Tyrone v Armagh - Ulster Championship 2009

[mountainboii]

Im certainly not as happy as most seem to be about Armaghs performance today.  I thought we were second best nearly every where on the pitch and really only gave Tyrone a game for the first ten minutes and then again when we were 8 points down and Tyrone looked like they had taken their foot of the gas.  I would usually be one to defend Martin O'Rourke but for me today he had his worst ever game for Armagh and how he stayed on the pitch coming out for the second half is beyond me.  I would love to see the stats for the number of points Tyrone scored either from Martin losing the ball or from McMahon sauntering past him to set up a score as we reckoned it was about 1-5 or 1-6.

To me the final scoreline lied today, Tyrone always looked like they could up it a gear and pull away.  They looked like a team that has a lot left in the tank and will improve, to me we looked like (unless we get a good draw) having a long summer.  Hope i am wrong though

Touch harsh there David. We were playing the AI champions, who were more or less at full strength. We had two guys making their debuts, and 3 or 4 other lads starting in certain positions for the first time in the Championship. These things factored in, I thought made made a very decent fist of things.

I also think its incorrect to attribute Armagh's partial second half comeback to Tyrone taking their foot off the gas. We got a good goal from the type of ball we'd been putting into Clarke all day. Ronan finally got the better of his marker, it was nothing to do with Tyrone standing back. The goal gave us a lift and knocked the stuffing out of Tyrone for a period, allowing us to get within two with a couple of further chances to get it down to the minimum. Tyrone's big guns, O'Neill and Dooher, then stepped up to make the game safe and we had no answer to them. Despite all that had gone on before it was really the contribution of these lads in the last 7 or 8 minutes that won the game for Tyrone.

[Oakleafer93]

Does anyone know when the draw will be made for the first round of the back door scheduled to be played on 04.07.2009 (Sat)? The final 3 quarter-final provincial games (Wicklow v Westmeath, Louth v Laois and Donegal v Antrim), will be played on Sunday June 14th. Will the draw be made that evening?

I'd imagine on the 14th of June after Antrim and Tyrone play? Think this is the weekend of the last of 1st round game.

[ExiledGael]

Just in from the game and I have to say: greedy Clones bastards.
Had to make a quick getaway from the game so tried to park near the ground. Pulled into a handy car park (5 euro) and told him I would leave early to collect car. "Oh aye there'll be someone here at all times to let you out".
Left early (missed Gormley red and O'Neill's last score) and got to car in time to beat the crowd and traffic. Car Park bunged out to the gate, every isle jammed in for the sake of a few more euro. Absolutely no way out until everyone returned to their cars. Didn't move until an hour after game ended. Joke.

Anyway on the game, decent match, few good scores but Tyrone obviously have a lot left in them.
Would have given man of the match to Justin McMahon. Superb in possession and intercepted numerous Armagh attacks. (Though to be fair those attacks seemed pretty aimless). Great goal from Gormley but he was lucky not to be sent off a lot sooner for persistant fouling. Riodiculous of anyone to say Clarke was hopeless considering the ball he was getting, he done well to pick up any possession and threw off Gormley a couple of times. Thought Stevie was a lot poorer though, dropped very deep and hit a few dreadful foot passes, which was Armagh's problem all day, MOR also guilty.
Impressed by Lavery and could see Armagh making quarter-finals but no more.
Tyrone could do anything. Is Dooher ever going to go away?? What a score.

[Canalman]

Entertaining game from a neutral perspective.Really cannot see Tyrone tripping up until at least the AISF stage( and probably winning the whole thing). Armagh battled vey manfully as you would expect from them. Thought Harte had a good game for Tyrone........ alot of the Tyrone lads had quiet games imo..... pretty worrying for all future opponents if/when they click.

Bit disappointed to see a tatty faded tricolour at Clones today........ not good enough.....imo. AnabhF also not observed for the whole duration. What's happening lads?

