Ulster Senior football championship 2024

[trueblue1234]

I seem to be in the minority but I enjoyed the 2nd half more than the first. I can understand why some enjoyed it as it was an outstanding example of long range shooting. But the build up play in between was ponderous and lacked any level of physical contact.
The 2nd was edgier and due to the wet weather there were more mistakes that brought more contact and imo was more enjoyable. Just shows you'll never please all the people all of the time.
Have to feel for Armagh after that. And while now is not the time for picking over the carcass, when they do look back they will have to question why they didn't kill off Donegal when they were 4 up. It's not an ability issue. So it's either poor tactics or they lack resilience. Both would point fingers at the side line.
That said, have to feel for KMcG. With a stroke of luck he could have had two Ulsters in a row. I think for both sakes, depending on how they see out the rest of the year, a change may be required.

[JoG2]

I know it's harsh but 4 clear in the 54th minute of a game where there were a lot of bodies back...
That game should have been put to bed by Armagh.

And they had legs coming off the bench too. Even if both teams looked set up defensive with bodies back a lot of the scores were not under massive pressure.

That being said the striking from distance was top class.

There's 20 mins approx left on the clock. 2 scores will bridge or exceed that gap of 4 points. That's a breaking ball, a mistake, a mistimed tackle etc...4 points can be scored in a minute, that's the beauty of it. Football would be some bore if a team had a 4 point lead and you'd be fairly confident they could hold onto it against a team that's as strong

When you think about, two teams of amateur players going hammer and tongs for 90+ mins, some amazing scores. Very enjoyable, glad I'm someone who enjoys it tbh

[Oraisteach]

Well done, Donegal. Bar the result, it was a terrific game. Some magnificent long range shooting and excellent tackling. My only gripe Is that games should not end on penalties. I wish that Geezerwould not adopt a bunker mentality during the last 10 minutes of every game. However, I do not want to see him go. Despite his questionable endgame tactics, he did not take any of the penalties. If we had won any one of those penalty matches, peoples attitude to the manager would probably be entirely different.Hope that Armagh can bounce back from this defeat and rise to the occasion in the next three matches, which ought to be exciting.

[marty34]

Armagh do too many silky fist pumps.

Forker after the first score. You'd have thought it was the 72nd minute of the game.  Plus nearly every penalty there was a fist pump.

For that reason I was delighted Donegal won.

Donegal has been super this year under Mc Guinness. A team with a mission. Look at where they were at 1 year ago.
You'd love to be at a training session of his. It must be so high end and intense.

The game was excellent. The shooting, from way out by both teams, was quality. Some great scores.  The game had everything.

I like penalties. Probably in the minority but they are drama, if nothing else.

Be interesting to see how these two teams fair out in the group stages.

[balladmaker]

Sickening is an understatement, we left it behind once again.  However, fair play to Donegal, their long range kicking was as good as I've ever seen. 

4 up in the second half, I thought we were looking composed and I actually thought to myself jeez we have this.  Donegal folk around me thought the same.  But Donegal made their way back into it ... we responded well in extra time, and a 2 point lead in the second half of extra time seemed like a winning lead, but again we couldn't close it out.

Armagh would need to be investing in the best sports psychologist they can get, as the mental scars on that team and management must be extreme at this stage.  Really feel for KMcG and the players, very fine margins, they could just as easily be a 2 in a row Ulster champions tonight ... but they're not.

As for penos, a direct result of the shortened season, no final should be ended like that ... we'd all love another outing to Clones for a replay next Saturday evening ... and not to forget the gate proceeds that would come in handy to the GAA.

Met An Uachtaráin, Jarlath Burns, walking up the street after the game, he was as peeved as any Armagh fan after today's experience.

[SouthDublinBro]

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.

[APM]

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!

[ranch]

Gutted would be an understatement. The game plan seemed to work perfectly up until we led 15-11, but we slowly retreated and that extra few metres of standing off the man in possession cost us big time. I don't think management encouraged that, it just happened. Maybe making the subs 5/10 minutes earlier would have helped somewhat.

It's hard not to think this could be our last chance of meaningful silverware for a while given the draw we got this year and last year, as well as some of the more experienced players possibly moving on.
Forker has been on the senior panel since 2012, Soupy, Murnin and Grugan a year or two after him - do they have it in them to give it another crack after such disappointment? Even some of the less heralded players are late 20s/30 years of age at this stage.
I don't think there are any players around the county that are banging the door down to be on the panel that haven't been given their chance. What we have at the moment is the best we have to offer. Hopefully there's more in the tank to give the summer a good crack, but I'd be fearful that our chance has possibly slipped us by for another few years.

