It may not have been pretty, but a win is a win

PADDY O’ROURKE has had better, sunnier times in Celtic Park. Back in the day, his native Down came here for a coruscating game against the locals. And won. Still, yesterday was good. Those who doubted his credentials in taking over Armagh were given pause for thought. Nothing gets won easy in Celtic Park.

“We are delighted to have won the game,” said Paddy quietly, “we would have liked to have won it with more style and to have won it more convincingly, but it was a first round game. It was always going to be a bit tense. Coming here is not easy. It is a hard pitch. Hard to get scores on it.”

It was a dogged display from a team in transition, but a display which showed flashes of the old muscular style which served the county so well in the past decade.

“It will be no use in three weeks time, the way we played today. We had some good defending, we were tight. We were a bit tentative and a bit nervous and when we were four points up we just got stuck at it.

“On the other hand, the response to the goal was great. It was important. A good sign for when things go against us down the road.”

Down the road, priority lies with getting Ronan Clarke off the physio bench and getting a smoother style of play flowing.

Yesterday, though, it was some half-time inspiration which worked. “We moved Charlie. James Lavery picked up an injury. We had played Charlie on Mark Lynch, but toward the end of the half Lynch was getting of lot of ball, I think we can play with a bit more style, but Monaghan will be a step up in a few weeks time. We will have to improve if we are to go on and win that game.”

And Ronan Clarke. Will football’s best double act ride out again? “Ronan Clarke will still be very questionable. We didn’t get him on to the bench today. In three weeks time we would like to have him on the bench.”

Charlie Vernon stood in a shady corner stowing a man of the match award with a friend for safekeeping. The move from centre back to midfield was key to changing the game.

Armagh use Vernon as a midfielder generally and it was his return to familiar duties which swung that around. “I found it a wee bit easier in the middle of the field. More in the centre of things. Able to go forward a bit more.

“It was disappointing at half-time going in. I knew there was a lot more in me. Paddy told me to go and get involved and try to take the game to Derry.

“In the first half we were a little cagey and defensive. We fell back into old habits. Games like this you have to take the initiative. We were pleased with that and how we responded to the Derry goal. We came back at them.”

Stevie McDonnell, the team captain, wasn’t pleased with his own performance. “In patches today I thought I played good enough football, but overall I thought my performance was poor. Jamie took his goal beautifully, though. Such a cool head on such young shoulders.

“He came on in the league final and set up three scores in that game. Jamie’s goal was crucial today. We won’t lack for motivation against Monaghan.”

Damian Cassidy finally emerged from the vaults of the Derry dressingroom. Mulling. Face creased with thought.

“The game itself? We scored the goal to go three points up. We should have defended that much better going into half-time, but we gave away lot of fouls and got punished from various positions. Two points in the second half just isn’t good enough.

“Will we be able to pick themselves up, pick ourselves up? The facts are that we haven’t done well in championship so far. That is the sword you fall on. You stand up and you take that.”