[kickingmule]

It seemed to be the last fifteen minutes that Clarke got on top of Gormley, but his goal was the difference at the end of the day!

Thats because Gormley was pulling him down all day until he finally got a yellow card.

you got a problem with tyrone??? ....... you're posts smack of negitivity ........ @least we watched two sides who showed how we want to
the game played!!!
hang in there armagh ...... great effort ...
well done tyrone ....total football prevails ......  remarks : will get better:    conor gormley m.o.t.m.

Try reading through my posts I don't have a problem with Tyrone, I said they were the better team and they deserved the win...  I just said Conor Gormley did a lot of fouling which he did, and ultimately got sent off for it.

conor gormley had a superb game ..... always a tight marker ....in your face and personal .... a class footballer, who gives you 100%
he got a second yellow  .... that happens,  but tackled hard and fair throughtout  until that point,  ....no arguments!!!

Correct, personal fouls are the order of the day with Mc Gormley. I don't deny he is a good player, but you have to see what in front of you but if CG is getting it tight he fouls and pulls on the jersey.

agree to disagree ..... he was my man of the match anyway!!!
MUGSY AND SON and not 4getting dooher 2wards the end ....were lucky to have their shirts 

[Oakleafer93]

Does anyone know when the draw will be made for the first round of the back door scheduled to be played on 04.07.2009 (Sat)? The final 3 quarter-final provincial games (Wicklow v Westmeath, Louth v Laois and Donegal v Antrim), will be played on Sunday June 14th. Will the draw be made that evening?

I'd imagine on the 14th of June after Antrim and Tyrone play? Think this is the weekend of the last of 1st round game.

How'd we get those feckers?

Sorry I mean Donegal!

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Does anyone know when the draw will be made for the first round of the back door scheduled to be played on 04.07.2009 (Sat)? The final 3 quarter-final provincial games (Wicklow v Westmeath, Louth v Laois and Donegal v Antrim), will be played on Sunday June 14th. Will the draw be made that evening?

My recollection that the draw isn't made until the Sunday night before the qualifiers i.e. 28th June. Now there's no reason for them to wait that long but I think that's what they've done in the past.

[Trevor Hill]

Found myself rooting for Armagh with 10 minutes to go, they had clawed their way back into the game when they looked dead and buried after 10 minutes of the second half. Wasn't a bad game of football from the neutrals point of view, but I do not think that Pat McEnaney should be allowed to ref a game involving Armagh, he finds it very hard to give a decision against them. All the 50/50 decisions went Armaghs way today, their goal being the prime example, he allowed Clarke to play on after a clear foul, but denied O`Neill the same opportunity in the first half. Clarke had been anonymous until he got that break from McEnaney and it seemed to bring him to life.
I said this morning that this game would be close and I wasn't far away. If anyone was going to catch Tyrone out it would be Armagh as Tyrone may have been a bit rusty. I would expect Tyrone to go on and win Ulster now, but who knows after that. Fair play to Armagh for making a game of it when it looked they were going to be on the receiving end of a drubbing. No Ulster this year but they will be a nightmare in the qualifiers.

A victory over Armagh in the qualifiers is probably the only thing that will save Ross Carr's job and who would bet against the old enemy being paired together?

[Ping Pong Santa]

Strangely content this evening, even though we lost. Reasons to be positive though with the minors coming through a really tough test and the sky the limit for them now, and our seniors putting up a decent showing.

Thought the minors just about deserved their win. They looked set to stroll home after opening up a 4 point lead early in the second half but then conceded a really soft goal (an effort for a point from about 35 yards out that flew between the keepers arms). Tyrone then took complete control for the next 15 minutes and only for winning the peno we were beat. The game really hinged on putting the penalty away and Tasker was coolness personified sending the keeper the other way. My only criticism of these lads is that there may be issues with fitness, a lot of them were left chasing shadows for the majority of the second half. I know it was a painfully hot day to play football in, but the Tyrone boys looked far better conditioned.

