Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Armagh flex muscles and McCarron joins the wizard tier

FLEXING MUSCLES: Armagh's Darragh McMullen celebrates after Tomas McCormack scores their side's first goal. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady

What a championship we are enjoying. A short few weeks ago in the pre-championship supplement, I encouraged everyone to live in the present and to focus on one weekend's action at a time rather than constantly looking down the line to see what is next.

I have heeded my own advice and am savouring the action we are being spoiled with each weekend. The quality, variety and ferocity of the football, coupled with the unpredictability of many of the results, means we are having a summer to remember, so far.

Yesterday in Clones, Armagh flexed their muscles and blew Down away. I travelled north on Saturday and my son Rian accompanied me to experience the cut and thrust of an Ulster Championship game.

Knowing it was a sell-out we arrived in Clones early to avoid the infamous traffic and to take in the equally famous atmosphere. The town was hopping beforehand and was a sea of colour with people buzzing with anticipation. 

While everything around the match lived up to expectations the contest itself was about as one-sided as it gets. The fear for Down this week was the challenge associated with replicating their magnificent ambush from the Donegal game.

It was always going to be a big ask emotionally and physically, and so it played out. They started well and led by four twice early in the game. They were attacking with pace and the defensive setup from last weekend was once more working well. 

Then Armagh got going. In possession they started pushing the Down rearguard closer to their goals and they got joy from going at their one-on-ones. Both Jarly Óg Burns and Conor Turbitt were particularly excellent in this regard. By beating a man and either passing or shooting they were opening up the Mourne men's rearguard repeatedly. 

Of equal significance, Armagh worked ferociously hard out of possession. They tagged key players like Ódhran Murdock and Daniel Guinness and limited their influence. Any time that Ronan Burns got short kickouts away the Armagh front players put serious pressure on straight away, unless Down managed to get the ball away really quickly. More often than not the Down restarts were on Armagh’s rather Down’s terms. When Down did get out all of the Armagh players, with no exceptions, tracked relentlessly and forced turnovers. They sprinted to tackles. Their intensity was at a level not experienced by the Division 3 champions this year. 

Central to the Armagh dominance was Blaine Hughes. Ethan Rafferty was given a start last weekend but Hughes was back in goals here. His kickout retention was outstanding. Throughout the game Armagh won 21 out of 22 of their own kickouts (95%).

They scored 2-13 off this often without Down getting a hand on them. It is a long way from the piggery that their boss was so animated about during the league, possibly as a double bluff. A combination of Hughes' accuracy and exceptional out field movement from the Armagh receivers helped achieve this. They are so adept at creating precious space in their own half and attacking that space at pace with perfect timing to receive the ball. The chemistry between kicker and receiver is exceptional. This is one of many conundrums that Gabriel Bannigan will have to solve for the Ulster final in a fortnight.

Last weekend Armagh let up in the second half. Fermanagh surged with Darragh McGurn scoring 1-12 on his own. You can be sure Kieran McGeeney was not happy Tuesday night when they were doing their video and would have highlighted this.

To him it doesn’t matter what the opposition are doing it is all about their own standards. Signs on there was no let up yesterday. Having the luxury of introducing a player of Oisín O’Neill's standard underlines this. He scored four points on this introduction. They had 40 shots off 53 possessions. To score 3-33 in a football match is almost beyond comprehension and underlines how rampant and ruthless they were. They haven’t won the Anglo Celt cup since 2008 and have now reached their fourth final in a row. They will be steadfast in their determination to finish it off this time.

Elsewhere a hard-working Dublin team showed they are not done yet, and Westmeath just about earned the right to play them in the Leinster Final in a fortnight, and in so doing swapped places with Down in the Sam Maguire competition. 

Monaghan’s win over Derry on Saturday had everything. Monaghan trailed by ten at half-time. When the excellent Niall Loughlin scored his second goal for Derry they again trailed by ten with just over 20 minutes left and they were still six behind with six minutes to go. The 'no lead is safe' cliché becomes more of a truism with each passing game. 

Monaghan’s two-point shooting, as it was for them last year, was a key part of their turnaround. They kicked six in the second half, but more than that it built momentum and got their supporters on their feet. Another critical moment was Rory Beggan reading Shea McGuckin's kickout to Pádraig McGrogan. That interception, followed by his quality foot pass inside to the cleverly already onrushing Micheál Bannigan, set up the critical goal. 

The post-hooter end game only added to the drama as pandemonium ensued. Monaghan were awarded a sideline but hadn’t taken the shot prior to the hooter sounding. Referee Noel Mooney mistakenly sounded the full time whistle when the klaxon went. As the teams left the pitch Rory Beggan emotionally remonstrated with him. Decisively though David Garland was walking beside Mooney and speaking calmly to him. Man to man, referee to referee. 

As pointed out by Cahair O’Kane, Garland is a club referee in Dublin and was highlighting Mooney’s mistake to him. Mooney deserves massive credit for changing his decision and allowing the Farney county the opportunity to take the sideline to tie up the contest. Up stepped Jack McCarron who delivered a moment of magic that is in the Maurice Fitzgerald tier of wizardry, a level that most mere mortals can only aspire to. Some of the fan footage from behind him is worth viewing as it perfectly captures the majesty of the kick, and the elation of the Monaghan crew. It is also worth watching Conor Glass’ reaction standing on his goal line as the kick dissects the posts. He is in disbelief and holds onto the net with one hand as if frozen in place. 

While Derry put themselves in the box seat once more in extra time there was an inevitability about Monaghan and up stepped Beggan to supply the ultimate riposte with one of his specials from distance straight over the black spot to win the contest. We have seen that movie more than once before, and he particularly enjoys doing it in the Athletic Grounds. The energy of the pitch invasion afterwards highlighted what it meant to the people of Monaghan. It is some turnaround from the torture of their league campaign.

The results over the last few weeks guarantee us at least four blockbusting games when the draw is made for the first round of Sam Maguire at lunch time today. But first we have four captivating provincial finals to look forward to in the next fortnight, so right now all is good in the world of football.