished the game off after 8 minutes anyway 

Are Westmeath Armaghs rivals now? Nothing like beating the oul neighbours, but its not much to brag about thesse days. 

Down are decent side on an upward curve but would anyone be genuinely afraid of meeting Down again in a league final or championship?  I think not.

Obviously a seven point hammering and Down playing keep ball for the last twenty minutes wasn't enough for you.

That may have only been a second division game last night, but Down are in a different league to Armagh. Its alright beating the likes of Donegal and Meath, but even the wee teams like Armagh have to be disposed off as well.  Every aspect of last nights game has been covered over the last few pages, so I don't really need to add anything.

Great Down performance, in which every Man played his part. Mc Keever is an absolute disgrace, and should not be seen on any Football field for a long time, after his actions tonight. Armagh are a second rate outfit, reliant on too many old stalwarts whose best days are behind them. That along with a totally incompetent Manager, will ensure a short summer for them. As for Down, the future is Rosy, and the return of aristocratic football will be welcomed by all lovers of the game

Tony, first of all, Up your hole.
Secondly, a fairly comprehensive victory over a second rate outfit with limited ambition.Sluden did give us a lot in the first 20 although 8 up after 8 , when youse had 15, puts paid to the inevitable 'we only had 14 'argument. He did well to spot the first yellow for Moriarity against Kearney ( one James would have been proud of) and I didn't see the second but was told it was deserved.
Thirdly, I thought we had strong performers in the half back line, Kalum King is my man for MF, Maginn and Lavery were excellent off the bench and the Clarkes ,Kearney,Poland and Benny superb.
In the same way it takes 20 to win a game with our Mc Iver inspired gameplan, it takes different men to rise to the challenge in different games, and 7 points did not flatter us.
Finally, in the last quarter, if Sluden hadn't penalised us 4 times for silly handpass infringements we would have won by 10/12 points.
So , off to Mullingar we go and our opponents go back to the drawing board.

Armagh were the better team and deserved the victory, but when making my prediction i could not have forseen Ambrose and D Raff being out for Down, which i believe made a big difference for us. Not trying to take anything away from Armagh, worthy champions

[haveaharp]

Always nice to put Down back in their box whilst never engaging 3rd gear. Id say they will struggle big time this year, weak in the tackle and leaderless.

[southdown]

Just over 27,000 according to RTE

[bcarrier]

Are the Paddy O Rourke nay sayers backing down yet or will only an All Ireland suffice ? This Armagh side look like the best motivated, organised and balanced for 3/4 years. Used their bench well too.The draw hasnt been too kind in Ulster but whichever route they take I would expect that they will be playing football in August .

Down to me look like a team that might benefit from the extra games that a back door run would bring. Although a lot of these lads have won all irelands at under age and schools level but they still seem green enough - silly frees conceded and lacking nous in last minutes of each half . With Clarke around the forwards are keeping shape better and the defence is certainly better organised. Gordon was well off the pace yesterday but if he can sort his head/commitment out he has to be a big asset.  As Colm O rourke said in his column yesterday this team has a future.

[passedit]

Very disapointed with the result but im sure the turn coat from Burren is happy enough winning a league where McDonnell has been outstanding.

Please tell me you're not serious.

[Logan]

Great to see Armagh winning a bit of silverware again, but it must be borne in mind what League it was for.
That said, it was a far more competitive game than the following one and both will have gotten much more from it.

Ironically I think Down will be much the better for that game than Armagh.

I think all the talk has been about Armagh and their league run, but I don't think they'll last the championship pace and with all this talk about training and such I think they may have even peaked too soon.
Derry won't fear them in Celtic park and as has been obvious Derry threw in their chips in early in the League and haven't been heard of yet, no media, no rumours, just quiet preparation and this is a nice way to be setting an ambush up in Celtic Park.
The man that should have learned the most from yesterday should have been Damien Cassidy - Don't bring the ball into contact, move it at pace and put your best man marker on Stevie.

On the other side it will be interesting to see how Armagh prepare following this. They're a young team - but there is plenty of smart men on the sideline to turn it around for championship if they so wish.
If they can decide to avoid the physical element, don't try and muscle teams I think they'll be much better for it and use their natural ability more.

Roll on the main stage ...

[BerfArmagh]

Unduly negative assessment above

Well done Armagh, it seems light years from last years performance against Monaghan. This was the most refreshing performance from a young Armagh team which i have seen in years. THe back 6 played as a unit and worked to move the ball quickly from defence into attack. Vernon provided a great outlet from lick-out and under pressure defenders & I definetly feel the half forward position is suited to his talents. Stevie mc Donnell was 1st class yesterday, Also I have been saying it for the past 3 years, Nippy Swift was county standard and never got a fair crack of the whip the past 2 campaigns, after mc donnell he was Armaghs best forward & took 2 excellent scores from play. I thought Brian Mallon ahd an excellent first half, though faded in the second. Also A Kernan had a good game too (Lucky he was'nt sent off) ALl that said, the biggest liability in the side is hearty. He punches when he score be catching and vice versa, for a goal keeper his decision making his hair pulling. Bring on Derry, let battle commence

[bennydorano]

Heard Clarke went over on his ankle, not a reoccurence of his achilles injury.  Dont know if that's good news or bad as he seemed to be limping quite noticeably yesterday.

Good win yesterday, should have won by more for the possession we had, decent game but i didn't think it was anywhere near championship intensity.  Also good to see we won while not playing at full tilt.  Plenty of positives to take form the game but a few boys have done their championship chances no good,namely Brian Mallon, Henderson and AK who I thought were all pretty poor, how AK stayed on the full game is a mystery, his name saved him.  Stevie, Nippy and F mo were the standouts for me.  Hearty didn't cover himself in glory again, but having seen it again on tv Lavery looked to be at fault, Hearty should have cleaned everyone in front of him.  Jamie clarke did well when he came on.

[downgirl]

Mixed emotions for POR

http://www.gaa.ie/gaa-news-and-videos/video-room/video/1/29966/

[orange2009]

Interviews with Paddy O'Rourke, Steven McDonnell and Mal Mackin as Armagh beat Down in Croke Park to win the Allianz NFL Division II Title

http://armagh-gaa.com/Orchard-TV/News/AUDIO--Reaction-as-Armagh-win-NFL-Division-II.aspx