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Did Armagh do anything overly different in the last quarter compared to the rest of the game. Not really. They sat back and defended they whole way through. They gave Donegal the kickout the whole way through. They were patient in attack the whole way through.

Difference was they were turned over a number of times in the Donegal half. Mackin following a loose pass that skidded away from him, McCabe in the corner, Campbell (off the ground that wasn't). They had a couple of shots drop short and a couple of wides.

Was a period of Donegal dominance not to be expected? They also got a couple of outrageous scores. They are two evenly matched teams after all.

Kieran McGeeney has now had 10 years in charge of Armagh with talented enough players. Not even winning ONE Ulster title is embarrassing. It's an ongoing culture of abject failure. Just as how Mayo will continue to not win an AI title until perennial chokers Aidan O'Shea and Cillian O'Connor are excised from that panel, Armagh CAN'T succeed until McGeeney is removed.

I'd say you're worried about Armagh!

Armagh had 2 previous marks but didn't take them.

Or to be pedantic, they took them and hit the ball backwards.

Were those not well outside the scoring zone? Were they on the kicker's best side? Kelly took on the mark, but unfortunately he missed like Grugan did last year.

A few things after  watching all that:

Football as a spectacle is  pathetic.

You're hard to please!

There was some  very good scores taken , but  the  match  itself  was brutal

Found it to be a intriguing watch, brutal for me is one sided contest whereby on team has thrown in the towel long before the final whistle and 5 to 7 point margin ends up as 17 to 20 point defeat.

The first half was as good as half as you'll see all year

If you didn't enjoy that as a neutral then you flat out just don't like Gaelic football.

A few things after  watching all that:

Football as a spectacle is  pathetic.

You're hard to please!

Last free a definite free out. Talk about refs being inconsistent. Gough isn't even consistent with his own decisions and did McStay say he's the best in the business?

This was his decision yesterday that decided the game.
https://youtu.be/iD0JQIzecUc?&t=7m10s

Look at this decision he made in the critical final minutes of last year's Ulster Final.
https://youtu.be/mqmfjXQD7c4?&t=10m02s

Free here against the Armagh man with minimal contact and yesterday he does the complete opposite for a two man tackle and contact about the head.

Similarly With pulling back the quick Galway free into Comer. I remember him doing something similar on an Armagh kickouts last year so he could speak to a player.

Both teams on both occasions have cause for complaint, but the best compliment that can be made of a referee is that they aren't noticed and in the dying minutes of two provincial finals two years running and he's the centre of attention.

[Also, when it comes to the clubs, the vast majority can start their championship in July when their county side are out anyway. That was a big issue pre split.A team gets kncoked out in July and yet no serious club games till end of August for no reason...]

In Gaelic football in general there is always a need to ne seen to want to change it. Change the rules and a good county manager will find a new way to play and negate it.

Change the season, change the format. Even at club level sometimes there is a system that works and then it gets thrown out for no reason, other than to be seen to do something.

I think that the split season has to stay but tweaks and more time needed. At county level the provincials are the biggest issue.

The league tends to be good, and look at all the finals produced somme kind of excitement. In the Provinces Leinster and Munster Finals are going to be terrible. Connacht is tighter but no side is flying.

Ulster is competetive, but then when the teams don't go all the way the provincials are blamed for being so hard to get through...

Also, when it comes to the clubs, the vast majority can start their championship in July when their county side are out anyway. That was a big issue pre split.
A team gets kncoked out in July and yet no serious club games till end of August for no reason...

That's the failure in this. It seemed to have been changed so clubs wudnt be playing championship in the muck of winter but club championship time remained the same. Now for August-September is club league games a very diluted competition compared to county or club championship. Loads county players just head to US for those months... indeed July as most county teams eliminated by start of July

That's it in a nutshell! But you'll never hear that from the player's representatives because it's easier to lay the blame at the structures and the GAA.

It's is a complete joke that despite the split season, CBs are still running off leagues in December. It is also very questionable where the demand is for round robin championship structures at club level. It just creates loads of meaningless games, further dilutes the relevance of leagues and reinforces the notion that the real action doesn't start until about mid-September in many counties.

Given what has been sacrificed at county level (giving up the entire summer), with a more intense season for county players, and limited benefits at club level, you'd have ask what was the point?

The level of self-agrandising by Tommy Nibs leads me to think he's gone full parody and is only saying 'most powerful yet' on a weekly basis as an in-joke/piss take. Does grate at times, trying to sound nuanced with phrases like 'the modern GAA calendar'

To be fair these are some incredibly powerful human interest stories from ordinary enough GAA people that are extremely life affirming. To give Niblock credit he has created a format where these stories are being told very very well and sympathetically.

While the Wednesday ones are often personal in nature, they almost always demonstrate much of what is good about the GAA's role in the community. The Colin Bell one was particularly good.

Yes, he promotes it very strongly and he has a particular schtick, but it's fairly inoffensive unless you're easily annoyed.

