Ulster Final 2008 - Armagh vs Fermanagh

[Onion Bag]

Is the match going to be definetly played in Clones, I heard someone say yesterday that it might be played in Casment

[Goats Do Shave]

Clones is more neutral & is bigger, cannot see it being elsewhere.

[Onion Bag]

Thats what i thought, plus that Casment is a bastard to get out off

[FermPundit]

Armagh will win this at a canter.  True you can only beat what's put in front of you but what in May looked like a pretty tough route has turned out to be the easiest Ulster title of any of the last 10 years.

Might they get it too easy into the quarter tho and then not be properly prepared for the white heat of a croker show-down?

I'm not sure why so many posters can predicting such a one sided Ulster final. What are they basing this judgement on? Armagh have beaten two poor teams in Cavan and Down. At the beginning of the summer many pundits were talking of a Armagh side in transition and now suddenly they're back to being the power house of Ulster football. Yes, Armagh are a quality team, their record over the 10 years speaks volumes but there is no reason why Fermanagh should fear them. Of all Ulster counties bar Tyrone, Fermanagh have probably been Armagh's best difficult opponents in the recent history of the Ulster Championship. Fermanagh have been unbeaten in competitive football in 2008 with the expection of the extra time defeat to Wexford in the division 3 final, yet most people are dismissing their chances come July 20th. Regardless of what is written on this thread in the coming weeks, Fermanagh will be going to Clones to win. Gone are the days of plucky wee Fermanagh giving the big boys a game. We have earned the right to be in this final and we have every chance of winning it.

[bennydorano]

I cant see too many predictions of a cakewalk from Armagh posters.  I certainly dont think it will be easy, Fermanagh are more than capable of winning but Armagh certainly have nothing to fear.  Complacency will never be a factor again when playing Fermanagh after the debacle in 2004.  I think we'll win because we have better forwards, it will probably not be a game for the purists.

[Over the Bar]

Complacency will never be a factor again when playing Fermanagh after the debacle in 2004.

Was it true that either John or Tony McEntee was dropped in that game over an insult shouted about Stephen Kernan in a Cross game?   Apparently Joe overheard it and dropped him.  Anyone know if this was a fact?

[Maguire01]

I would be afraid that Fermanagh just won't get the scores. They dominated the Monaghan game, yet only won by 4 points when their haul included 2 relatively lucky/sloppy goals.
Like everyone else, I'm hoping they can do it. The battle of nerves may be a factor. Monaghan had a terrible start against Tyrone last year and had they settled earlier, would have won. Armagh won't have any nerves - this is a normal day at the office for them.

[FermPundit]

I would be afraid that Fermanagh just won't get the scores. They dominated the Monaghan game, yet only won by 4 points when their haul included 2 relatively lucky/sloppy goals.
Like everyone else, I'm hoping they can do it. The battle of nerves may be a factor. Monaghan had a terrible start against Tyrone last year and had they settled earlier, would have won. Armagh won't have any nerves - this is a normal day at the office for them.

Fair point. This has been a persistent problem experienced by Fermanagh teams over the last number of years. The inability to turn poessession into scores. However, as already noted this final isn't going to a high scoring affair with both teams likely to deploy blanket defences. This game will be won and lost in midfield. Thankfully with Marty McGrath and Mark Murphy we now have a partnership to rival any county in Ireland. The battle with McGrane and Toner is one I'm really looking forward to.

[Orior]

How many of the Fermangh team are actually soccer players just looking to keep their fitness levels up?

[mylestheslasher]

I don't understand why so many people think that Fermanagh will be well beaten. They convincingly bet Monaghan, a team who many people on this board were blathering on about being potential Al contenders. They convincingly beat Derry who many more believed were on the verge of challenging for the AI too. Armagh have been impressing, I've seen them live against Cavan and Down. But Cavan and Down are too mediocre teams. I think Fermanagh have every chance of winning this game. They will be in Armaghs faces everytime they turn. Their work ethic is 2nd to none. And they have some damn good players on their team. Take Clarke and McDonnell out of Armagh and they are not half the team. That can be done by Fermanagh winning midfield, a feat they did with ease in their previous two games. Attack wise I think Armagh will have problems in the middle keeping with the speedy Fermanagh midfield. I fancy Fermanagh.

