Armagh v Monaghan

How do people see this game going? Really looking forward to it now, these local derbies are always(well usually!) good, tight affairs.

Bit worried about how alot of people are tipping us for this one, as we really don't wear the favourites tag well, but thankfully the bookies don't see it like that! I'd be reasonably confident we can get a result here, it would be a great result if we could do it and it could be crucial for promotion as both teams will be hoping for that by the end of the league I'd imagine. After fielding very experimental sides in the first two league games I would say Banty will put out a fairly strong side for this and will be treating it as a very important game. The Cross players missing is of course a big plus for us, but home advantage, aswell as Armagh still having a very good team means that this will be a hard-fought game whatever happens, to come out of it with a win would be a big boost.

I'll tip a narrow Monaghan win myself!

Monaghan by 4. Your team can't expect to hide in the long grass this year and if they are serious about making an impact in the championship then they will need to get used to going into games with a high level of confidence and sometimes with the favourites tag.

This is going to be a very even game there will be a few goals in it. Armagh are conceeding alot lately so Monaghan may want to exploit it and go for goal a little more often.

I think McDonnell is back so the full forward line will look something like...

Henderson - Clarke - McDonnell

Missing the Crossmaglen players is no excuse if Armagh lose, they have alot more in depth than what they havent had available to them in the past few years.

If the new players want to make a mark from themselves they need to prove themselves on Sunday it is one of the big matches. Armagh dont put any emphasis on the NFL which is not a good thing at all they only seem to want to stay in D2.

Ive said it in my predictions Armagh to win by 2-3

Yep this is a tough one and Armagh are in a similar situation to Tyrone having lost at home last time out and will be keen not to lose twice in a row (that's twice in a row - not twice in a row with 2 sent off!) at home.

Monaghan are a better side than Laois though - so its gonna be tough. Leaning towards a draw meself!

Oh I know RMD, I'm not suggesting we hide in the long grass or anything like that, it's just the fact that the team hasn't dealt well with expecting to win, Fermanagh last year being the classic example. However I believe such experience will greatly benefit the team and there seems to be a different feel about the team this year, much better strength in depth etc. Promotion would be a bonus this year, it's not the main thing. It's ALL about the championship this year, a big push will be made for Ulster despite it being the toughest draw in a long time. If we don't have a very good run then it's goodbye Banty, it's probably his last year regardless in fact.

That's a hell of a full-forward line Admin, would scare any full-back line any time of the year. I'm especially worried about this area. JP Mone is a huge loss at full-back for us, out for most of the league. He's dealt very well with plenty of full-forwards the last couple of years and it's more unsteady without him. Vinny is in there now, and while he's also a great full-back when he's going well, it's a good while since he's played there consistently and that's a concern when up against a player the calibre of Clarke. He's at his very best when able to run at the opposition from deep, he should be in the half-back line come championship. Add to this that our best man-marker in Dessie Mone is below par and there's more concern. The new rules are a killer for him(but if it helps him to be control his tackling better then it's for the best), and as a result he was dropped the last day out. Hopefully he will be back to how he can play, which we'll need against McDonnell.

As I say, I'd expect a stronger Monaghan team than we've seen so far, but there'll still be a couple of the new lads on I'd imagine, the likes of Downey or Conlon who have showed well so far. No team news so far but as far as Banty is concerned, it's no indication anyway!

mid-mon man wrote:Oh I know RMD, I'm not suggesting we hide in the long grass or anything like that, it's just the fact that the team hasn't dealt well with expecting to win, Fermanagh last year being the classic example. However I believe such experience will greatly benefit the team and there seems to be a different feel about the team this year, much better strength in depth etc. Promotion would be a bonus this year, it's not the main thing. It's ALL about the championship this year, a big push will be made for Ulster despite it being the toughest draw in a long time. If we don't have a very good run then it's goodbye Banty, it's probably his last year regardless in fact.

That's a hell of a full-forward line Admin, would scare any full-back line any time of the year. I'm especially worried about this area. JP Mone is a huge loss at full-back for us, out for most of the league. He's dealt very well with plenty of full-forwards the last couple of years and it's more unsteady without him. Vinny is in there now, and while he's also a great full-back when he's going well, it's a good while since he's played there consistently and that's a concern when up against a player the calibre of Clarke. He's at his very best when able to run at the opposition from deep, he should be in the half-back line come championship. Add to this that our best man-marker in Dessie Mone is below par and there's more concern. The new rules are a killer for him(but if it helps him to be control his tackling better then it's for the best), and as a result he was dropped the last day out. Hopefully he will be back to how he can play, which we'll need against McDonnell.

As I say, I'd expect a stronger Monaghan team than we've seen so far, but there'll still be a couple of the new lads on I'd imagine, the likes of Downey or Conlon who have showed well so far. No team news so far but as far as Banty is concerned, it's no indication anyway!

BTW, that wasn't a criticism MMM. I know that when your team starts to do well it can be uncomfortable to face into games as favourites haven spent a good few years without that tag (and before the smart comments come in, I'm not basing this on Donegal!!). I just think Monaghan need to flex their muscles now and start to lay down a few markers for later in the year. If Kerry were playing Armagh then they would be screaming favourites. Monaghan have been very close to the Kingdom recently so I reckon the expectation levels should match.

Im quite looking forward to McEntee taking his place as a CHF but that wont be untill the championship starts. He might be slow but he can kick.

