USFC Qtr Final - Armagh V Down - Athletic Grounds 28th May 7:30pm

[sammymaguire]

37 pages on 1 game of football. An Ulster first round game. Jaysus Christ it wasnt that exciting

Still, the Armagh / Tyrone stranglehold on Ulster looks set to carry on this season too

[haveaharp]

and these players are retired...

er..yes, they are

My point was that THIS Armagh team should be careful not fall into the trap of overconfidence after 1 game.

The Armagh team which preceded this one were very cocky...but had the chops to back it up. Sometimes younger teams like to think they have a right to (or are obliged to) trade off the image of their predecessors without having any solid reason to (the Down aristocrats being an example - maybe this Down team bought into that one also?).

Why would Armagh get cocky, they put to the sword last night a down side that were simply a flash in the pan. So Armagh have again beaten a mediorce Down side again. Nice but no cigars being smoked just yet. At last Armagh play with 6 forwards and hey guess what - they looked like a side that could win a few games.

[NP 76]

Down players should take a good hard look at themselves after last night .Poor performance bar Maginn and Poland but at the end of the day beaten by a better organised hungrier team all over the field . Best team won by a mile

[borderfox]

Best Armagh performance in a half dozen years IMO. All the more sweeter that in came against Down team which was hotly tipped to 'bate us out the gate'. Fair play to the boys and the management team they got the tactics spot on and we horsed Down out of it all over the field.
Championship football is whats important, not league victory's in February.

[Main Street]

That was a very enjoyable game and a very good performance from Armagh, the best I have seen from them in a long while.

[pearseog]

I am still to be convinced about POR as the manager to take this team where it needs to be.  I don't think it is a coincidence that the forwards played better after Oisin was brought in, nor do I see it a coincidence that CV played a strong game after McGrane being there for some work.  Maybe this is a trend that POR will continue, it was something that JK did with us in Cross quite a lot, he realised he didn't know everything.  If POR tales this approach and manages in a Clive Woodward style then I would welcome that.  If he can do that then he deserves to be recognised as a good manager.  One swallow does not make a summer though.

100%. agree with that completely

[macdanger2]

Good win for Armagh - great to see BJP playing well.

[RadioGAAGAA]

Good win for Armagh, totally deserved, we were distinctly second best in every area of the pitch.

A few thoughts:

1. Referee was excellent. When a ref makes about 5 mistakes, none big, during a match, and correctly over-rules his linesmen a couple of times, he's done pretty much all any reasonable man or woman can expect. Anyone still bitching about a referee after such a game should try to referee a match, even just once in their life.

2. Down's full back line. Hmmmmm - whats to say that has not already been said or known? Not fast enough. Could Kevin Duffin have replaced Dan McCartan even after 20 mins? Easy for me to say after the event... Its a pity Dee Rafferty was injured, would probably have been the most suited to marking Jamie Clarke. But he is what you'd call our only 'fast and nimble' defender, the rest being somewhat bigger and stronger, but much more likely to be burned over 5 yards or turned inside out. Its a serious problem within the county for a number of years now, even in '94 our backs were of the bigger/stronger variety rather than nimble and fast.

3. Down's half back line. Kevin McKernan did all right. He was tasked with a difficult job, trying to mark his man, and at the same time somehow shield the full back line. A number of times he made some excellent tackles/interceptions, but then made a bit of a hash of the clearance. Also offered a good switch ball for forward moves breaking down. I think the other two wing backs could have sat back more and helped cover the full backs.

4. Midfield. Kalum King had a down and up day... dropped a few but also fielded some lovely ball. As always, not too mobile, but knows to move the ball fast from initial catch. He needs a sidekick to do a lot of the running, Pete Fitz didn't really show in that regard.

5. Half-forwards. Danny off-day. Looked much better balanced with Maginn on, him Poland and Clarke had decent possession interplay. However for long spells, the only option for a half back was Marty Clarke, the other runners were often non-existent.

6. Full-forward line. Definitely more dangerous with Benny in it. Paul McComiskey has the skills and a helluva lot of potential, but I often wonder about his decision making, not just on the ball (did very little wrong on the ball yest), but off it - I'm not convinced by his runs and showing for the ball. Maybe being a touch insensitive, but is that something he has never had to learn with Dundrum with him being so much better than the standard of player they normally play against? Definitely worth sticking with though, as he is one of the better forwards in the county.

John Clarke is a good club footballer, a real good club footballer, one of the best club footballers in the county. But... he isn't a hard ground county player.

