USFC Armagh v Derry, St Tiernach's Park, Clones, 19th June 2pm

[orchard 8195]

Andy Mallon needs to be congratulated for not planting his fist in Bradleys gub, every single play Bradley made he was in his ear telling him about it, even at 8 points up, I know I wanted him to dig him.

A bet Fergal Doherty wanted Andy to as well

Elaborate Please.

[Cold tea]

Andy Mallon was only on him for less than a quarter of the match - think your talking shite - the man roasted 3 defenders - Derry won, derserved to win - why the f**k is this thread not redundant!!!!

[playerfit]

Causw Armagh supporters like to have a moan when they get beat even more so when they win. I have been laughing my ass off at them for last few days esp the one who suggested brolly could not lace stevie mcdonnells boots he had to be on wind up fine player mcdonnell is/was he is no all time great and would say in balance he was on par or slightly better than brolly. But they are different type of players and hard to judge one against the other they also played in slightly different eras

[Goats Do Shave]

Would Derry wans prefer to get beat by Tyrone in the final or Armagh in the semi? 

[David McKeown]

My observations of the game would be as follows:

Armagh were awful, particularly tactically, I can think of very few occasions were failing tactics were changed by POR who instead choose to change players for almost identical players.  Before the game I could have told which subs were going to be used and who they were going to replace and sure enough I got 4 out of 5 of them right. When a defensive system isnt working (i.e. man for man on Lynch and Bradley) there is no point sticking with the system and continually change players without ever thinking of changing tactic.

Derry were good but not great, with the exception of Braddley and Lynch (who were excellent and allowed to be excellent) I thought Derry were ordinary to good and I would expect a big improvement in the final (which I feel will likely be needed)

Bradley is a fantastic footballer but should have been slapped by his manager for the stupid altercation with Mallon which was needlessly instigated by Bradley.  In addition Bradley is one of the cutest footballers at winning himself frees and getting opponents booked that I have ever seen.  Thats not a criticisim as winning a foul is a much a skill in the modern game as beating your man.

Brennan is a fantastic manager both tactically and interms of man management, I bumped into the Derry team when I was getting a feed after the game and they seemed very relaxed and were even having a drink or two as if the game had just been another day at the office.

POR is wasting one of the finest squads Armagh has ever had imo but we will have him for at least one more year. I may only be 26 but this was the first summer I ever booked a holiday without first ensuring it didnt clash with an Armagh game.  The reason for this is I am so disillusioned with the Armagh management.

The refereeing was very poor and highly inconsistent but made no difference to the result, the booking for Donaghy was for me harsh but what irked me more was when Clarke got fouled at the other end the cards werent as quick at coming. Also why was Diver was booked?  From where I was it looked like he kicked Toner in the face?  If he did surely thats either deliberate (and a sending off) or accidental and not even a foul?  This fudge always annoys me. Likewise with Mallon for the retaliation on Bradley

From the minor game Armagh were highly impressive and tbh the scoreline flattered Fermanagh a little as Armagh hit the crossbar three times and the Fermanagh keeper pulled of some wonderful saves.  Third straight Ulster Final for this management team (and I think for McGeown at full forward) and for me they really deserve a chance with the U21's or seniors next year.  Also I would really like to see McGeown in the senior team as he seems well able to take a score and is quite creative, he may well be worth a look in the half forward line.

Must say I think you have summarised things very well from an Armagh point of view. As for McGeown I think he really does show potential but can drift in and out of the game a bit - probably common for a young fella though. It is a great achievement for the minor management to reach 3 Ulster finals in a row and when you look at Armagh's poor minor record over the last forty years it really does show how much difference a good management team can make.

They are a good management team yes but it's not down to them alone. The bigger picture is the overall work done at underage level in Armagh. There has been great work done over the past 8 or 9 years by various unsung heros in restructuring underage football in Armagh and the county has been reaping the benefits the past few years - it's no accident or fluke of having good management in place.

Oh absolutely, the work done on development squads has brought great dividends to Armagh minor football in recent years which hopefully will filter through to the senior team shortly.  Were McShane and Robinson not also heavily involved with those development squads for a number of years before they took over the minors though too?