Seniors did alright, didn't surpass anyone's expectations but didn't embarrass themselves either. They can go on a have a good dig at the qualifiers safe in the knowledge that they were no more than a kick of the ball away from the AI champions. They've no need to fear taking on anyone later on this year. That said, there's a lot of room for improvement. There were 4 or 5 boys that underperformed today, and I wasn't too pleased with the performances of the men on the line today either. Tactics were, once again, shockingly obvious - get the ball to midfield, look for Stevie, Stevie gets it and he looks for Ronan, repeat. Tyrone clued into this early enough and rarely left Clarke on his own, the only time they did was when we worked a quick string of direct passes up to him and he grabbed a goal.

I thought Hearty was good and bad. He came out very well to deal with 3 or 4 high balls and his kick outs generally found their targets. But his shot stopping was questionable, particularly for the first goal when O'Neill looked to have beaten him at his near post. He also fucked about in the first half when he had a chance to clear the ball, giving away a 13 yard free that inevitably lead to a Tyrone point.

The FB line struggled a bit I think. Andy did as well on O'Neill as most corner backs will do, keeping him shackled for long periods. But O'Neill only needs a few scrapes of ball to do real damage to you, and he managed to do Andy for a couple of scores. Didn't notice Shannon much, dunno if that's a good or bad thing. Thought Donaghy did an admirable job on Canavagh, lost him for a few scores but he put in a couple of great tackles and interceptions in and around HB/ midfield. Think Donaghy might be a better option for us further out the field, he seems like too good a footballer to be stuck in at FB.

HB line were largely poor. Aaron and Finn Mo got forward well at times, but their defensive frailties were all on display today. They were both far too loose on their men (this typified by Finn standing off Dooher when he hit his point), and they were too slow to get back when Tyrone hit us on the counter attack. Aaron's passing was way off today too. McKeever was a solid presence in the middle. He seemed to play as an orthodox CHB, as many of us had hoped he would, and, although this meant he wasn't able to play a disruptive man marking job on anyone, it meant he was well position to break down a lot of Tyrone attacks.

Midfield was very surprising. Lavery finally delivered on some of that potential that he showed at underage level. I thought he was the best midfielder on display and was probably in the mix for man of the match at half time. Seemed to tire and fade in the second half, but he's certainly done enough to hold onto his jersey. Toner didn't win a lot of ball but he was a strong presence for us around the middle, in particular he gave another fantastic tackling display. Think it could be a good move to push him back into defense when Vernon returns.

O'Rourke had a bad game in the HF line. Unfortunately for us when Marty is good he can be very good, but when he's bad he is very bad. Today was a very bad day for him. Nothing seemed to go for him, passes were under hit or over hit, he was caught in possession a couple of times, hit a couple of poor shots. Mallon was better, he got involved in a couple of slick moves and looked capable of hitting a score or two (something seemingly alien to most HFs in the county). Thought Duffy was unlucky to be taken off as he was working really hard. He's a good footballer and we could do a lot worse that to have him in the lineup somewhere, that said he's never gonna hit 2 or 3 points a game like a top class HF.

Stevie had an average enough day. Was the link man in a lot of Armagh's attacks but his passing let him down at times. Seemed to find himself too far from goal to have a shot on a lot of occasions when he won possession. Still think we'd be better served putting him back closer to goal and having someone else in his playmaker role. Ronan was abysmal for 45 minutes before he sparked into life and suddenly seemed to have Gormley's number. I don't think his poor early form was entirely his fault, he was being asked to win a lot of unwinnable ball and found himself hugely outnumbered several times when he did get possession. Think he should take a bit of blame for Tyrone's second goal too, why was he back in his own FB line? This only served to allow Gormley to join the Tyrone attack and ultimately grab the goal. KOR showed well at times today and seemed to have a bit of a spark about him. Think he was also unlucky to be taken off as the main problems at that stage were further out the field.