7. The armagh goal - am I the only one that thought big McVeigh couldn't have come out and cleaned house? The initial ball in did drop on the edge of the wee box...


Footnotes:
I was impressed with the Down minor centre-half back, again made a number of excellently timed tackles and seemed mighty quick. Pity Caolan Mooney is off to Oz, as we all know, looks a real prospect.

[MK]

Midfield. Kalum King had a down and up day- did king not take a blow to the head in 1st half ? from where i was he looked  as if he was about to collapse-surely had an effect.

overall down lacked the aggression which mackin,mc keever,donaghy showed in winning their personal battles thus putting down on the back foot

[regal]

Fair play to Paddy O'Rourke - he seems a quality fella (and as the season progresses he will hopefully prove himself as a quality manager). I thought all the armagh players won their personal battles. I have been critical of the likes of vernon, mackin and padden in the past but they really proved a lot of doubters wrong last night. I was shocked to see andy mallon going to mark hughes (i would have kept him closer to his own goals) but he was superb, as was duffy / donaghy in the full back line. If vernon, mackin and padden can reproduce against derry we will win, but thats a big if. Jamie Clarke will go on to become Armagh greatest ever forward. A big statement, but true.

As for James McCartan. Fair him to him (and tally / mciver) for getting this down team to within 2 points of an all ireland last year because they are fairly crap. But ask st galls / ballinderry / burren players whether they rate him as a good manager and they will say no. Ambrose Rogers will bring a massive improvement as would Aidan Carr and moving dan gordon up the pitch.

[Armaghtothebone]

Best Armagh performance in a half dozen years IMO. All the more sweeter that in came against Down team which was hotly tipped to 'bate us out the gate'. Fair play to the boys and the management team they got the tactics spot on and we horsed Down out of it all over the field.
Championship football is whats important, not league victory's in February.

Half a dozen years would take you back to 2005. The semi that year was us and Tyrone at the absolute pinacle, unquestionably 2 of the 3 best teams in the country then.
What a night last night was, starting with the best minor game i've seen. To come back from 4 goals down.all credit to team and mentors who made some inspired changes.
I saw it with my own eyes and still I cant believe it. Players were excellent, it all went our way and I'm on cloud nine.
Fair play to the Down fans they took it in style.

As an aside thats 5 times in a row we've beaten Down in the championship
Does that mean we get to keep them???

[ardchieftain]

Went to the game more in hope than expectation. Very pleased today.

Brokencrossbar has it spot on

[bennydorano]

While i agree with a lot of BCB"s post it's  churlish in the extreme not to give POR a lot of  credit for last night, you cant have it both ways, he takes the flack for poor shows he should get the credit for the good.  Unless of course like all Armagh conspiracies there's a real brains behind the scenes - who normally avoid the stick when things go wrong.

[brokencrossbar1]

While i agree with a lot of BCB"s post it's  churlish in the extreme not to give POR a lot of  credit for last night, you cant have it both ways, he takes the flack for poor shows he should get the credit for the good.  Unless of course like all Armagh conspiracies there's a real brains behind the scenes - who normally avoid the stick when things go wrong.

Benny he is a very good players man and I will give him that. There is a serious amount of work to do yet and the players know that. Tus maith leath na h-oibre as the phrase goes. It is simply the first round and while I don't ascribe to what some believe that the team gel inspite of POR I do think he has work to keep them together.

[LeoMc]

Fair play to Paddy O'Rourke - he seems a quality fella (and as the season progresses he will hopefully prove himself as a quality manager). I thought all the armagh players won their personal battles. I have been critical of the likes of vernon, mackin and padden in the past but they really proved a lot of doubters wrong last night. I was shocked to see andy mallon going to mark hughes (i would have kept him closer to his own goals) but he was superb, as was duffy / donaghy in the full back line. If vernon, mackin and padden can reproduce against derry we will win, but thats a big if. Jamie Clarke will go on to become Armagh greatest ever forward. A big statement, but true.

As for James McCartan. Fair him to him (and tally / mciver) for getting this down team to within 2 points of an all ireland last year because they are fairly crap. But ask st galls / ballinderry / burren players whether they rate him as a good manager and they will say no. Ambrose Rogers will bring a massive improvement as would Aidan Carr and moving dan gordon up the pitch.

I think Armagh got the defensive match-ups spot on, the players are there it was just getting them where there strengths would work for them. It took the pressure to defend off the mid-field and half forwards allowing them more opportunity to get the ball into a top quality full forward line. Scores from Mackin, BJP, Kernan showed a more attack minded team.