Mckenna Cup

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niall1980

Well-Known Member
Seamy said:
There's some drivel posted here. I was under the impression it was a supporters page.

First game of the year not over ten minutes and Magill being criticised. An easy target. The young lad has put in the hard yards over the last few months and is as entitled to be there as anyone else. The management team see enough to keep him there so unless lads here want to take up the reigns between the posts maybe give the lad a chance.

Similarly, Paddy Burns playing his club football in Burren rubbing a few people up the wrong way. Easy to pass comment on these young lads without knowing ins and outs.

Anyway, rant over. Great performance tonight and great turnout. Top atmosphere in the ground and certainly felt like more than a McKenna Cup game. Jarly Óg was very strong in the first half, particularly when taking men on and was unlucky with the goal chance. Would like to see it on video as it was hard to tell from our vantage point whether he was fouled. Hard to single anyone out aside from The Bridge bias before with Jarly but it must be refreshing for Geezer to have so many viable options. McConville, Kierans, Rice, Soupy... Could list them all.

Very very early so won't get carried away but with Rian, Grugan, Oisin O'Neill and more to feature yet, it's a positive start.

On the road again now next week. But sure it's great to be back out and about

Ard Mhacha Abú
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what drivel exactly? Putting the hard yards in does not mean you should be free from criticism
 
W

Wee man

Well-Known Member
SaintSeamy said:
A lot of positives tonight.

I thought Ciaran Higgins looked really calm and assured at full back.

Was Justin Kieran number 30? That lad has wheeelllsssss. Very fast.

Great performance from the young lads in the team and some lovely scores.

Happy (Armagh) New Year to you all.

We go again.
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Yes Kieran was 30. As you say he has serious pace.
 
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stevie_06

Well-Known Member
Without reading too much into McKenna Cup game it was a good performance and good to see few new players performing.



Also good to see the attendance. Certainly supports the argument that we have some of the best fans in the country.

Last point, I understand that only McKenna cup but if some players underperformed then I think nothing wrong in pointing this out. No different then praising player who performed well.
 
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niall1980

Well-Known Member
stevie_06 said:
Without reading too much into McKenna Cup game it was a good performance and good to see few new players performing.



Also good to see the attendance. Certainly supports the argument that we have some of the best fans in the country.

Last point, I understand that only McKenna cup but if some players underperformed then I think nothing wrong in pointing this out. No different then praising player who performed well.
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some people try and make it out that if you criticise a player, point out when they have made a mistake that you are not a fan
 
pablo

pablo

Well-Known Member
Good to get things up and running.
Great to see Kelly back and looking sharp. I think he can develop on last last year into a real key player for us
Delighted that Grimley put in bit of a shift. Some great fetches in middle of park albeit he probably still a little way to go for full sharpness to return

McConville is a wizard. In the year ahead, on drier surfaces that lad will do some damage in any game that has started to open up
Thought the lad Woods performed well. McPartland has all the attributes to be very, very good if he can get enough game time
Higgins and other lads in the defence were solid enough, although to be honest, really not under much pressure. Soft enough goals for Antrim though.
 
Armagh_paul

Armagh_paul

Well-Known Member
Four of five seasons ago when playing the likes of Down and Fermanagh etc we could afford to make mistakes now we are in division one and playing against the top teams pretty much all season those small mistakes are the difference between winning and losing. Individual players, lines and management are going to be criticised under a higher degree of scrutiny now (hopefully nothing personal occurs) but they will also be applauded when things do work out. We did well last season and were lucky or unlucky to get to the last four and have a crack at reaching an AI final for the first time since 2003. 2023 is a year for greater improvement and dare I say it start to dream again.

There are going to be criticisms of yesterdays game, it is the McKenna Cup, it was the first 'competitive' game of the season with many more in the coming weeks. The cynic in me thinks if they are doing this against Antrim what are they going to be like against a top tier team? There were multiple players who made mistakes yesterday that have characterised them as a player. On a more positive note there are players who have clearly stood in the club championship and during yesterdays out that we should be excited to see this year - can they keep up in the coming weeks is the big question.
 
