James Horan: The big takeaway for counties? Give your manager time

It's ironic, in a weird way, that the injuries of Sean Kelly, Damien Comer, and Shane Walsh, may have been the best thing to happen to this Galway panel. 

Galway manager Padraic Joyce and Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

A SHOT in the arm for Gaelic football from a pair of fairly electrifying semi-finals is something everyone can get on board with. Whether it be Kerry's fadeout or Donegal's decision-making down the stretch, everyone has their takeaways, but at least the post-mortems are dominated by partisan opinion rather than collective nausea. That's a start.

As the dust settles, we are left with an intriguing final featuring the novel and exciting pairing of Armagh and Galway. Both have shown admirable resilience, with identities forged through tough days, galling defeats, and injuries, each collaborating to mould them into battle-hardened squads.