Tyrone v Armagh

[ross4life]

Tyrone will eat Roscommon.

I know fecking cannibals those tyronies.

[johnpower]

Sounds like Tyrone are back with some new guys (Harte ) been key men . Based on last year performance of provincial winners I dont thinl they will fear Kerry or Mayo (assuming they overcome the Rossies of course ) the question after today is how would they cope with Dublin and then Cork or Kildare .

I dont think any one in Kerry wants Tyrone as Mickey Harte always seems to be able to get the tactics right on these days . Interesting times ahead .

[Norf Tyrone]

That was slightly easier than I expected, even though Tyrone took the foot off the gas with 10 minutes left and almost allowed Armagh back into it. Luckily, McDonnell lost his nerve.

Joe McMahon - that was a pleasure to watch. From scoring the opening goal to putting on a majestic full back display he was simply sublime. A terrific performance. Swift - almost dejavu. Played a blinder, then one silly error at the end when he passed to an Armagh player which ended up with a penalty award.
Jordan had his hands full tonight and struggled at times in the first half. Gormley completely snuffed out Jamie Clarke. Ricey was finding McDonnell tough going and was fortunate to be subbed because of the yellow. Sean O'Neill mixed the good with the bad. An attacking force no doubt but not much in the way of defence. Blasted a great opportunity wide and also attempted a point in the second half when there were others better placed. Rush of blood to the head sometimes.

Hub's shooting boots were back to normal. But, he broke a fair amount of ball around the middle. Sean tried hard to create space for himself and was prominent when Tyrone hit their purple patches. I thought he looked nervous early on and fluffed a couple of chances. Colm Cavanagh is probably the clumsiest footballer on the panel but is always showing and involved. Missed a golden chance when caught in two minds. Brian McGuigan had a fine second half, scored and set up 0-3. Peter Harte was magnificent. Intelligent, brave, clinical - he has the full package. I thought Tommy played well. Brought a new dimension to the forward unit and intelligent on the ball. Could've ended up with 2-4. Donnelly was effective when moved out to CHF. Always willing and rarely wasted possession. Just wish he had more confidence to whack a few over. Coney had Moriarty hanging out of him throughout -  can't believe the umpires missed what was going on.

All-in-all the gradual improvement continues - slowly taking shape with a few rough edges.

As for Armagh - they have little to offer at the business end of the Championship. I'll say it again - if McKeever is your lynchpin you're in big trouble.

I think Swift was pushed a second or so before that, so maybe he was still off balance.

No real commentary on the ref tonight, which probably means he had a good game. I thought he did fairly well, and kept control of the game. Thought he was generous with the over carrying but applied it consistantly. Had Armagh a gripe with a square ball for Joe's goal? I thought he was well in where I was standing.

[EC Unique]

Just as Im thought, an easy win against an average team who over-rate themselves. Another easy win against Roscommon and into the quarters. The draw for the quarters will be interesting.It will take a good team to perform well to stop this Tyrone team that has some young talent coming through to mix with experience. They will be hard to stop......

[trileacman]

Mc Connell: Good performance. Kick outs not a highlight. Good shot-stopping. Assured on the ball.

Ricey: Thought he was breaking even with McDonnell. Unlucky with the card. Subbing was straightforward. Will be back for the rossies.

Joe: Very good, assured on the ball made a goal though conceded a few points to BJP and could be faulted for the penalty. 2nd best Tyrone player though.

Swift: Broke even with O'Rourke in the first twenty-five, dominated thereafter. Great point. Stupid mistake blotted the copy book though. Developing well if he can cut out the killer mistakes.

Red Sean: Great passing, poor shooting, middling runs. Solid if uninspired performance. Could be under pressure.

Gormley: Excellent. Jamie Clarke held scoreless. Along with Joe a fantastic reader of the game. Slower than his younger self but making up the difference with experience. With Swift and Joe they make one of the most formidable back lines in Ireland. Only Kildare surpass them.

Jordan: Unspectacular but vital player. Ugly day for him but covered an expanse of ground. From one 13 to the other over and over again. Has the safest position on the team.  Makes this side tick. Make no mistake, Tyrone's success depends upon him playing to his potential for the remainder of the campaign.

