Crealey v Conroy and the battles that decided All-Ireland final
SHOUT OUT: Armagh's Ben Crealey of Armagh celebrates. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
On another day, we might have been lauding O'Neill for his game defining interventions. He won a free in the 19th minute, for instance, and punched the air in celebration, realising it was a big play. But Conor Turbett kicked it wide. Then after a brilliant kick pass to set up an advanced mark for Joe McElroy, there was another dispiriting wide. O'Neill did kick a glorious Armagh point in the 41st minute to tie things up at 0-8 apiece but, for the most part, Galway centre-back Silke can feel he came out on top in the duel. Silke was quietly influential in the second-half as he kept tabs on O'Neill and got involved in setting up three Galway points. Overall, Silke and O'Neill kicked a point each.
As much as man-to-man midfield battles are a thing of the past, Crealey and Conroy did spend plenty of time in each other's company. Both of them put in huge shifts and finished with two points each. The really impressive thing is that they were both still going strong at the death. That's particularly noteworthy in Conroy's case given that he's 35. He had the bravery to take on a pot shot for an equaliser deep into stoppage time that was blocked down. Crealey too was involved in a huge play in the closing minutes when he halted a Galway attack and got Armagh chasing away up the field themselves. Will we see Conroy again in a maroon jersey? Could he be a possible Footballer of the Year contender despite starting the day on 12/1 odds and not even winning the final? Two interesting questions.
As much as Aidan Forker's man-marking job on Damien Comer was immense, they'll talk about Barry McCambridge's tour de force for a long time. He came into the final with 2-4 to his credit and lived up to his reputation with another high quality display. Aside from holding Walsh to a single point from play, he matched that return by clipping one over himself in the first half. Walsh is mercurial and you don't always know what to expect from him so that has to be taken into account. The number 15 looked unsettled, lacking in confidence and even sluggish for long spells of this game. But, unlike Comer, he came into the final in relatively good form so McCambridge must take credit for leaving the Kilmacud Crokes looking so frazzled. Walsh kicked three wides, dropped two more point attempts short and went short with another free when, if on form, he'd have probably hammered it over.
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