That’s that for another year for Armagh. Another game, another loss after a penalty shoot-out.
For a county that gave the penalty kick to the world back in 1890 in Milford, our record is horrible to say the least.
Maybe penalty kicks should only have been created for soccer and not Gaelic football – and we wouldn’t have had to experience this trauma for the third time in just over 12 months.
At this stage, I wouldn’t even class it as a lottery. It’s almost inevitable that we aren’t going to win this way – that’s just the way it is – and as a horrible way for any team to go out of the Championship someone will always have the misfortune of missing theirs.
My way of looking at it is that it is a very courageous thing for any player to step up to take a penalty with the stadium bouncing and the eyes of the country on them.
It takes nerves and it’s easy for anyone watching to be critical. Unfortunately Callum Cumiskey missed his two penalties on Saturday, but remember that he stepped up in the Ulster final against Derry and scored his that day.
A strong-minded player will always step up to the mark and I give great credit to Callum for taking responsibility and not shirking it. Our game could do with more players taking responsibility like that.
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Tyrone not at the races as champions Kerry canter to double scores win
In the lead-up to the quarter-finals, most of us expected a lot more from the four games. We expected a lot more quality and more entertainment value than what we actually got. Apart from the first half of Sunday’s match between Dublin and Mayo, the rest didn’t live up to the billing.
Don’t get me wrong, there were moments of brilliance, all of which I will come to soon, but these moments were few and far between. Dublin and Kerry just had far too much for Tyrone and Mayo respectively, and this was probably the biggest surprise of all as a lot would have expected and predicted wins for both Tyrone and Mayo.
Dublin were sensational in the second half of their win. They tore Mayo apart in the first five minutes after the break and in doing so showed they were back to their ruthless best in front of the posts.
Mayo did give it a good go in the first half and you have to applaud the bravery of their tactics in going toe-to-toe with Dublin in that period, but the hunger, desire and skill levels we became accustomed to in the Dubs’ six-year period of dominance came to the fore in the second half and they blitzed the Connacht side.
Kerry were in control throughout their win over Tyrone and with Sean O’Shea once again pulling the strings they might just be peaking at the right time – as they have done so many times in the past.
Saturday brought the stand-out moments of brilliance with David Clifford’s over the shoulder pass in the shadow of the Hogan Stand to help create Kerry’s second goal sublime stuff.
Vision and creativity are a hard thing to come by and he has both in bucketloads. He knew exactly where Tony Brosnan was and to be in the position of heading towards the sideline and being closed down by two Tyrone defenders to then deliver a pass of that magnitude into the arms of his team-mate was simply just class.
He continues to grow and flourish as a footballer and does it with relative ease, which makes it more unbelievable to witness.
Another moment of sheer class in that match was the point scored by Ruairi Canavan (right) in the first half. The dummy in a tight situation and getting the shot off with the outside of his boot before being closed down was like watching his father in his prime.
Every time I watch Ruairi and Darragh, I can see movements and skills they definitely got from Peter.
The other two stand-out moments for me over the weekend were the first free scored by Conor McManus under the Hogan Stand into the Hill and the point from Rian O’Neill (left) that put Armagh ahead with time almost up.
In a weekend when the overall quality did not reach the expectations, it’s no coincidence that the stand-out moments came from players who always produce when it matters most. Clutch players I would love to see more of playing our game.