Hub: Average. Shooting is frustrating in the extreme. Needs to be told he's no PTG and to just fist the ball over the bar. And then go away and practice that. On the flipside fielding and workrate very good.

Sean: Hard to call. Most noticeably whinges alot but breaks ball well at MF and wins important frees by those hammering runs. Most teams realise fouling him is the only way to stop him, so keep it up Sean. Would like to see a greater scoring return.

Colm: Very good. Broke ball round the middle, caught well. Better than usual. Him and Hub make a very capable fielding partnership.

Brian: Played on the wing in fits and starts. Wayward shooting/passing combined with excellent shooting/passing. Heard someone say "the Mc Guigans only played when the game was won." Some truth in that. Capable of better.

Peter Harte: MOTM. kicked frees, kicked points, made goals, won about 3 consecutive breaking ball, bursting runs through the middle. Fought for possession. Exceeded all expectations.

Coney: Hit a good point early in the half. Pulled everywhere by Moriarty but you got to expect that at senior level. Either win your free or shake him free. Easily outshone Harte at minor level so is capable of so much more. Should feature on saturday.

Mark Donnelly: Going to go against the grain here but I don't think this guy is up to it. Kicked a point when Armagh where under fierce pressure and the game was won. Besides that had some poor passes/wides. Too ponder-some on the ball, needs to be more confident. Not a free scoring, ball winning forward and we will meet better defences than Armagh's. May make a decent half-forward but there is no room for him in that line at the moment.

Tommy: Hot and cold. Very talented but not used to making runs inside. Will not trouble v. good defences. First start so he should be given time but it undecided as yet. a few confident performances will improve him immensely.

Justy: Good, will be back in a starting role before long.
Penrose: Speedy, showed well. What the FF line was crying out for.
Dooher: Not really involved. Had no telling influence on the game.
Davy Harte: Same as Dooher but 2 great subs to be able to bring in.

[Throw ball]

Just as Im thought, an easy win against an average team who over-rate themselves. Another easy win against Roscommon and into the quarters. The draw for the quarters will be interesting.It will take a good team to perform well to stop this Tyrone team that has some young talent coming through to mix with experience. They will be hard to stop......

I think we may be saying that about Tyrone later in the championship. If Mickey Harte gets an All Ireland out of that team it will be his greatest achievement. Any Armagh supporter who has watched them this year will know that they only had a punchers chance of winning. Do not forget a less than average Derry team beat them earlier in the championship and in the league a poor Galway team give them a good beating. That is the thirteenth Armagh game I have watched since January and it summed up the season - some good play showing promise undone by some dreadful mistakes. They played tonight with McKeever (by the way if anyone thinks a fit McKeever is not a great player for Armagh they have not watched him play too often), Toner, Vernon struggling with injury and Lavery not a very mobile midfielder and yet Tyrone found it difficult to put them away. Armagh have also got no proper defence system and have been prone to conceding goals all year. From my viewpoint McMahon is a great player and Swift looks useful. Sean Cavanagh spends too much time talking instead of playing and Peter Harte could be a really great player. The rest of the team is made up of players past their best, still learning or just not good enough. As for all their missed chances - this seems to becoming a trend - Donegal this year, Dublin last. If they are to have a chance to win the All Ireland this will need to change.

Finally, someone mentioned the referee. The reason no one mentioned him to date was not because he was good but because he was irrelevant to the result as Tyrone were so much the better team. My opinion is that he seems to be the type of ref the assessors like and this is destroying the game. He was producing yellow cards like confetti in a match with very few bad fouls and was very inconsistent.

[clarshack]

thought joe mcmahon, mark donnelly and peter harte were outstanding tonite. donnelly never convinced me in a county jersey until tonite - fair play to him. we should have hammered armagh really. 

[clarshack]

Just as Im thought, an easy win against an average team who over-rate themselves. Another easy win against Roscommon and into the quarters. The draw for the quarters will be interesting.It will take a good team to perform well to stop this Tyrone team that has some young talent coming through to mix with experience. They will be hard to stop......

if we beat roscommon we will play either kerry (who wont have played in 5 weeks), dublin (who wont have played in 4 weeks) and donegal (no motivation needed there). it's set up perfectly for tyrone 

[reddgnhand]

Mc Connell: Good performance. Kick outs not a highlight. Good shot-stopping. Assured on the ball.

