Ulster Final 2008 - Armagh vs Fermanagh

[gaagaa]

  7 down against Derry, 8 against Armagh and yet we still are not beaten.  Sign of a good team if you ask me.  You only have to look at what happened Wexford against the Dubs to see how things could have turned out for Fermanagh.  Now the players have their first Ulster final out of the way, the next one should not be as bad.

i hopy youre right but you can only make so many comebacks - some day the lucky break (square ball goal) wont go your way
fermanagh got to ao semi by having a go and thats their only hope next sunday

[orangeman]

Fermanagh's freetaking was atrocious - do you anticipate many changes to the Armagh line up ?

Probably not , but I would like to see Donaghy replace Francie who doesn't seem to be the confident player he was; he looked particularly unhappy under the few high balls that came in. I'm not not sure that Vernon is cutting it; for all that he is a big strong man he is a bit too delicate when contesting 50/50 balls, he is too easily dispossessed and is prone to unforced errors and to taking wrong options. Oisin is, on today's display, not half the player he was. I'd also share the concerns voiced on here about midfield but would be very slow to start without McGrane. Hearty kicked his usual "one over the sideline" today again and at a time when Fermanagh had up a good head of steam and were heading for the draw! Clarke and McDonnell continue to be a class act even with a relatively poor supply of ball.
Can anyone explain the substitution of M O'Rourke; our supply of loose ball dried up after he was taken off?

I thought Francie did what he had to do today and but for him and Hearty near the end, it could have been over for Armagh - I wouldn't dump Francie just yet !

[Smokin Joe]

Can anyone explain the substitution of M O'Rourke; our supply of loose ball dried up after he was taken off?

I can only assume that McDonnell though the game was won, as there was no other reason why you could justify taking him off.

If Kieran McKinney doesn't start the next day then he may as well leave the panel.  Hearty was at fault for the goal (he took a step back), he then fumbled another high ball that almost ended up in the net as well as the various kick out blunders mentioned above.

I think the reason that AK lost so much ball in contact today was that when he was breaking forward with it he has no pass available (as we had everyone behind the ball) and so had to hold onto it for longer that necessary.

[orangeman]

Can anyone explain the substitution of M O'Rourke; our supply of loose ball dried up after he was taken off?

I can only assume that McDonnell though the game was won, as there was no other reason why you could justify taking him off.

If Kieran McKinney doesn't start the next day then he may as well leave the panel.  Hearty was at fault for the goal (he took a step back), he then fumbled another high ball that almost ended up in the net as well as the various kick out blunders mentioned above.

I think the reason that AK lost so much ball in contact today was that when he was breaking forward with it he has no pass available (as we had everyone behind the ball) and so had to hold onto it for longer that necessary.

It said on the radio that he had a tight hamstring at half time - they decided to keep him on - then when the goal went in and Armagh were 8 points up, he was taken off as a precaution and thrown back in as the game started to slip away.

[balladmaker]

Attrocious last 20 minutes from Armagh.  Too many players just went missing, too many dithered on the ball, and the team in general seemed to go into an uncharacteristic panic mode.  Granted, Fermanagh were throwing everything at them, and surprisingly, Armagh had no leadership to calm the jets and gets things together.

Several Armagh players were far to lethargic on the ball, most notably Hearty and AK.  Hearty is a fine keeper, but has always had a touch of the Grobbelaar's about him.  You just don't know what is going to happen under a high ball.  

Although the game looked as if it should be over at 8 points up, management were hasty in taking off MOR.

Armagh are going nowhere fast without a freetaker of note.  Stevie is just not doing the business from frees, his hit rate is well below par for this level.  He should have these duties removed from him IF there is anyone else capable of doing better.

As for Fermanagh, great spirit and comeback.  Buy largely, their forwards are lacking in a real quality finisher.  Their free taking was abysmal and as a result they are going no where fast.  They should have won by 3 or 4 to spare today.

As for the replay, if Armagh can sort out midfield (big if), then they will win next Sunday due to getting the fast ball into Clarke and McDonnell.  It is all to play for as both teams should feel that they left the game behind today.....Armagh because they squandered an 8 point lead, and Fermanagh because of their forward's inability to score from play and the lack of a freetaker.

A toss of a coin....

[orangeman]

Attrocious last 20 minutes from Armagh.  Too many players just went missing, too many dithered on the ball, and the team in general seemed to go into an uncharacteristic panic mode.  Granted, Fermanagh were throwing everything at them, and surprisingly, Armagh had no leadership to calm the jets and gets things together.

Several Armagh players were far to lethargic on the ball, most notably Hearty and AK.  Hearty is a fine keeper, but has always had a touch of the Grobbelaar's about him.  You just don't know what is going to happen under a high ball.  

