Football

Farney win deserved but Donegal ahead in race for Sam

Monaghan's Rory Beggan and Colin Walshe celebrate their Ulster final win over Donegal
Monaghan's Rory Beggan and Colin Walshe celebrate their Ulster final win over Donegal Monaghan's Rory Beggan and Colin Walshe celebrate their Ulster final win over Donegal

WHAT a great weekend of championship action we had. There were a number of contentious refereeing decisions and a number of managerial resignations.

Enough to fill our pages for at least another week.

The provincial finals in Ulster, Connacht and Munster could not have been more different, tactically or otherwise.

There is something refreshing about a close match, even if the tactics are defensive, and that is not a criticism of football generally in Ulster, but rather an observation of the facts.

Notably, Mayo still carry the flag for traditional football, so far to their detriment in big games.

Sligo were not a true test of whether the Mayo way can finally bring them success.

Anyone watching the two Kerry v Cork Munster final games will surely have welcomed the abandonment of sideways fist passing, with the long, direct ball into a target man preferred.

Okay, the long ball game was discarded by Kerry in the second half, but only to allow the silky play of Colm Cooper to create chances for the forwards.

Kerry deservedly won as Cork ran out of ideas, despite a wonderful performance from former Antrim star James Loughrey.

Perhaps we didn’t appreciate his ability when he was representing Antrim and, as a result of having access to a bigger and better pool of everything in Cork, Loughrey has come on leaps and bounds as a player.

He has benefited individually and the long-held opinion that playing with better players can only help you improve is a convincing one.

How RTE chose James O’Donoghue as man of the match is beyond me.

The only explanation I can come up with is that when you buy a car, you suddenly notice all of the other similar models on the road.

No doubt O’Donoghue played well and contributed to the win, but think back to Keith Higgins’s display last year, and the scores O’Donoghue hit over the two games, and you get a better idea of how well Loughrey played.

I think a lot of pundits fall into the trap of narrowing their attention to one or two players before the ball is thrown in, so even the slightest glimpse of magic puts them in line for man of the match honours.

That’s my excuse for not winning any of those accolades anyway.

Back to Ulster, and Monaghan once again proved their worth.

While they went into the clash with Donegal in Clones on Sunday as underdogs, their ability to narrow the gap in terms of quality over the last few years speaks volumes about the players and Malachy O’Rourke as a manager.

Monaghan are battle-hardened, but aside from Conor McManus, the question now is whether they still lack that bit of magic, those one or two players up front who can make them real contenders on the All-Ireland stage?

Bigger tasks lie ahead for both Ulster finalists, but Donegal still carry the bigger threat.

You have to give credit to O’Rourke for not simply building on the foundations laid by Seamus McEnaney as the Farneymen are a far cry from the team I played against in 2012, who were nine points up in the Athletic Grounds and managed to lose by four.

While Monaghan totally deserved their victory, Donegal’s main man Michael Murphy did not look match-fit.

Much of his work was done at half-pace and on two occasions he made very weak attempts to tackle opponents who went on to score. It was not the Murphy we know.

Elsewhere, Tyrone appear to be quietly and effectively going about their business.

Tipperary were by no means a push-over and despite their collapse in the second half, sheer hard work and a fair sprinkling of class all over the field were the key ingredients as Tyrone sent out a statement to the rest of the country.

If they can continue to get Sean and Colm Cavanagh, Mattie Donnelly and Darren McCurry on the ball, they have a good chance of beating anyone on their day, although Niall Morgan will need to go away and work on his game over the next few weeks.

Last year, when Tyrone beat Down in Newry, he gave an exhibition of free-taking and also last man defending.

Yet his form at present resembles that of Tiger Woods, hooking shots and not looking his usual assured self.

Meanwhile, I have to agree with Brian McIver’s post-match analysis of the Derry v Galway game.

While weather conditions were not conducive with a decent game, referee Conor Lane gave the visitors very little help.

I would say out of frustration alone, McIver (below) resigned and perhaps may regret this in time. However, given the way things are in Derry, he possibly felt that three years were enough, even prior to the start of the Championship.

Brian is a passionate man and, allied to his honesty and man-management skills, is a real asset to any team.

He can also be ruthless and a number of players incurred his wrath during his time in the Down set-up.

Any county needing wisdom and passion in their management team could do worse than seek him out in some capacity.

Like Pete McGrath, McIver will not be allowed to stay away from management for too long.

On that subject, while Down are out of the Championship, Pete carries our flag in some ways into a huge Qualifier clash against Westmeath in Breffni Park on Saturday.

Fermanagh will just about go in as underdogs, and the beating taken by Westmeath at the hands of Dublin could yet have a psychological effect.

Fermanagh have a few big characters who are willing and able to put the shoulder to the wheel when it’s most needed.

They are a match for anyone in that ‘second tier’ we talk about.

One thing the players can take confidence from is McGrath’s ability to win games from the sideline if required.

The Fermanagh story is one which should convince the authorities never to introduce a ‘second tier’ Championship.

In order to close the gap on the big teams, counties have to work harder, developing teams from the bottom up.

A quick-fix second tier competition, with many of the players having their American Visas packed in the kit bag from early summer, would only harm the minor game and club team participation everywhere.

It’s up to the counties to get off their backsides and put in place structures to bring their underage teams in line with Dublin’s and Kerry’s.

As is said in Field of Dreams, “build it and they will come”.