Eamonn Fitzmaurice: Ulster progress and much more on the line in Ballybofey
Pulling and dragging: Donegal and Armagh players got Championship hostilities started early in Letterkenny a few weeks ago. Photo: Oliver McVeigh/Sportsfile
WHEN the draw for the Ulster Championship was made last November, Donegal v Armagh in Ballybofey jumped off the page.
Bearing in mind their historical rivalry and the fact that both were going to be operating in Division 1, it - along with the Mayo-Galway clash in Castlebar - was the fixture to really get the championship up and running.
Events in the meantime have added further spice and intrigue to Sunday's tie, to put it mildly. The row at the end of the National League game four weeks ago smacked of battle lines being drawn. Neither side wanted to give an inch or to give the opposition any sense of weakness to focus on for the championship game.
To us on the outside it looked silly and unnecessary, to those involved it was the first battle to be won. County loyalties have been to the fore in the fourth estate also. Jim McGuinness, on duty with Sky last weekend stoked the flames by questioning how Rian O'Neill had got off. Oisín McConville threw petrol on them this week with his outspoken contribution on Paul Rouses’s Irish Examiner football podcast. He felt that Donegal had orchestrated the fight at the end of the League game and had then taken the moral high ground by not appealing the suspensions. He didn’t spare the CCCC either. If everyone in Armagh is as exercised as him they will be fine and cranky by the time they hit Ballybofey.
While the losing team exits the Ulster championship their season can be resurrected in the qualifiers. It doesn’t feel like that though. It feels as if there is more on the line than merely passage to a provincial semi-final. Donegal are sick to the teeth of being labelled as a flaky group that do not fulfill their potential. Armagh are in season eight of Kieran McGeeney’s reign and they need silverware to frank their progress. Whatever the motives and angles, it is going to make for an explosive game tomorrow. Sometimes when a match is overhyped beforehand it can fall flat. While it is unlikely to be a high scoring shootout it will be intense and menacing. Real championship fare.
There is no doubt that Donegal have many of the ingredients required to do big things but it has not happened for them in the last few years. The day Shane Lowry won the British Open in Portrush, I left Croke Park having watched Kerry and Donegal draw in the Super 8s thinking that Donegal were going to be an item for the rest of the championship and for the coming years.
In many ways they were unfortunate not to beat Kerry that afternoon. They had the air of a well-coached team that was coming nicely to the boil. Two weeks later they came badly unstuck against a ravenous Mayo team in Castlebar and it is as if they haven’t recovered since. They lost big matches to Cavan in 2020 and Tyrone in 2021. Both games were matches they could have won, but didn’t. There seems to be a leadership deficit in the group which could be solved by moving and leaving their spiritual leader Michael Murphy to the edge of the square.
For so long Murphy, one of my favourite players outside of Kerry, has been their leader both in action and spirit. He kicks the frees, tackles like a mad man, is often a kickout target and can be found in his own full back line when needed. A normal player would struggle under such a burden of responsibility but he is unique in that he can carry out a myriad of tasks, while still affecting the game.
Normally someone trying to do too much does nothing. Stationing Murphy at 14 would, from a purely football perspective, narrow his focus, allowing him to do more damage close to goals. A full forward line of Murphy, Patrick McBrearty and Jamie Brennan, if supplied correctly, could do some damage.
Aidan Forker, his likely marker tomorrow, is a fine player but is more comfortable out the field. Without the ball Murphy could lead the defence from there but without getting sucked too far back the field. With the accuracy of Shaun Patton’s restarts and the fielding ability of Hugh McFadden, Jason McGee and Caolan McGonagle, Murphy should not be required as a kickout target. By leaving him at 14 he can be the target for the second ball from a kickout won. That kind of a scenario is a goal chance every time. For this to work, obviously Donegal need to go long with their kickout, something they were strangely reluctant to do in the league. If Murphy is out contesting the kickout, needless to say that option isn’t there. While McBrearty is also a decent target man, he ain't Michael Murphy. It would require patience from him as he likes being in the thick of the action but it would also be a fresh challenge. Could he do twice the damage on the scoreboard from half the number of possessions? Could he become a more mature version of his 2012 All Ireland winning self? I think so.
In addition to this - and bearing in mind how they have lost their way over the last few years - a further and possibly even more important result would be that players out the field would have to step up by taking more responsibility on their shoulders. They would no longer have to defer to Murphy and his domineering personality. His style is to lead by example but effective leaders can also delegate. He would have to trust and empower his teammates to come up with the goods.
If Murphy, by remaining inside, distributes the leadership throughout the team Donegal will be the better for it and could flourish. Michael Langan, Hugh McFadden, Paul Brennan, Brendan Cole, Ryan McHugh, Jason McGee, Ciarán Thompson, Patton and the O'Donnells all need to step up and replace the likes of the McGees, Karl Lacey, Paul Durcan, Neil Gallagher, Colm McFadden and Frank McGlynn as leaders. While Murphy was always the captain and chieftain he had plenty of able deputies to support him through the good years.
In general terms Armagh’s graph has been on a gradual incline during Kieran McGeeney’s tenure. There have been times that they have stalled, have missed out on a promotion or suffered a championship setback but they have responded the following season and moved on to the next rung of the ladder. I have taken a keen interest in watching their progress from a distance as I have always liked the football they play and I admire McGeeney. Obviously Kieran Donaghy’s involvement over the last two seasons means I have much more of a personal interest. They have again progressed in this years league and are now a solid Division 1 team. However, tomorrow is a huge game for them as they have been in similar situations for the last two championships, where they look like they are ready to take the next big step and have come a cropper.
In 2020 Donegal hammered them 1-22 to 0-13 and last year against Monaghan they lost that classic match 4-17 to 2-21. Donegal murdered them on their own kickout in the first half in that 2020 match and the game was effectively over at half time. Last year their defence came under severe scrutiny after conceding four goals. Watching them progress through the league this year they look to have solved many of the problems that have cost them in the recent past, even if their kickout can still be got at. They only conceded three goals in this years league.
Ciarán Mackin is a major loss here though as he performed his duties as a defensive midfielder with aplomb. However, there is a question mark over their discipline which they will have to be very careful with from now on. They have been involved in significant incidents against Tyrone, Kerry and Donegal and are now very much under the microscope and one misstep and they will be in trouble.
The Armagh management have been relentless in their drive to solve their football problems and they won’t want to get undone now by indiscipline. Discipline is a controllable and it will be interesting to see if that self control is evident tomorrow. The Armagh team of McGeeney, Paul McGrane, the McEntees, the McNultys, Diarmuid Marsden, Barry O'Hagan, Stephen McDonnell and McConville that I played against were a really hard, physical team packed with quality. But crucially they were extremely disciplined. The current crop doesn’t have too far to look for inspiration and good example.
In terms of calling tomorrow it could go either way and may require extra time or more to separate them. Both teams are content to get plenty of bodies behind the ball when the other side attacks but both also have excellent forwards and are willing to kick inside when that ball is on. Donegal could and should do more of this but Armagh have an excellent balance. Both have impact players off the bench and both have a lot more than a semi final spot to play for. The build-up and naked tension on both sides should mean it is a real throwback Ulster championship encounter which may not be for the faint of heart. With all that said, while Donegal have a great record in Ballybofey in Championship and look really strong on paper, I feel Armagh could do a number on them this time.