[downgirl]

Would take a guess that there will be 31 counties shouting for Fermanagh..
I will be anyways

I'd say you are right laoislad, 31 counties all going for Fermanagh!!!

[downgirl]

Thats what i thought, plus that Casment is a b**tard to get out off

how is it??!!! Clones is far worse to get out of, took me 3 hours to get home yesterday.  At least Casement is in Belfast so the roads in and out are pretty good.

[Uladh]

Take Clarke and McDonnell out of Armagh and they are not half the team.

This man is a genius

[Will Hunting]

I would be afraid that Fermanagh just won't get the scores. They dominated the Monaghan game, yet only won by 4 points when their haul included 2 relatively lucky/sloppy goals.
Like everyone else, I'm hoping they can do it. The battle of nerves may be a factor. Monaghan had a terrible start against Tyrone last year and had they settled earlier, would have won. Armagh won't have any nerves - this is a normal day at the office for them.

They completely dominated the Derry game also, yet only won by two points, with their haul including a relatively lucky/sloppy goal.

Fermanagh will struggle against Armagh, because Armagh will not afford them space in their forward line, and it's hard to see where Fermanagh's scores will come from. Armagh's direct approach to their own forwards is in contrast to how Derry and Monaghan played, where the half-forward line were laboured in possession allowing Ferm defenders/forwards to close the space and crowd the defence. I can't see Armagh struggling in this regard. Plus, Armagh will have plenty of players capable of winning break-ball, so I'd expect them to at least break even in the middle third possession stakes.

I expect Armagh to win by about 3-5 points, but we're along way off the final yet!

[wanderer]

I would be afraid that Fermanagh just won't get the scores. They dominated the Monaghan game, yet only won by 4 points when their haul included 2 relatively lucky/sloppy goals.
Like everyone else, I'm hoping they can do it. The battle of nerves may be a factor. Monaghan had a terrible start against Tyrone last year and had they settled earlier, would have won. Armagh won't have any nerves - this is a normal day at the office for them.

They completely dominated the Derry game also, yet only won by two points, with their haul including a relatively lucky/sloppy goal.

Fermanagh will struggle against Armagh, because Armagh will not afford them space in their forward line, and it's hard to see where Fermanagh's scores will come from. Armagh's direct approach to their own forwards is in contrast to how Derry and Monaghan played, where the half-forward line were laboured in possession allowing Ferm defenders/forwards to close the space and crowd the defence. I can't see Armagh struggling in this regard. Plus, Armagh will have plenty of players capable of winning break-ball, so I'd expect them to at least break even in the middle third possession stakes.

I expect Armagh to win by about 3-5 points, but we're along way off the final yet!

I'm a wee bit soberer than last night  but I, along with a lot of Fermanagh supporters have argued that 2004 was far from a fluke, and that with the right mentality we can be a competive team. Now i'm not saying that we will win the AI, but before the previous games we didn't have a chance, when we won there was a multitude of reasons for why, but too many people cannot seem to grasp that we were the better team on both days (based on the last 5 years better overall in the championship).

If Armagh beat us, fair play to them. But I will guarantee that if they score a goal or goals like Fermanaghs in the past few matches it will be because 'Armagh can grind out results' whereas we just 'hang in there' and are lucky!

Anyway getting away from that, the diagonal ball could and may be a problem for Fermanagh but I would be surprised if RC & SD will be allowed to win it cleanly, and if they do I would expect a minimum of 2 Fermanagh men around them by the time they look up. We will need to keep the score down, as eveyone knows but I feel we are capable of doing it. The first few scores will be interesting, as I fully expect Armagh to come out of the blocks flat out but if they don't get the scores registered early I would fancy us to keep chipping away