Awful game.
Fermanagh had their chances of goals but either miskicked, took the wrong option or just messed it up.
Armagh deserved winners - but goals aside, they didn't look overly impressive.
Missed a lot of frees. Didnt look fluid, should have scored more points from play given the way Fermanagh just kind of stopped. If I was from Armagh I'd be worried enough.

Jarly Og lucky to stay on the pitch imo.

Goals aside...not impressive (they won by over 10 points)

If you were from Armagh what would you be worried about? Down...seriously? Do you think their "supporters " will stay on beyond half time.. unlike last year.

Derry...of course we'd be worried..they're a top 3 team standing between us and a first Ulster title in nearly 20 years...and they've improved since last year.

Was Jarly's the only bad tackle in the game?

The 2nd half was a draw. Yes the game was already won, but the better sides would just keep going and rack up a cricket score.
For what it's worth, Armagh should beat Down and I've no doubt they'll give who ever they play in Ulster Final a game of it. But for me, they're not yet playing at the level you'd expect of a team with ambitions to win Ulster. It still might come...but against a Fermanagh side that were beaten 20 mins in you'd have expected them to pull away in the 2nd half. That's the worrying bit for Armagh in my view.

I agree with this. Armagh struggled to score points yesterday. It is often useful look at the number of scores for a slightly different analysis and a total of 14 scores isn't a great return against a very limited Fermanagh team. Armagh also got the bounce off the ball yesterday with both Jarly Og's goal and McKay's save. About time we got the rub of the green but no use in saying luck didn't play a part.

Down will be lying in the long grass waiting and ready to ambush Armagh. They are the complete underdog going into this game. They beat Antrim playing rubbish and I'd say they're nicely poised. Unlike Fermanagh, they are on the way up and need this win to get into Sam.

Armagh should win even with a middling performance, but Lavery will not let Down play with the same tactical naïveté as Fermanagh. Down will be stronger in the tackle and if they get the bounce of the ball they can spring a surprise.

I was surprised to hear Ryan McCloskey and others talking up the potential of a shock Fermanagh win this weekend. Thought that was highly unlikely. However, I can't understand why anyone is writing off Down!

If there's one thing more depressing than losing in Croke Park it's the predictable over reactions from Armagh "supporters" to a defeat and the giddiness when we stuff a Division 2 team. 

The free takers, Grugan, Turbitt and O'Neill all left scoreable frees behind them. Had they went over it was a completely different narrative today.

Was it Declan Kidney of Munster that used to say don't get too excited about a win and don't over react to a defeat.

Overall, decent league campaign for Armagh. Blooded a corner back and corner forward who will start in the Championship. Plenty of competition for places. Some of the old failings still apparent in terms of closing out games against Division 1 opposition. Also we remain reliant on the older guys.

However, getting promoted quite easily with about 6 guaranteed starters from recent years on the bench for most of the league is a sign of progress.

The mentality to close out games from a winning position is what we're missing and it's leadership on the pitch that is needed in the last few moments.

Fair play to Donegal today! Weakened team but came away with the win. Armagh played none but could have won it and given the scoreable frees missed, arguably should have.

Agree that it was strange to start Mcmullan. Thompson had way too much space in the first half, but very clever at finding space. Armagh got very few turnovers which is very frustrating - standing off too much. In comparison with Derry's approach to Dublin. However they had some success on Patton's kickouts.

Another failure to close out a game from a winning position. Very frustrating trend. However, the last time they won the 2 Division trophy was in Croke Park in 2010 v Down. They closed that game out but went on to get beaten by Monaghan by about 15 points in an Ulster SF. That won't happen this year, can't see anyone hammering them but big questions over their ability to win anything.

At the end of the day it was a 1 point game and as usual plenty of overreaction.

Somebody on here a few pages back say Down fit for most of the teams in Division 2 outside the top 3,?

Might have been me and would stand over it...... and Westmeath proved last year in the Championship round robin that they were competitive with Division 1 teams

Of course they've improved. I know your opinion of them isn't based on last year alone, but they are on an upward trajectory and with Laverty into his second year there is more to come. There is no big fuss about them either so they are nicely positioned. They have been quite commanding in getting out of Division 3 and I wouldn't be surprised if they were in the mix for promotion next year - they would easily be a match for any of the Division 2 teams that weren't promoted.  Armagh would be a step up for them if they both make the Ulster Semi (which they should), but Down will have revenge on their minds + the extra motivation to stay in the Sam Maguire. Write them off at your peril!

Down will be waiting in the long grass in Ulster.  Unbeaten in a highly competitive Div 3, statement win against a decent Clare team and the best score difference across all four divisions. Massive incentive to make an Ulster final to qualify for the AI series.

The supposed easy side of the draw in Ulster will be anything but!

Kerry have delayed every single Galway free today, sometimes twice! Pretty cynical stuff.