Ah I know what you said wasn't a criticism RMD, in fact I'd be in total agreement with it. As I say, it's make or break this year for Monaghan and it's time for the players to stand up and be counted. The likelihood is that there will be a completely different management team in place next year unless something dramatic happens this year, they'll want to finish on a high.

Teams:

Armagh:
P Rodgers, A Mallon, V Martin, F Moriarty, C McKeever, T McClelland, B Shannon, J Lavery, C Vernon, M O'Rourke, B Mallon, R Henderson, S McDonnell, R Clarke, K O'Rourke

Monaghan: P McBennett, D Mone, V Corey, D McArdle, C McManus, G McEnaney, D Hughes, D Clerkin, E Lennon, S Gollogly, P Finlay, D Freeman, M Downey, R Woods, T Freeman

From a Monaghan perspective that's a good strong team, with a few young lads and fringe players which is a good mix. A reasonably strong bench too which is rare for us, to have the likes of McQuaid and McGuigan to come off the bench is a bonus. Personally I'd have McGuigan starting and McManus in the forwards, but at the same time it's encouraging that Banty is trying out new ideas. Good to see young Downey having an extended run in the team. One thing we need badly is more scoring forwards and he's a great prospect. It also gives a badly-needed wake-up call to Hanratty who hasn't really had a great game since the Down game in 2007. He's very fast and can skin corner-backs easy when he's going well, but being fast isn't enough and he's been too comfortable for a while. The competition for places is great to see, noone is guaranteed their place anymore only on reputation, the way it should be.

Good win for us today while not on top form, thought the game was pretty good too. Losing Tommy Freeman to a yellow card in the first minute was a blow, but it was encouraging how the team didn't let that have a negative effect and won the game without the man we are apparently over-reliant on. The first half was very tight, score for score stuff with Armagh going in a point up at the break. Armagh edged a few ahead at the start of the second but the right subs were made at the right time, Ronaghan's goal was obviously crucial and was set up by great build-up play from McManus and McGuigan. We should have pushed on from there but after going a couple up, Armagh got back level while we continued to miss several scorable chances, but in the end Lennon and Ronaghan got the points to push us clear.

On another note, congrats to the Monaghan VEC team on beating Galway in the All-Ireland final yesterday!
We don't win many all-irelands of any description so we'll take them all! It's the second won at this level, the first being in 2001 when the likes of Paul Finaly and Dick Clerkin were on the team.

Yep MMM a good win for Monaghan no doubt - I tipped the draw! Tyrone and Armagh have both lost two in a row at home!! A new order coming??

A draw wasn't too far off the mark JC! As I say it was level not long before the end and I thought it wasn't going our way! In truth we should have knocked on a few more points after the goal, but all's well that ends well.

As for the new order coming I'm not so sure! Tyrone for one are still well ahead of the likes of us, and still better than anyone in Ulster in my opinion. I doubt M Harte is too worried about the league and is focusing on defending Sam for once!

Obviously im not happy with the result but apparently Armagh can take positives away from the game especially as we are missing quite a few players and Monaghan are at full strength a 2 point loss isnt bad at all. From what I heard the Monaghan goal:- Monaghan just ran right through our defence which is quite dissapointing.

MMM I think you are way off the mark with Tyrone being the best team in Ulster...they are the most consistent team but there are about three teams that can take them down...Armagh, Monaghan and Down.

Its not suprising that Armagh have lost two games in a row at home.

Wexford are going back down to D3. Kildare are on a high. Armagh and Fermanagh match will decide who will be the other team to go down. Cork might stay in division 2.



However, Congratulations to Mongahan.

I know what you mean about them being most consistent Admin, but I just think Tyrone have the best team at present. Of course they're not unbeatable or anything, but I think they're the best in Ulster at the minute. And I'm not sure about Monaghan being one of the teams that can beat them! We've a pretty bad record against them, Derry would have a better chance.

For the goal, it was straight after McKeever's yellow, so Armagh only had 14 on the field for that play, hence the "hole" in the defence.

Im not liking these rules. Too many players are getting sent off lately and it is ruining the game. People are paying to watch the best that counties have to offer yet players are getting sent off alot more. It dosent look good for Gaelic games, its making the players out to be dirty especially compared to Aussies.

Admin wrote:Im not liking these rules. Too many players are getting sent off lately and it is ruining the game. People are paying to watch the best that counties have to offer yet players are getting sent off alot more. It dosent look good for Gaelic games, its making the players out to be dirty especially compared to Aussies.

Definately agree with you on that. It can really ruin the game if someone gets sent off needlessly. It can happen so easily too, and then their game is over. Like today, the game can't have been on 30 seconds when Tommy was off with a yellow. Didn't get the best look at it from where I was, but it seemed very harsh.

Will it be a day to remember for Monaghan in the JCB Triumph hurdle?

The county will certainly be put on the map if Ebidiyan wins.

Hopefully Loyal, it would be great to see! What's the chances though, very slim I'd imagine?

If he's within two and a half lengths of the leaders at the last, he'll win so long as Walkon isn't one of the leaders. Once Ebidiyan meets the rising he'll be motoring alright, I'd just question whether he has the class that a few of his rivals possess. I hope he wins too. I'm backing Walkon but if its a close finish between Walkon and Ebadiyan, I'll be cheering on Brady's horse.