Term on bench aids O'Rourke in his judgment

In early Monday morning isolation, nothing seemed simpler. Armagh man Cathal O'Rourke floated frees from random spots on the field, with only the crows for company. The more true shots he fired, the more angry he became at the thought of the kicks he squandered the previous torrid afternoon against Donegal in Ballybofey.

"I suppose I was trying to punish myself. Every kick went over the following morning. I tried to analyse what had happened that night with some friends who would be familiar with my kicking style and it seemed I was too eager in striking the ball. My approach was more rushed than usual. The first two I missed I wasn't that annoyed about, they were shots to nothing, but after I missed the 14-yard free I knew I was letting the team down."

He departed the ground in subdued mood, just thankful they still had an interest in the championship, determined to right things with the world the following Sunday. At training that Thursday evening, though, the team was announced and O'Rourke was left reeling at the news that he was benched.

"There was a severe degree of frustration at that. God, I'd hit what, 2-35 in the league, I was kicking frees for fun and I know that the championship is an intensified arena but I was hoping that I'd be afforded some loyalty. So, yeah, I was thick at everyone - the management, the team, my family, friends. I could have rifled anyone over those few days."

But he took his place on the bench, and when they threw him in with 10 minutes to go, he had a devastating impact. His first contribution, a thumping point taken on the run, was something of an exorcism and then he effectively turned the match after scuffing a spilled ball across the goal line. He later declared the shot as a miss-hit.

"But then Donegal hit three points on the trot and I remember thinking, `Holy God, what's going on. We've just surrendered everything again'. At one point, I went back to our own end-line to try and fetch the ball and promptly hoofed it into Row Z of the stands."

Again, though, Armagh responded with a finality that was heartbreaking for Donegal and, once more, O'Rourke was instrumental in the move.

"I saw Diarmuid Marsden making a run and I had space on the wing. There's always been a wee bit of telepathy between us two, having played at Queens and just knowing him so well. I suppose he's always the first I see. But I saw him run and then turn back inside his man and I knew he had three or four yards on him. I just hit the ball into the space."

It was a pass of beautiful clarity and froze virtually everyone in the ground except Marsden, who casually hand flicked it to the net. As the stand exploded in orange, O'Rourke looked at a couple of Donegal lads and knew there would be no return. Afterwards, he was swamped, all recollection of those errant kicks now evaporated.

"You have to take the rough with the smooth in this game," he shrugs.

"I mean, the management seemed to get it spot on in their decision-making. Maybe they figured it would do me good to come in off the bench, that it would give me and edge."

So this week, he wasn't so perturbed when Brian Canavan again opted to perhaps limit his playing time. Both O'Rourke and Marsden continue to struggle with muscle ailments which have not had sufficient time to heal and chances are that one of them will fill the vacancy left at corner forward. As O'Rourke sees it, Sunday represents a pivotal moment for Armagh football.

"Every year, there is talk of it being Armagh's summer and we've not delivered. A lot of our undoing has been at the hands of Derry. We owe them. I think part of the problem was that not only did we admire Derry in years past, we actually revered them. They have been the albatross round our necks for too long really and I know that a championship win over them would set this Armagh team up as realistic Ulster title contenders for the next five years or so."

Although still only 26, O'Rourke has been around since 1989 and harbours more than enough memories of those stifling afternoons when all the flighty talk was rubbed in their faces. Now, though, the team has been suffused with new blood, youngsters accustomed to scalping Derry at underage level, who don't share the awe of the seniors on the side.

"And that's rubbed off. Sure, we'll respect Derry, they have some wonderful players, and despite what everyone thinks, they are a fairly young team. But there is a free spiritedness about Armagh now, mainly because of the younger lads and we are going to have to dilute the respect we showed Derry in other years with a bit of contempt. We can't stand back and gape if we want to be in an Ulster final."