Watching back on the Leinster semi-final in Portlaoise it came as a surprise, but not a big surprise. I didn’t think that Meath were going to win but the signs that Dublin were not functioning had been clear all season.
The number of top players they have lost even since last year was always going to see them come back to the pack, and Meath executed the perfect ambush. Having survived the comeback they were pulling away again at the end.
On the venue argument I don’t think Dublin would have struggled so badly against Wicklow if that match was played in Croke Park. Would Meath have beaten them there? Quite possibly not.
Dessie Farrell’s team haven’t travelled well this year. Although there was a big turnaround to beat Kerry in Tralee, Dublin were beaten on their trips to Ulster by Donegal, Armagh and Tyrone.
It’s the end of an era and great for Louth and Meath to have a Leinster final to look forward to but it’s hard to see anyone from the province as All-Ireland contenders.
That wasn’t the case in Clones at the weekend. Saturday was a perfect championship evening. The sun was out and a decent crowd was in for a cracking match between two teams who can expect to have a big say in where the Sam Maguire ends up this year.
Armagh had been the better team but at the end Tyrone looked like they were going to win without having been brilliant. A couple of two-pointers had shaken things up and brought them right back into the game. I’m sure they’re sick at how it all slipped away from them.
You had to think when Eoin McElhom put them two up in the 68th minute that they would close it out from there. They even had a chance to go three up at one point.
To make things worse their last two kick-outs went astray, one out over the sideline and the other mis-hit and intercepted. Winning without playing that well would have been a great way for Malachy O’Rourke to take Tyrone into an Ulster final.
But Armagh had a bit more consistency and impressive depth. The way they played it out for Soupy Campbell’s equaliser was impressive. They really kept the ball moving despite the clock pressure.
Of course they’re also All-Ireland champions whereas it’s hard to know precisely where Tyrone are coming off the back of a poor enough championship last year and obviously relegation a few weeks ago. They will have a better idea now of what they need to work on and where they need to tidy up, and if they can get everyone back they’ll be a formidable outfit.
I saw where O’Rourke said that Croke Park had sent out an advisory that certain rules would be strictly enforced, including the “steps” rule, which David Gough duly implemented. Sometimes harshly enough I felt on both sides. There were men getting away with nine, 10, 11 steps last week but a line gets drawn underneath it and now there’s been a total 180-degree turn.
“We’re going to enforce the rules today.” After routinely ignoring them! It’s not a terribly satisfactory way to do things.
The same rules on steps have been there for decades and it has been up to the referees to call them. If lenient counting has become a norm, they’re the ones who have allowed it.
There have been so many rules and then so many changes this year. You had the FRC rule changes at the start of the year, then you had tweaks in the middle of the league with two games to go. Then there are regular updates on interpretations. It has been difficult for players.
We saw it last week. Did Ryan O’Toole know that if he had got the ball back in sooner that Monaghan might have been able to get another play on? There’s just been so much messing around changing the rules that it’s very hard to keep on top of it.
The fact that there was a debate afterwards before word came back that referee David Coldrick had been entirely correct indicates that there was no general certainty about it.
On Saturday I was expecting more intensity from Tyrone’s defence, especially at the start of the second half. They were too standoffish and if you look at the clips of a few of the Armagh scores the Tyrone defenders were there but a lot of the time they were two or three yards away – something you wouldn’t normally associate with the county.
Both teams in the first half looked a bit nervous or rushed. There was even a couple of turnovers on Armagh going forward, which was out of character for them. But nearly straight away Tyrone would go ahead and give possession straight back.
Ross McQuillan was blown for overcarrying in the first half. It was a big free to win because it looked as if he had got in behind the defence, but Tyrone simply ran it back into contact and lost possession.
A few minutes later they broke out after Jarly Burns hit a loose pass to Michael McKernan, who was coming up on the far side from the stand. But a loopy fist-pass up towards Ruairí Canavan and the ball was turned over again.
There were other instances like that, just what Tyrone needed to take the sting out of the game, slow it down and take the pressure off themselves. Despite all of that they should have won.
But Armagh are so strong. You don’t know from match to match who’s in or who’s going to be out because there are so many options and that many versatile players that can pop in and out of the team at any given time. For example, there’s Callum O’Neill who hadn’t started in championship at all until the Antrim game. He kicked five points that day and three points at the weekend.
Ben Crealey comes back into the team. Darragh McMullan starts; Aidan Forker doesn’t start. Oisín O’Neill starts; Conor Turbitt doesn’t start. The strength of both teams was in their squads. I think Armagh’s shone through a bit stronger than Tyrone’s on the day.
We talked about Tyrone having 13 different scores against Cavan. From the team that started against Armagh only four of them got on the scoreboard. They were heavily reliant of Darren McCurry, who had a massive game and finished with 10 points.
There was nobody on the Armagh team that shone as brightly as that but they were plenty of them contributing on the scoreboard. Nine of their starting team scored and two subs.
The sequel to last year’s contest with Donegal will be eagerly awaited.
