CHARLIE Vernon has paid a glowing tribute to Armagh team-mate Kevin Dyas after he made a triumphant return to county colours during Saturday’s NFL Division Three final win over Fermanagh following a three-year absence.
The last time the Kilmacud Crokes clubman saw competitive action was in the corresponding fixture with the Ernemen in 2015.
Dyas, who hails from Dromintee, entered Saturday’s decider as a 60th minute substitute for Niall Rowland.
The 30-year-old has been plagued by hamstring and knee injuries throughout his senior career and it looked as though he would never play competitively again.
Vernon said: “Kevin has seen the darkest of the dark days in terms of rehab. Guys complain about rehab having a six-week stint and going to see physios and using your spare time to get marginal gains in various areas.
“Kevin could write a book on it at this stage and I’m delighted to see him getting a run out in Croke Park because I’ve seen him literally depressed about it.
“Mentally, he thought he was never going to see that day. So I’m delighted, really delighted to see him make a return to action.”
Dyas suffered a serious hamstring injury during his spell in Australian Rules while a freak collision in training with Jamie Clarke prior to the 2015 Ulster Championship proved more serious than first thought.
He underwent knee surgery and has been on the comeback trail longer than he could have ever anticipated.
Regarded as one of the best playmakers in Ulster football, Dyas is still some way short of pushing for a starting place in the Armagh set-up.
Vernon added: “Now, by Kevin’s own admission he’s not up to his level yet but you can’t expect that from somebody who hasn’t played competitive football in three years.
“He was telling me the last day he played for Armagh was our last League final [2015]. A lot of time passes but there’s a football brain in there and a footballer there and if he gets himself fit and healthy we’d be delighted to have his contribution.”
The Orchard men were full value for their two-point win over Fermanagh who they face in the Ulster Championship on May 19.
At the start of the year, the squad was rocked by the loss of Jamie Clarke, James Morgan and Stefan Campbell – three regular starters – but as their League campaign progressed Kieran McGeeney’s squad proved deeper than many observers imagined.
After a couple of years injured, defender Patrick Burns has been one of the ‘finds’ of the season.
Gregory McCabe and Aaron McKay have improved since last year while Ben Crealey was injured this time last year and adds height and scoring potential to an imposing half-forward line.
Ryan McShane of Armagh Harps has had a run of games in his first year with the Armagh seniors and excelled at Croke Park last weekend as first-half substitute for his injured club-mate Vernon (groin).
“It’s nice to finish the League off in a positive note. We’ve put a big effort into this year and we were keen to get promoted especially after the disappointment of not getting promotion last year. It’s brilliant for younger players – the likes of Ryan McShane from my own club.
“To come on there and have a good performance gives those guys confidence, that they know they can go to Croke Park and play as well as anybody else. So we’re delighted to finish off on a positive note.
“With that all said we know that the Championship is ultimately where we’re going to be judged so we’ll take it all with a pinch of salt."
Vernon, who expects to be sidelined for a couple of weeks after tweaking his groin, added: “They were giving the stats out during the week and the amount of players that had got game time and the amount of players that had been on the 26, ranging from about 45 players, there are a lot of players that are maybe at a similar level that could arguably be on the panel or pushing for a place on the starting team. It’s healthy. The flip side of that is it’s hard to keep everybody happy.
“But a competitive squad always leads a relatively successful squad.”
Full-forward Andy Murnin was voted man-of-the-match on Saturday evening after plundering 1-3 from play from the Fermanagh defence.
And Vernon knows what a handful the St Paul’s man can be.
“I know all about it from marking him as a full-back in training. He’s the type of fella who looks like he’s not interested and then you realise how much he’s scoring and how much he’s getting on the ball.
“Andy has a great pair of hands and is a good target man inside. He very rarely gives the ball away too, which is useful at that end of the pitch.
“We’re looking forward to knuckling down and trying to give a better account of ourselves in the first round of the Championship than we did last year.”
Fermanagh and Armagh have now had two good looks at each other ahead of their summer showdown at Brewster Park.
Brendan Donaghy and Seamus Quigley could be reacquainted on May 19, while Che Cullen is likely to have another intriguing duel with Murnin.
The midfield sector is laced with quality too.
Fermanagh's Eoin Donnelly and fit-again Ryan Jones are one of the best partnerships in Ulster football, while Armagh have several quality men in Stephen Sheridan, Niall Grimley, Ben Crealey and Vernon.
“I suppose modern-day teams know a lot about each other anyway in terms of the personnel involved and the tactics teams are using,” said Vernon.
“I would definitely say Croke Park plays a wee bit different than other pitches, particularly Brewster and the weather. It tends to be quite a heavy pitch and the ball is not zipping off it than it does at Croke Park and that can lead to opportunities for group tackles for a team with a defensive system.
“I don’t think the management teams have anything to learn about each other and what we’re planning to bring to the table. It’s that old cliché of who performs on the day and who makes the least mistakes.”