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Patrick-Armagh

Well-Known Member
It was good to see the team back out on the field. It's been a long time coming since we lost to Galway and I think this season couldn't come round quick enough for a lot of the team, to get the chance to make up for that disappointment. For the game itself, we looked decent for long stretches, took our chances and got game time into a big squad of players, who were all eager to impress. There were some sloppy passes and dropped balls that always come with preseason football. Giving two goals away was slightly irritating as it made the game look closer than it was in reality. Antrim are so bad, it's hard to believe. They literally haven't improved in any facet of the game for the last 10 years. If anything they are getting worse. I know a few of the lads who play for them, and they are decent club players in Antrim, but they looked so far off inter county level last night, against many of Armagh's wider squad players. Just goes to show the difference in the two levels.

Cavan should be a step up, which is important for getting ready for the National League, where survival is the main aim with some wins against strong opposition.
 
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pablo

pablo

Well-Known Member
Patrick-Armagh said:
Antrim are so bad, it's hard to believe. They literally haven't improved in any facet of the game for the last 10 years. If anything they are getting worse. I know a few of the lads who play for them, and they are decent club players in Antrim, but they looked so far off inter county level last night, against many of Armagh's wider squad players. Just goes to show the difference in the two levels.

Cavan should be a step up, which is important for getting ready for the National League, where survival is the main aim with some wins against strong opposition.
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Even our squad players looked bigger and better conditioned than Antrim. That really became obivous in first half when Antrim insisted in taking the ball into the tackle and got turned over easily every time. They resorted to hoofing the ball in second half to big full forward. Not sure if that was a tactic or they were knackered and simply wanted to get rid of the ball as soon as possible. I also know a few people involved in Antrim club football. Dedicated Gaels working hard behind the scenes and some really good club players. But the template at county level doesn't seem to be there.
 
Armaghniac

Armaghniac

Well-Known Member
Wide ball said:
Armagh seem to have some depth at the minute could maybe have 3 players in each position
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This may indeed be true of some forward positions. The players who impressed, like McConville who was always going to get into the team, or newcomers like Woods, are forwards.
Two decades ago Andy Mallon came in and immediately added to a good team, it would be great to see a new back have a similar impact.
 
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Patrick-Armagh

Well-Known Member
Armaghniac said:
This may indeed be true of some forward positions. The players who impressed, like McConville who was always going to get into the team, or newcomers like Woods, are forwards.
Two decades ago Andy Mallon came in and immediately added to a good team, it would be great to see a new back have a similar impact.
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I think for any team to be successful, you have to have one or two players breaking into the 15, to keep things fresh and to push other players on, to fight for their spot. You've seen it with Dublin over the last decade and I suspect you'll see it with Kerry. We had Ciaran Mackin and Conor O'Neill who broke into the starting 15 last season and both had very good campaigns.

Ideally, we would be unearthing some good sized defenders, because I think it's one area where we look vulnerable. As good as Aidan Forker, James Morgan and Paddy Burns are, I think our lack of size and raw pace in defence is something which can leave us exposed. Having a Jason Foley, Michael Fitzsimmons or Michael McKiernan in our defence would make such a massive difference.
 
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POINTMAN

Well-Known Member
Patrick-Armagh said:
I think for any team to be successful, you have to have one or two players breaking into the 15, to keep things fresh and to push other players on, to fight for their spot. You've seen it with Dublin over the last decade and I suspect you'll see it with Kerry. We had Ciaran Mackin and Conor O'Neill who broke into the starting 15 last season and both had very good campaigns.

Ideally, we would be unearthing some good sized defenders, because I think it's one area where we look vulnerable. As good as Aidan Forker, James Morgan and Paddy Burns are, I think our lack of size and raw pace in defence is something which can leave us exposed. Having a Jason Foley, Michael Fitzsimmons or Michael McKiernan in our defence would make such a massive difference.
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We could do without the last one you named (MMcK) - I cannot stand him
 
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huggy2002

Active Member
Heard that alright Smallball closed game in athletic grounds at 2pm wonder will they play a stronger settled team or go with as many lads as possible to get game time
 
G

green flag

Active Member
With the league starting at the end of the month would it not be better to play what would be considered our strongest team in the next upcoming games, surely by now management are aware of the abilities of their squad players without any more trials.
 
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