I think with the game plan they had in mind that Tony Kernan should have started in the FF line. If the plan was to hit loads of 50/50 balls in Tony is better equipped to win these than KOR. Stephen Kernan made a decent impact when he came on. He missed a few tackles and seemed slow to track back, but he also showed a bit of class and skill to jink past a few Tyrone men to set up a few attacks. Dunno if he is a good enough all round player, but he certainly offers a much better passing ability than most of the incumbents in the HF line. Good to see Forker hit a point near the end, he's well in the mix for a spot in that FF line.

Reality is that we're still building, but with a better game plan and improved performances from 3 or 4 guys we can give any team their fill of it. Great experience for some of the younger lads today too, some of whom seem to be maturing nicely. Look forward to a bit of a tour of the country now, free from the claustrophobic Ulster championship. Just hope we don't draw another Ulster team in the first round. 

Low key build up on here and in genereal really it seems.

68 pages before a ball is kicked is low key?
The Ulster Championship begins today after 2 false starts, I think we could have the first shock of the championship with Armagh just shading a very tight game.

Compared to say the Armagh v Down match last year where there was a lot more chat about the game on here before the match.

Disappointed with the result today but was happy with the game we showed a bit of character to come back into the match from 8 points down to get within 2 at one stage.

We made a good start going 0-3 to 0-1 ahead but seemed to stop completely then and could have been even further behind at halftime. Thought that, just like last year, we played far too deep. Paul Duffy did some decent work I felt but both himself and Brian Mallon were effectively playing as half backs and Mallon especially just couldn't get into the game. If Brian is going to be an effective member of this team, he needs to play as a genuine half forward.

I doubt Clarke had a worse 45 minutes in an Armagh jersey - couldn't get into the game at all int he first half and I'm not sure what he was doing back in his own full back line for the Tyrone second goal - surely he shouldn't have been so far back - had he kept his position, Gormley wouldn't have been in the position to score the goal. Gormley took the goal very very well though. Clarke was excellent in the last 20 minutes though and got well on top of Gormley who simply resorted to fouling and deserved his red card. Luckily for Armagh McEnaney played advantage after Gormley's foul in the lead up to Clarke's goal.

It was good to see McDonnell was a bit quicker with the changes today compared to last year. probably a good idea to take Stephen Kernan off as he thrives int he space which was opening up as players tired. What annoyed me is that it was Kevin O'Rourke who was taken off despite playing very very well I thought. It was almost as though McDonnell had decided to take Kevin off after 50 minutes no matter how well he played. Also thought he should have made another couple of changes later on. We expended so much energy getting back to within 2, I thought that was the time to bring on Forker and Henderson, rather than taking Forker on when Tyrone had extended the lead to 5 and the game was just about beyond Armagh's grasp.

Thought Ciaran McKeever had a good game and did well when switched onto Stevie O'Neill in the second half. Donaghy was a little too loose on Cavanagh at times. Rest of the backs were ok without being great.

Have to say I was convinced Kevin O'Rourke had scored a point just before Tyrone's first goal. Got a text saying that the BBC pundits thought it was over but apparently Ronan Gallagher had another angle and was sure it was wide? Would definetly want to see it again.

I agree with benny that hearty didn;t have a great game - some poor kickouts and gave away a needless point lifting the ball off the ground when he should have cleared it earlier. James Lavery also had a great match for a championship debutant - inspirational point in the first half. He should definetely start the next day. Charlie might have made a difference but to be honest, we have to admit we were beaten by a better team on the day.

Still hopeful we can build a bit of momentum through the qualifiers and maybe still reach the later stages. It'll be tough to make the quarter finals though, having to win 4 matches on 4 consecutive weekends. Just hope we don;t draw an Ulster team in the first round and particularly not Monaghan!

Good display from the minors as well - should hopefully give Ulster a good rattle now. Thought Robbie Tasker was excellent, scored 2-3, the goals from 2 penalties taken as well as any player I've seen.

