Glad to see us get a much needed win today. It wasn't a performance that will live long in the memory but we did enough to win and get some more points on the board. I thought in the first half we played well in stages. We created some good opportunities with some inventive play, which was good to watch and which shows the ability we have. Defensively we looked solid enough. There were a few times when Tipp players looked like they could get in on goal, but we were able to get back and snuff out the danger. We should have been further ahead at half time and some of our finishing let us down. You'll never score from every opportunity, but there were some in the first half, Clarke's first effort especially which just have to be taken. That's the difference and small margins that separate the top teams from everyone else. Dean Rock, David Clifford, Shane Walsh, Conor McManus or Paddy McBrearty get a free shot like that in front of the posts, they score every time.
The second half was a non-starter really. We had a solid enough lead and were a man up and Tipp didn't look like they believed they could beat us. We also looked like we knew we had messed up with big leads in the last few games, so no one wanted to make a mistake, so the build up was very slow, with lots of recycling of the ball and possession play. We got scores when we needed them to keep us out of touch and unlike other games, we managed to kill off the game. There's plenty to work on, but there's many positives that can be taken from the game.
There were some impressive performances all over the field today. Aaron McKay marked Conor Sweeney out of the game. James Morgan looked far more disciplined and made some good tackles and won dirty ball. It was a good idea to take him off though and Ryan Kennedy did well when he came on. Paul Hughes looked good. Niall Grimley was immense today. Steven O'Brien is a top class midfielder but Grimley won that battle hands down. Sheridan too had a good game. Jemar Hall played well. I like how he keeps it simple for the most part (he should also never take the ball into contact as he gets turned over), but then can explode away through a small gap and grab a score. Charlie Vernon was solid throughout and made some big contributions throughout. He's a player that tends to get overlooked when it comes to naming our 'best' Armagh team, but he's incredibly consistent and seems to come up big when you need him. Even though he didn't score, I thought Clarke looked far more in tune with the rest of the team, linking up the play well.
Our forward line didn't quite click today and at times, there was only one man in the full forward line. I'm not sure if this was tactical or just players subconsciously dropping back to protect the lead. Campbell, O'Neill and Grugan had good moments throughout but we need them to be more consistent and have a greater return on the score board. Having Ethan Rafferty back will give us some more ammo up front which will be needed. I'm not expecting too much too soon, but he's a serious option to have as he can play in so many positions. It was also positive to see Brendan Donaghy back doing the warm up as we've missed his physicality and organisational skills in defence.