[tbrick18]

from what i seen, derry had 3 shots for goals scored 3, armagh had 4 and scored 1, steven mc donnell's killer instinct infront of goal has gone, and has been gone for quite a few years, he no longer taps the ball over with either foot with the ease he used to, armagh have a good 15-17 players outside that theres not much, is billy joe any better a player than brain mallon or even stephen kernan, we need a playmaker at 11 not a donkey man.

ahem....we also missed 2 futher goal chances....gilligans on the rebound which hearty saved, then Diver was clean through could have shot for goal as he'd only the keeper to beat but tried to fist it over the bar and fisted it wide! So Derry had 5 goal shots and scored 3! Derry also had 10 wides to Armagh's 5(I think).
If you were trying to infer that the game was closer than it was, I think you are mistaken.
If you were trying to infer Stevie isnt the player he was, you're probably right...but its hard for any player to be at the top of his game for any more than a few years.

[tbrick18]

Would Derry wans prefer to get beat by Tyrone in the final or Armagh in the semi? 

We're just glad to have a chance in the final at this stage....which would you prefer? Getting tanked by a Derry team that hasn't wont anything in over a decade in the semi-final, or gettin tanked by Tyrone in the final? You should be able to answer this given previous finals with Tyrone 

All this is irrelevant anyway....it'll be a Derry v Donegal final.

[HiMucker]

from what i seen, derry had 3 shots for goals scored 3, armagh had 4 and scored 1, steven mc donnell's killer instinct infront of goal has gone, and has been gone for quite a few years, he no longer taps the ball over with either foot with the ease he used to, armagh have a good 15-17 players outside that theres not much, is billy joe any better a player than brain mallon or even stephen kernan, we need a playmaker at 11 not a donkey man.

ahem....we also missed 2 futher goal chances....gilligans on the rebound which hearty saved, then Diver was clean through could have shot for goal as he'd only the keeper to beat but tried to fist it over the bar and fisted it wide! So Derry had 5 goal shots and scored 3! Derry also had 10 wides to Armagh's 5(I think).
If you were trying to infer that the game was closer than it was, I think you are mistaken.
If you were trying to infer Stevie isnt the player he was, you're probably right...but its hard for any player to be at the top of his game for any more than a few years.

This was the best goal chance of the game, good save,  Gilligans reaction said it all, he couldnt believe it wasnt in the back of the net.
I have watched the replay a few times now and I have to say I disagree with alot of ones about Stevies second goal chance.  I honestly dont think its that clear cut a chance.  I would be dissapointed if the keeper didnt save a shot from there.  Maybe he should have carried it in a few more steps.  But i think it has to be a rocket to beat the keeper form that distance and that angle.  Just my opinion.

[Applesisapples]

The gloating shite coming from some Derry fans here is very reminicient of similar drivel from some Armagh fans after Down. The better team won on Sunday but there is no doubt they had a helping hand from the ineptitude of the Armagh line. Also McDonnells second goal chance which should have been pointed was a major turning point, the Derry goal that came from it killed the game. John Brennan got it spot on on the day and his contribution should not be played down. That said however I wouldn't fear meeting Derry again there is not 9 ponits between the teams.

[mackers]

Diver was clean through could have shot for goal as he'd only the keeper to beat but tried to fist it over the bar and fisted it wide!

You're being harsh on Diver there, watch the match again, he had about three Armagh defenders bearing down on him with at least two of them on the goal side.

[HiMucker]

The gloating shite coming from some Derry fans here is very reminicient of similar drivel from some Armagh fans after Down. The better team won on Sunday but there is no doubt they had a helping hand from the ineptitude of the Armagh line. Also McDonnells second goal chance which should have been pointed was a major turning point, the Derry goal that came from it killed the game. John Brennan got it spot on on the day and his contribution should not be played down. That said however I wouldn't fear meeting Derry again there is not 9 ponits between the teams.

I agree with that.   Dont really see much gloating though, just alot of fans glad of back to back wins for a change

[Oak Leafer]

Regarding McDonnells second goal chance......i think if you look again Mark Lynch finished from a very similar position.

I can't understand the criticism of McDonnell by Armagh folk....yes he's past his best but without him on Sunday it would have been cricket scores....jesus i wish we had him for the final!

[HiMucker]

Maybe being a bit pedantic but McDonnells chance was further out and devlin came of the line very quickly that maybe made him rush the decision.  Just dont think it was a bad miss, think apples is probably right in saying the point would have been the better option, in hindsight obviously.

[Applesisapples]

Regarding McDonnells second goal chance......i think if you look again Mark Lynch finished from a very similar position.

I can't understand the criticism of McDonnell by Armagh folk....yes he's past his best but without him on Sunday it would have been cricket scores....jesus i wish we had him for the final!

I'm not criticising Stevie Mac, how could you, just saying that the wrong option was taken. That said had he netted....

[Oak Leafer]

Sorry Apples i wasn't referring solely to your comments, it just seems a lot of other posters alluded to McDonnell being past it