Ricey: Thought he was breaking even with McDonnell. Unlucky with the card. Subbing was straightforward. Will be back for the rossies.

Joe: Very good, assured on the ball made a goal though conceded a few points to BJP and could be faulted for the penalty. 2nd best Tyrone player though.

Swift: Broke even with O'Rourke in the first twenty-five, dominated thereafter. Great point. Stupid mistake blotted the copy book though. Developing well if he can cut out the killer mistakes.

Red Sean: Great passing, poor shooting, middling runs. Solid if uninspired performance. Could be under pressure.

Gormley: Excellent. Jamie Clarke held scoreless. Along with Joe a fantastic reader of the game. Slower than his younger self but making up the difference with experience. With Swift and Joe they make one of the most formidable back lines in Ireland. Only Kildare surpass them.

Jordan: Unspectacular but vital player. Ugly day for him but covered an expanse of ground. From one 13 to the other over and over again. Has the safest position on the team.  Makes this side tick. Make no mistake, Tyrone's success depends upon him playing to his potential for the remainder of the campaign.

Hub: Average. Shooting is frustrating in the extreme. Needs to be told he's no PTG and to just fist the ball over the bar. And then go away and practice that. On the flipside fielding and workrate very good.

Sean: Hard to call. Most noticeably whinges alot but breaks ball well at MF and wins important frees by those hammering runs. Most teams realise fouling him is the only way to stop him, so keep it up Sean. Would like to see a greater scoring return.

Colm: Very good. Broke ball round the middle, caught well. Better than usual. Him and Hub make a very capable fielding partnership.

Brian: Played on the wing in fits and starts. Wayward shooting/passing combined with excellent shooting/passing. Heard someone say "the Mc Guigans only played when the game was won." Some truth in that. Capable of better.

Peter Harte: MOTM. kicked frees, kicked points, made goals, won about 3 consecutive breaking ball, bursting runs through the middle. Fought for possession. Exceeded all expectations.

Coney: Hit a good point early in the half. Pulled everywhere by Moriarty but you got to expect that at senior level. Either win your free or shake him free. Easily outshone Harte at minor level so is capable of so much more. Should feature on saturday.

Mark Donnelly: Going to go against the grain here but I don't think this guy is up to it. Kicked a point when Armagh where under fierce pressure and the game was won. Besides that had some poor passes/wides. Too ponder-some on the ball, needs to be more confident. Not a free scoring, ball winning forward and we will meet better defences than Armagh's. May make a decent half-forward but there is no room for him in that line at the moment.

Tommy: Hot and cold. Very talented but not used to making runs inside. Will not trouble v. good defences. First start so he should be given time but it undecided as yet. a few confident performances will improve him immensely.

Justy: Good, will be back in a starting role before long.
Penrose: Speedy, showed well. What the FF line was crying out for.
Dooher: Not really involved. Had no telling influence on the game.
Davy Harte: Same as Dooher but 2 great subs to be able to bring in.

I must have been at a different game.

[ONeill]

Mc Connell: Good performance. Kick outs not a highlight. Good shot-stopping. Assured on the ball.

Ricey: Thought he was breaking even with McDonnell. Unlucky with the card. Subbing was straightforward. Will be back for the rossies.

Joe: Very good, assured on the ball made a goal though conceded a few points to BJP and could be faulted for the penalty. 2nd best Tyrone player though.

Swift: Broke even with O'Rourke in the first twenty-five, dominated thereafter. Great point. Stupid mistake blotted the copy book though. Developing well if he can cut out the killer mistakes.

Red Sean: Great passing, poor shooting, middling runs. Solid if uninspired performance. Could be under pressure.

Gormley: Excellent. Jamie Clarke held scoreless. Along with Joe a fantastic reader of the game. Slower than his younger self but making up the difference with experience. With Swift and Joe they make one of the most formidable back lines in Ireland. Only Kildare surpass them.

Jordan: Unspectacular but vital player. Ugly day for him but covered an expanse of ground. From one 13 to the other over and over again. Has the safest position on the team.  Makes this side tick. Make no mistake, Tyrone's success depends upon him playing to his potential for the remainder of the campaign.

