Dr. McKenna Cup 2019

[thecritic]

I would also love to see Rian O'Neill taking the frees. No disrespect to Grimley who had a great game last night but not sure on his consistency.

 

[niall1980]

1-7 is the easy part

Hughes
Morgan
McKay
Hughes
Shields
Donaghy
Forker

After that it’s difficult. 2 from Grimley Sheridan and ONeill for midfield. And then the forwards are hard to pick but very difficult to leave out Clarke murnin and Campbell. Grugan will start so you’ve got about 7 players going for the other 2 places. A good position to be in

 

[Ard Mhacha 13]

I am very disappointed after last night, I wanted the boys to win, especially against "that lot" & I wanted them to pick up some silverware, it would have been the ideal end to a very successful campaign. However despite my disappointment I still remain positive & optimistic about our upcoming matches in what will be a very tough Division 2 in the league.

I agree with the posts on here which point towards the progress we have already made this Season. We got to the McKenna Cup final beating 2 top 8 teams in Monaghan & Donegal along the way. Yes admittedly they weren't at full strength, but the players coming in are training with those who have been playing at a high level for a number of years now & they will have been doing everything possible to nail down a place for future matches. These are the teams we want & need to be playing against for our players to develop & find success at a higher level.

We lost to "them uns" last night & any defeat against them is hard to take but we competed from start to finish & if things had gone slightly differently it was definitely a match we could have won, that is a huge positive for me. This county is according to last year's records the 2nd best team in the country, so to only be beaten by 2 points shows we are moving in the right direction. As regards the match itself it is totally frustrating as an Armagh supporter to see "those from the wrong side of the Blackwater river" get a free for the slightest touch, this diving has been happening for decades now, when when when are referees going going to catch on to this & stop punishing the opposing teams?!?!!! There are a few major "ifs" from last night's match, IF Rory had scored the penalty, IF Niall had scored the free, it might have been a very different result but unfortunately they didn't I felt last night those wearing white & red found it much easier to find & create space & had runners off the shoulder in the right place at the right time, our attacks at times were slower than in previous matches & by the time we got into the scoring zone we were confronted by a wall of bodies.

What I wanted last night irrespective of the result was a performance & the boys certainly didn't fail in that regard. The performances in our last 3 matche have shown that we can compete at a higher level & have certainly given me hope that we can maintain our division 2 league status & possibly push on.

I have read lots of posts about players still to come back & like others I am delighted that we could have serious competition for places on the team. My one issue/fear would be how quickly the players coming back from injury can get themselves up to match fitness. There is a big difference between flying in training & playing tough competitive football. Needless to say my hope is that they can slot back in seamlessly & I will be keeping my fingers crossed this is the case.

It has been a very good start to the Season & I am hoping this will be backed up with a good start to the League, a win against Kildare would be a huge boost & step in the right direction. One thing I am 100% sure of, the boys & management will not be lacking in desire, commitment & dedication to the tasks which lie ahead.

 

[Big Jim]

Losing last night was a bit of a disappointment, especially to Tyrone, but I can't say that I'm that bothered. We all know that Tyrone have been operating at a high level than us for nearly a decade now. They are one of the top teams in Ireland, with a deep panel of players to chose from and last night it showed that they are further ahead than us. But I think that what most fans wanted to see was us be competitive, which we were and for some better finishing, we could have won that game. The McKenna Cup has served it's purpose for us. We have gotten the maximum amount of games out of it, we've played some top teams (even if some of them haven't been at full strength) and won, we've introduced some new players to the panel and some of them have shown a lot of promise, other players who've been on the panel for a while and played sporadically have developed more and look more capable at county level and we've got some of our best players back and they are performing well. Our fitness levels will be high and have played plenty of football to get up to speed. I think that we are in a good place going into the league and we'll need to be because everyone of our games now is going to be competitive and we are going to need to play well to pick up points.

It was pleasing to see us stay with Tyrone and not throw in the towel when in the past we might have done. There were a number of needless turnovers last night, with sloppy passes or bad decisions, which Tyrone just pounce on and scored off. Every team will turn the ball over in a game, but it's the ones when we are under no pressure to give the ball away or run up a blind alley or put a player in trouble with a poor pass that are so frustrating.