Although the game looked as if it should be over at 8 points up, management were hasty in taking off MOR.

Armagh are going nowhere fast without a freetaker of note.  Stevie is just not doing the business from frees, his hit rate is well below par for this level.  He should have these duties removed from him IF there is anyone else capable of doing better.
As for Fermanagh, great spirit and comeback.  Buy largely, their forwards are lacking in a real quality finisher.  Their free taking was abysmal and as a result they are going no where fast.  They should have won by 3 or 4 to spare today.

As for the replay, if Armagh can sort out midfield (big if), then they will win next Sunday due to getting the fast ball into Clarke and McDonnell.  It is all to play for as both teams should feel that they left the game behind today.....Armagh because they squandered an 8 point lead, and Fermanagh because of their forward's inability to score from play and the lack of a freetaker.

A toss of a coin....

Is Oisin Mc Conville, the highest points scorer in Ulster Championship history ( mostly through frees )  not on the panel - I believe he came on today and missed a free ?

[Maguire01]

Yes, technically it was a square ball. But technically it is also a foul if you carry a ball more than four steps without soloing. If referees always applied the letter of the law instead of common sense, our games would be unwatchable.

Indeed. And Clarke's goal wouldn't have been either.

Why so ?

I believe he took 5 steps. It was marginal, but that's what we're talking about.

[orangeman]

Yes, technically it was a square ball. But technically it is also a foul if you carry a ball more than four steps without soloing. If referees always applied the letter of the law instead of common sense, our games would be unwatchable.

Indeed. And Clarke's goal wouldn't have been either.

Why so ?

I believe he took 5 steps. It was marginal, but that's what we're talking about.

What did you think of the ref today ? He must have been good - no real complaints voiced so far ?

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

What did you think of the ref today ? He must have been good - no real complaints voiced so far ?

The only thing I would say was that he gave a free to Fermanagh for Armagh taking a free short. No arguements with the decision as it was far too short but there were similar instances both before and after when Fermanagh hit frees much too short and weren't penalised. Its the lack of consistency which is really frustrating. I think its a silly rule to be honest but its in the rulebook and should be enforced consistently.

[mackers]

This game was a carbon copy of the Sligo match in 2002, we had the match won and let it slip and in the end were lucky to get a draw. At least we have a chance to address some glaring problems from our previous two outings. Midfield is a major concern, which it has been all year and in the absence of Lavery I don't think we have a quick fix to that problem. How Aaron Kernan stayed on as long as he did was a mystery, he's had many great days in the Armagh shirt but for whatever reason he was having an off day and needed to be hauled off with an able replacement in Donaghy warming up for a long time.
There may be an argument whether the Fermanagh goal was square ball but for me the more important point was how poor (yet again!) Paul Hearty was. He started pointing the finger at few of his defenders but he has no-one else to blame but himself, seems to be that we gift teams whatever goals are scored against us.
Can't fault the ref at all, thought he was very brave at the end in blowing up Little for a blatant dive.
The replay will be a chance for the team to redeem themselves and move away from the age old problem of being overly-defensive when in the ascendancy.

[orangeman]

This game was a carbon copy of the Sligo match in 2002, we had the match won and let it slip and in the end were lucky to get a draw. At least we have a chance to address some glaring problems from our previous two outings. Midfield is a major concern, which it has been all year and in the absence of Lavery I don't think we have a quick fix to that problem. How Aaron Kernan stayed on as long as he did was a mystery, he's had many great days in the Armagh shirt but for whatever reason he was having an off day and needed to be hauled off with an able replacement in Donaghy warming up for a long time.
There may be an argument whether the Fermanagh goal was square ball but for me the more important point was how poor (yet again!) Paul Hearty was. He started pointing the finger at few of his defenders but he has no-one else to blame but himself, seems to be that we gift teams whatever goals are scored against us.
Can't fault the ref at all, thought he was very brave at the end in blowing up Little for a blatant dive.
The replay will be a chance for the team to redeem themselves and move away from the age old problem of being overly-defensive when in the ascendancy.

He couldn't have taken both Kernans off for God's sake now could he ? 

[johnpower]

Great Match ,two good teams  looking forward to the replay

[imtommygunn]

Where is Ciaran O'Reilly for Fermanagh? He's a right and handy free taker. Presumably he's not on the panel?

[balladmaker]

Is Oisin Mc Conville, the highest points scorer in Ulster Championship history ( mostly through frees )  not on the panel - I believe he came on today and missed a free ?

Yes, this is correct.....what's your point? 

[5 Sams]

Look's like Oisin has been out for lunch with big Joe a few times