Hub: Average. Shooting is frustrating in the extreme. Needs to be told he's no PTG and to just fist the ball over the bar. And then go away and practice that. On the flipside fielding and workrate very good.

Sean: Hard to call. Most noticeably whinges alot but breaks ball well at MF and wins important frees by those hammering runs. Most teams realise fouling him is the only way to stop him, so keep it up Sean. Would like to see a greater scoring return.

Colm: Very good. Broke ball round the middle, caught well. Better than usual. Him and Hub make a very capable fielding partnership.

Brian: Played on the wing in fits and starts. Wayward shooting/passing combined with excellent shooting/passing. Heard someone say "the Mc Guigans only played when the game was won." Some truth in that. Capable of better.

Peter Harte: MOTM. kicked frees, kicked points, made goals, won about 3 consecutive breaking ball, bursting runs through the middle. Fought for possession. Exceeded all expectations.

Coney: Hit a good point early in the half. Pulled everywhere by Moriarty but you got to expect that at senior level. Either win your free or shake him free. Easily outshone Harte at minor level so is capable of so much more. Should feature on saturday.

Mark Donnelly: Going to go against the grain here but I don't think this guy is up to it. Kicked a point when Armagh where under fierce pressure and the game was won. Besides that had some poor passes/wides. Too ponder-some on the ball, needs to be more confident. Not a free scoring, ball winning forward and we will meet better defences than Armagh's. May make a decent half-forward but there is no room for him in that line at the moment.

Tommy: Hot and cold. Very talented but not used to making runs inside. Will not trouble v. good defences. First start so he should be given time but it undecided as yet. a few confident performances will improve him immensely.

Justy: Good, will be back in a starting role before long.
Penrose: Speedy, showed well. What the FF line was crying out for.
Dooher: Not really involved. Had no telling influence on the game.
Davy Harte: Same as Dooher but 2 great subs to be able to bring in.

Agree with a lot but I'd take issue with a few things here.

1 - BJP only scored a point v Joe. Joe was masterful throughout.
2 - I though Brian McGuigan was involved in a lot of good, especially in the second half when Armagh reeled off those three points at the start. He then got on the ball and settled things.
3 - Mark Donnelly rarely wasted possession. Yes, he's not your typical no.14 but sure when was the last time Tyrone had a typical anything. 1-17 and 2-13 suggests they're doing OK (despite the wides) and Donnelly has been involved in so many good things. The ball sticks to him.
4 - Thought Tommy was excellent close to goal. A real target man.
5 - Dooher was heavily involved in those last 10 minutes. Probably saw more ball than anyone.

[Fuzzman]

Give us your player reviews then. We need to not get carried away and dismiss the Rossies. Could shock us yet.

[Smokin Joe]

I was sure that the first goal was a square ball.

Someone said that the ref consistently allowed both teams to over carry, but tell that to Charlie Vernon who was blew up after about 4 steps for one of Tyrone's early points.

We were well outclassed, but the ref certainly didn't have a great game.

[ONeill]

Give us your player reviews then. We need to not get carried away and dismiss the Rossies. Could shock us yet.

http://209.200.237.116/~gaabo3/board/index.php?topic=19765.msg993120#msg993120

Agree about Roscommon. Too many dismissing them.

[Gaffer]

I'm hoping that tonight is the night that Vernon, Dyas, Miceal O'Rourke and Jamie Clarke step out of the shadows of the 99-06 team and stamp their own authority on championship football. They are all well capable of doing so. There are few things in life that give me greater pleasure that beating Tyrone. If these guys fulfill their potential and Stevie and McKeever play well we can do it!!

Ah well !! 

I must say McDonnell gave a great exhibition of free taking last night. Clarke was contained on the night but he's another Gooch in the making, I believe. He ll do some damage to Tyrone in the future, no doubt about that. 

[under the bar]

Which armagh poster was it who said about clarke making hay against old man gormley  

Anyone who watches errigal regularly will know what peter harte is capable of.  For a long time there has been as much excitement about his potential as there was about canavan.  He will undoubtedly go on to become one of the finest footballers in ireland.