Changing of the guard leaves all hale and Hearty in the Orchard

GOALKEEPERS are different. Think Shane Curran or Damien Fitzhenry, two of the leading characters in this year’s championship, guys who dance to a different beat but stir the passions of the masses by sheer force of will.

In Armagh, Benny Tierney danced to a different beat, too.

He was the respite from the single-minded intensity of the Orchard lads as they moved relentlessly to their Holy Grail.

Tierney retired with his Celtic Cross, and allowed Paul Hearty to step from the shadows of the under-study.

If anything, it seemed to improve Armagh's defence, never generous in the first place.

Hearty was big, experienced (three All-Ireland club medals) and not likely to play the percentages game under a dropping ball.

He was from the school of keepers who would rather clatter their full-back than concede a goal.

And Hearty rarely concedes goals. The Crossmaglen man conceded one during the whole of last summer. It needed to be something special to beat Hearty and Christy Toye's memorable strike was certainly that.

"I suppose it is something people looked at, because it was my first season," he shrugs at the reminder. "But the defensive unit in front of me had a lot to do with that. Players can only shoot for goals if they get the space and our defence is excellent at denying forwards space. Records don't matter, the year ended on a disappointing note anyway."

Hearty had to bide his time to play for Armagh. While he had been a great servant for Joe Kernan at club level, the Armagh manager knew he needed Tierney's experience if the Orchard county were to capture the elusive All-Ireland. Mission accomplished, Tierney slipped into a coaching role, leaving Hearty to push on an open door.

"I was stepping into some big shoes when I took over from Benny," Hearty said of his predecessor. "They say goalkeepers have to be nuts, but I think Benny takes the biscuit. But, he's a great lad at the same time, he helps out at training once a week and you need him there, taking the piss out of the lads, just to lighten the moment. And his coaching helps, too."

Hearty has a clean championship slate in 2004 but he dismisses the notion that such stats can provide comparisons with last year's campaign.

"To be honest, we don't know how much we have come on from last year," Hearty admits.

"We have only played two games so far, and in fairness Monaghan were poor enough. We played fairly well, but we didn't sustain that form against Cavan. They could have beaten us and we only got it together for the final 10 minutes. I think we need some more consistency in our game.

"As a defensive unit we are doing alright, only conceding 10 or 11 points a game.

"Maybe, the forwards need to get their finger out," he smiles mischievously.

But even with such a defensive blanket, Hearty is there for a purpose which he displayed dealing with a Jason Reilly rasper towards the top corner in that Cavan game.

"It is what I am on the team to do," Hearty says, swatting away the save's significance.

"I am just happy enough to be there to make saves like that."

Part of the madness associated with goal-keeping lies in the fine balance between being a hero and a villain. In no other position are your errors highlighted more. Despite his excellent record with Dublin, Paddy Cullen is always going to be remembered for that Mikey Sheehy goal.

Unlike most other Gaelic football goalies, Hearty has played between the posts for most of his career. "I was just a big lad when I was young, so I was put in there," he says. "I was tried outfield a couple of times, but it didn't work out."

So, he knows, more than most, that mistakes haunt goalies for a lot longer than normal. "It is one of the consequences of being a goalkeeper. You are always going to be remembered for your mistakes. I mean, if a midfielder or a forward loses the ball, there are usually no immediate consequences, but for a keeper, it is different.

"That is why it is vital to keep your concentration at all times. And playing Donegal we saw how impressive they were against Tyrone, and their forwards are on fire at the moment. With all due respect to the two teams we have faced, this is a massive step up for us, this is a big test. We haven't faced an attack so sharp yet this summer, so we are going to find out a lot about ourselves."

Donegal's second half display impressed a lot of people, and they will be eyeing a chance to extract revenge for the past two years, when Armagh have beaten them twice.

"In fairness though, there was nothing between the teams in either of those games," Hearty says. "We were lucky enough to beat them both times. Donegal have been improving every year since 2002, and the young players they have brought in have done very well. They are one of the four or five teams who will be up there, vying for the All-Ireland."