[tonto1888]

I know it's harsh but 4 clear in the 54th minute of a game where there were a lot of bodies back...
That game should have been put to bed by Armagh.

And they had legs coming off the bench too. Even if both teams looked set up defensive with bodies back a lot of the scores were not under massive pressure.

That being said the striking from distance was top class.

There's 20 mins approx left on the clock. 2 scores will bridge or exceed that gap of 4 points. That's a breaking ball, a mistake, a mistimed tackle etc...4 points can be scored in a minute, that's the beauty of it. Football would be some bore if a team had a 4 point lead and you'd be fairly confident they could hold onto it against a team that's as strong

When you think about, two teams of amateur players going hammer and tongs for 90+ mins, some amazing scores. Very enjoyable, glad I'm someone who enjoys it tbh

The lazy analysis will be on armaghs failure to close it out. Reverting to type etc. I've seen it already in WhatsApp groups, on Twitter etc. however, that completely takes away from Donegal upped their game. Couple of good scores and momentum shifts. Credit to them. We may meet again yet

[Armagh4sam2024]

Absolutely sickner again but should have taken the marks to try and push further ahead rather than playing keep ball. Unless we win the AI that was prob our best chance of silverware. Maybe it's time for Geezer and Mckeever to give someone else a go next year?

[thewobbler]

It's not lazy analysis Tonto.

Armagh sat back deeper and counter attacked with fewer numbers after going 4 ahead.

Armagh took the easy point ahead of the clear goal opportunity.

Armagh refused two kickable marks in preference for clock killing.

Armagh were 2 ahead in extra time and then went into hiding. Witness Donegal's last or second last point were most Armagh players drifted across to the left-half back position - with no attempt  to make contact - and left the other half open. 

Armagh have better players than Donegal, more experienced players than Donegal and better conditioned players than Donegal. But a fear of losing strangled them once again.

Looking for other reasons for them not winning is wrong.

[JoG2]

It's not lazy analysis Tonto.

Armagh sat back deeper and counter attacked with fewer numbers after going 4 ahead.

Armagh took the easy point ahead of the clear goal opportunity.

Armagh refused two kickable marks in preference for clock killing.

Armagh were 2 ahead in extra time and then went into hiding. Witness Donegal's last or second last point were most Armagh players drifted across to the left-half back position - with no attempt  to make contact - and left the other half open. 

Armagh have better players than Donegal, more experienced players than Donegal and better conditioned players than Donegal. But a fear of losing strangled them once again.

Looking for other reasons for them not winning is wrong.

I'd disagree. Donegal @ CP a few weeks ago defended and ran at Derry constantly for 70+ minutes.

Ciaran Thompson
2 McDonnells
McHugh
Ban Gallagher
Oisin Gallen
Langan etc.. All been there and done it in Ulster

If they have a fear of losing that you gleefully seem to talk about, then they aren't better players. Better players pull it out of the bag when needed.

Armagh score more penalties than Derry / Donegal in '23 /' 24, they're double Ulster champions (extremely fine margins), all of a sudden they are big game players, not afraid,and you talk about lazy analysis. Again, you must have operated at some level in big finals with all the pressure that comes with it to be such an authority on the subject

[APM]

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.

[lurganblue]

Gutting yet again. I dont think a single Armagh supporter expected us to either pull away or not let them back into it when we went 4 up in the 2nd half.  It's what we do.  The same applies for going 2 up in ET. Did we not do the same v Derry last year?  A lead seems to suck us into our shell. 

The score taking on the day from both sides was excellent, but particularly Donegal. The were very efficient.  That said, Armagh seemed to allow shots from 40m+ on occasion, almost in hope that this would be outside range or a low percentage shot.  Donegal ate them chances up.  Donegal also seemed to pick holes in our defensive shape with some lovely runs and fist passes around the D.

That's 5 times I have watched Armagh lose on penalties.  You can say that they're a lotto, but when you are 5 nil down it's not just bad luck. In general the Donegal penalties were much better than ours. IMO a very strange decision to put Shane forward for pens when he hasnt kicked a competitive ball in months.  Felt for him. 

[marty34]

Anybody have the shot/score efficiency in the first and second halves and then overall?


Seemed to be very good, especially in the first half.


That's how you do it.  Practice the long range shooting under pressure.  Do it in training and it makes teams come out a bit if you can shoot, with accuracy, from well outside the 'D'.