I thought Niall Grimley had a good game, but that free at the end was a big miss especially when he'd nailed all the others. Stefan Campbell got some good points from play. Defensively we looked better I thought, even though there was some poor tackling. Kick outs were a problem and again it showed the level that Tyrone are at they were able to make it so difficult for us to find our men. I think James Morgan is a brilliant defender, but his gun-ho approach, launching into players on the ground and his over enthusiastic tackling gives away frees. I thought it was harsh to a second yellow as he clearly slipped and then collided with the player. Tyrone also got some frees which clearly never were, but that happens in every game.

It's been a good campaign, with some tough matches that should really set us up well for the league.

More or less what is in my head although possibly more eloquently put than I would have done.

 

[Big Jim]

Final comment I see our announcer friend took it on himself to start explaining the rules decision on hand pass during the game and at end we took Forker off....sweet Jesus he had time before game and he should have team right.....on and he was going to have heart attack as kids needed leave playing does as was health and saftey issue....this on day gaa launched bring a ball for national league for kids to play on pitch at halftime. They all paid their £2/€2 in

Again it goes back to what I previously posted on the subject. He really loves to preach. Typical old school teacher. To be fair though my wife told me that TG4 also had Forker playing and she didn't understand it because she knows him real well and couldn't see him nor understand how he could be playing.

Sean (PA Mister) was described quite well last night by a female "Them'uns" when she said to one of the stewards beside us "does that glype slabber all night all the time? I know I should have bitch slapped the auld fart (sorry ladies from the orchard, but it needed saying) but it was funny.

 

[Big Jim]

Thought it was a decent performance and with a bit more belief and discipline could have won.

Tackling needs to improve. I thought the management should have had James off as he was inevitably going to get sent off. That is something that must be addressed from their point of view. There’s good players to come to the defence and that will shore it up a fair bit.

Midfield I thought that Grimley did well but Sheridan was disappointing. He’s a good player but I just don’t know if he’s quite good enough to push on. I think come championship time Oisin o Neill is the option for there. If Oisin is in that vicinity then you play Rian on the square with Jamie and Soupy. When Murnin is back id play him on the half forward line. Grugan i still think is not a central player and may suit playing with a stronger ball winner like murnin beside him and a worker like forker. Positives but work to do so not a bad position.

Measured and constructive. I can agree with that.

 

[Big Jim]

Ok it's all been said so I'll keep this brief (yes for a change)

Jesus don't shoot me folks but we didn't lose because of the ref. We had our chances and might have done better.

The ref was poor, but I said that a few days ago more or less. He's just a muppet. Mostly he got a lot of the calls bang on and as already mentioned let us away a few times. His major blunder was the red card on McKay as already described. To hold any players jersey over their head and then uppercut punch them is beyond contempt and vile. Seriously hope it's appealed.

Jamie seems to be more of a team player now. Issued a few instructions as he was leaving the field and constantly shouted at the lads after that.

Rian is class and getting better.

Niall Grimley is class and getting back to what he was before compromise rules.

Leave the bloody keeper alone mr perfect's. How many do you think you can hound out. Jesus you must have been good in your day. Every other position can have a "bad game" but well dare a keeper make a mistake.

Jamar is showing what he is capable of. Ruairi McCaughley is doing what he can to stake a claim. Not bad for a tiny player.

Massive positives and great improvement overall. Jim McCorry seems to have brought a little finesse to the set up and fine tuned the gameplan. Players seem to have bought into it.

Two point defeat by the best team in the country isn't bad in January. Yes they are the best. Ask any of their supporters.

 

[Armaghniac]

I'd agree with a lot of this, particularly regarding oisin oneill at midfield and playing murnin at centre half forward. From what I've seen of rian, he looks as if needs he needs ball played in front of him whereas murnin looks very comfortable under a high ball - would this be fair enough assessment? Whilst it would be unfair on Grimley, would you have Rian hitting free kicks at this early stage?

If this forward mark continues then I can see Murnin getting those.

 

[Throwball]

Just after watching the match again. Gets the blood boiling a bit. ! Think Morgan was actually unlucky with both his cards. McNamee needs a long ban.

