ARMAGH are a team playing with great confidence and belief at the minute, typified by the manner in which they dug out their result against Galway at the weekend.
On reflection a draw was probably a fair result for the courage that Armagh showed throughout the game. They made little use of the wind in the first half, and it looked pretty ominous 20 minutes into the second when they found themselves five down. But their scoring efficiency went up a level and of course the goal was a massive turning point.
Armagh won all of their own kickouts and seven from Galway’s 23 which, if you do the maths, gave them about 30% more primary possession than their opponents over the course of the game. It took a while but eventually they began to make those plays count.
I was really impressed by the pressure they put on the Galway kick-out which for me is a big sign of tactical development in this Armagh team. The kick-out for the goal was a prime example and one they just wouldn’t have turned over this time last year.
Here’s a paragraph I wrote on my analysis from last year’s Ulster Final against Derry, when Armagh were a man up at the start of extra time:
“All three kick-outs were played short by Derry and retained fairly comfortably in that period. They pulled everyone outside the ‘45′, and played in a spear formation centrally, before splitting wide and forward towards Lynch.”
From memory Armagh played man to man on those bunch and break restarts which left space for Derry to run into on the wings and inside the ‘45.’
On Sunday they set up in a more zonal fashion taking up the spaces to the front, back and sides of the spear. To the naked eye this is a very subtle adaption but massive when you consider 1-1 came off the two kick-outs that Conor Turbitt intercepted. It’s plain and simple.
Armagh are massive around the middle so press hard to get the opposition to go long or force them to attempt risky shorts.
After an end to end first half Tyrone got the job done against Cork with their efficiency in front of goal crucial to the win. Nine first half points from 12 shots was a trend continued after the break. The Red Hands didn’t hit a wide in the second half until almost the 60th minute.
The Cork full-back Daniel O’Mahony must have been wondering what more could he do to curtail Darragh Canavan. He turned the Tyrone maestro over three times in the first half alone which gave his side some lift. For most forwards that would have been enough to shatter their confidence but not Canavan who went on to kick four points from play. With a tricky home tie this weekend against Roscommon Tyrone look to be in a good position to reach the quarter-finals.
Derry through too and that’s all that matters, but if a better shot-to-score ratio was a big target for them then that’s still an area of grave concern. After conceding nine goals in their games to date, they finally kept a clean sheet and scored their first majors of this year’s championship. But nine scores against Westmeath won’t have Mayo manager Kevin McStay shaking in his boots.
Still, this is exactly the type of game that Derry need if they are to salvage something from this year’s championship.
Castlebar is far from a fortress especially where Mickey Harte is concerned - in his time with Tyrone, of course. In 2020 in the last Division One league game in Castlebar, they relegated Mayo out of the top flight for the first time in 23 years.
Then who could forget the scare Derry gave the raging hot favourites Mayo in the 2017 championship down there? A Derry win is far from out of the question and if McStay’s animated body language was anything to go by after the Dublin game he will be very nervous about this hurdle.
I think Derry will need Gareth McKinless, Conor Doherty and Niall Loughlin available and a return to form from the likes of Brendan Rodgers and Shane McGuigan will be required.
A slight concern for me would be that every play against Westmeath seemed to go though Ciaran McFaul, something which Mayo will no doubt target. Yet if Derry can find their form from a couple a months ago, a mini upset could be on the cards.
If there’s one county we should know by now to never to write off it’s Monaghan. Conor McManus and co. can always seem to raise it for the big teams in knock-out football. But is it a case of going to the well a time too many? I think with home advantage Galway will edge this one.
After predicting an Antrim win in last week’s column I was delighted it was a case of the head ruling the heart and not the other way around. To come from six points down at half-time to win by a goal was some turnaround from Andy McEntee’s team and further evidence of the belief and spirit he has nurtured within his squad.
As Antrim head to Croke Park for their fifth championship game of the year, they have every chance of beating Laois to reach the Tailteann Cup Final. But who will their opponents be if they get there?
With a Kilcoo man at the helm in Down and a Crossmaglen man in Sligo, this other semi-final has the makings of a really good game that is really hard to call. A tentative nod to Down to make the final for the second year in a row.