Seriously, who actually wants to read all of that?

Armagh = Rudderless

[fitzroyalty]

Mixed feelings about today, did well to battle back but feel that this match was there for the taking had the starting fifteen been slightly different and the right calls been made earlier. Don't like singling out players but at times it was difficult to watch as possession/scores were plundered so cheaply.

Felt Clarke could have done better compared to what he is usually capable of, top player and he took the goal well today but let Gormley dominate him too easily in first half, also recall one instance when the ball was played in and he didn't even jump for it (wtf)
   MOR should from now on be known as Katy Perry (HOT AND COLD). Has no difficulty doing the hard stuff (and doing it well) but when it comes to doing the simple things right i.e. distribution he was yet again poor.
   As someone has already said for the next game I would drop Finn Mo and have Donaghy in HB, with Toner in at FB, Finnian didn't have an overly bad game, hes good running out of defence but when making his way into the Tyrone half today more often than not he ran out of ideas, with the move dying or the ball being overturned.
   Hearty another contender for the Katy Perry title, kickouts were long and aimless and he had a few head staggers and I just wouldn't be as confident in him as days gone by. He did however save two goal chances, one of which he maybe should have caught.

Good performances today by Andy Mallon, Donaghy, Ciaran McKeever who were all solid in defence. James Lavery was excellent considering the criticism he had previously received and he certainly sent out a message today to all his doubters. Stevie was good, buzzing around and getting plenty of ball and bar a few ambitious shots where the ball should have been worked into a scorable position did reasonably well. Kevin O'Rourke was good and having watched the replay was denied a point for his efforts. Stefan Forker I think scored one as well when introduced and should maybe be considered for the first qualifier match.

[Orior]

Hearty had a good game but as is custom he had his one howler. He took an age to pick the ball up and gave a free for lifting. It was a bit harsh though cause O'Neill had a kick at him when he was trying shield the ball.

I though Finn Mo did well and think he will retain his place.

Lavery fielded a number of great catches but then, Tyrone's midfield has always been shite. I thought Toner id a great job too and covered some ground.

It was sad to see MOR tire so much. He worked hard and shouldn't he practise his kicking for points?

Clarke took some big hits from Gormley, and should have had at least 3 more frees from blatant pushes in the back.

Every time Armagh lost the ball it was because nobody was showing for it – the work rate needed to increase when we're in procession.


Musical note: Why was there no band? Surely the Ulster champions and All-Ireland champions deserved a parade? On the other hand, maybe that helped keep the clean.

[tyroneman]

winning the peno

He 'won' the penalty alright.  .................although the aimless cross-field ball that gifted posession to Armagh  for the goal was the killer.

Although  Armagh went on to grind out the win a draw would have been fair result.

[Family guy]

Who captained Tyrone 2day?

[never kickt a ball]

Who captained Tyrone 2day?

Ricey and he won the toss!

[mackers]

Must say I was worried when we went eight points down as Tyrone don't do "foot off the gas" as some have stated, when they have you beat they normally turn the screw. It would also point to the fact that all is not as bad in the Armagh camp as some "fans" in Armagh would have us believe, if that was the case the towel would've been thrown in, instead they showed guts and determination.
Thought it was played in a very good spirit with hardly a dirty dig in it, refereed as well as ever by Pat McEneaney.
Best for Armagh was Donaghy, McKeever, Lavery (fair play to him), B Mallon and Clarke. Don't think I have ever seen Stevie McDonnell playing as poorly in a Championship match, everything he did failed although he never hid and kept plugging away.
Thought Henderson could've got a run in the last twenty along with Forker.
For the next day I would bring Vernon into midfield, put Toner to FB and drop Finn Mo. I'd also bring David McKenna into the HF line for Paul Duffy and try to blood Forker/Henderson depending on the opposition.
We may see Croker in August yet!!