 

[niall1980]

Just after watching the match again. Gets the blood boiling a bit. ! Think Morgan was actually unlucky with both his cards. McNamee needs a long ban.

What was Morgan’s first card for? To me it looked like he got it for someone else’s foul

 

[Throwball]

What was Morgan’s first card for? To me it looked like he got it for someone else’s foul

I don't know. I didn't see him do much

 

[DooReg]

I t

I don't know. I didn't see him do much

I thought a lot of the yellows for us were for very little. If those are yellows then I just dunno. The most obvious yellow was when Burns got a high tackle towards the end and the Tyrone player didn’t even get a tick!

 

[Ard Mhacha 13]

Just after watching the match again. Gets the blood boiling a bit. ! Think Morgan was actually unlucky with both his cards. McNamee needs a long ban.

Can't bring myself to watch it yet as I know for certain my blood will be boiling.

 

[PatMustard]

I t

I thought a lot of the yellows for us were for very little. If those are yellows then I just dunno. The most obvious yellow was when Burns got a high tackle towards the end and the Tyrone player didn’t even get a tick!

That’s McQuillan for ya!

 

[McCoyDromintee]

1-7 is the easy part

Hughes
Morgan
McKay
Hughes
Shields
Donaghy
Forker

I don't think it is that easy. If fit, Burns in my opinion will be a certain starter while McCabe is another possibility.

There's a depth there in most departments now.

 

[Big Jim]

Just after watching the match again. Gets the blood boiling a bit. ! Think Morgan was actually unlucky with both his cards. McNamee needs a long ban.

Watched it again this morning TB and I can't argue with most points already made or change my mind on anything I've already said, except:

We were bloody good and could have won that game being a little more of a "cute hoor" like them

Some of our handling was scrappy, but we didn't seem panicked at any time

3 balls were turned over from our kick outs which were the blame of the player and not the keeper. Standing waiting on the ball to arrive and not attacking it is criminal

One thing not mentioned I don't think - HOW the hell did Niall Grimley get so high for that catch in midfield? Fantastic catch

Is Jamie ok? He seemed to be limping and hunkered down for a bit before he was replaced although looked ok when coming off.

Joe McQuillan - QUOTE "I thought a lot of the yellows for us were for very little. If those are yellows then I just dunno!" QUOTE "That’s McQuillan for ya!" probably best sums him up and in truth for both teams. I still maintain he and his officials made a critical mistake over the McKay red and it should be appealed. various angles show exactly what happened.

Denis Hollywood doesn't seem to be on the line (or maybe as much so not noticed) and Paddy "boy have I put weight on" McKeever is doing the running and seems to do it well. Lads move as soon as he talks to them. Looks like a well oiled machine starting to run smoothly. It'll be good when we get up to speed me thinks.

I can't say the subs had the same impact as last day out and St. Michael and co did their work well (Boke!! Makes my stomach churn to admit that. I'm not sure I like the new "I can see the other side" me!)

Save the pennies. It's £90 now for an All Ireland Final ticket.

 

[Big Jim]

Can't bring myself to watch it yet as I know for certain my blood will be boiling.

Watch it. You really will feel better when you see how much we have improved. Remember that the diving midgets are so called for a reason so that softens the blow. He who laughs last...................

 

[PatMustard]

One thing not mentioned I don't think - HOW the hell did Niall Grimley get so high for that catch in midfield? Fantastic catch

Yup. Great catch!

Denis Hollywood doesn't seem to be on the line (or maybe as much so not noticed) and Paddy "boy have I put weight on" McKeever is doing the running and seems to do it well.

He sure has. Maybe that’s why he’s doing the running

 

[niall1980]

I don't think it is that easy. If fit, Burns in my opinion will be a certain starter while McCabe is another possibility.

There's a depth there in most departments now.

Both good players and I particularly like McCabe but I don’t see them in the starting line up if everyone is fit.

 

[PatMustard]

Can't bring myself to watch it yet as I know for certain my blood will be boiling.

I know the feeling. I’ve never watched the 03 final or 05 semi again.

A few times on TV I’ve nearly had the misfortune of seeing Canavan lifting Sam in 03, but I always manage to poke myself in the eyes just in time to avoid it.

So many times now I’ve walked into a door straight afterwards, that people think Mrs M is bating the shite out of me!