JOYCE V ULSTER: Since taking over as Galway manager five years ago, Pádraic Joyce has come up against Ulster opposition 21 times. Galway have won 16 and drawn two of those. Their only championship defeat to northern opposition was last year’s group stage loss to Armagh, a first ever win for the Orchard over Galway. In his own playing days they’d beaten Derry in 1998 and 2001, and Armagh in their second All-Ireland winning season as well – although his last game in the maroon was an infamous 0-11 to 0-10 qualifier defeat by Antrim.
CIARAN HIGGINS CURVEBALL: Armagh have played 16 championship games in the last two years. Ciaran Higgins has played 101 minutes of football, of which 95 were against Galway. Out of the blue, he has started the last two meetings of these teams. The feeling was that he was in there to mark Damien Comer, but the Galway full-forward was a pre-match injury doubt for both games and ended up not playing. Higgins was a massive curveball in last year’s group game and even moreso this year having not had a single minute of championship football since last year’s game. If he’s the last-minute change on Sunday, you’ll know why. If he’s not, expect Aaron McKay to be detailed. He marked Comer in St Mary’s first round win over NUIG in 2017′s Sigerson Cup.
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A ROUTE TO GLEE: Conor Gleeson came into the 2022 final against Kerry under enormous pressure having struggled under the high ball against Armagh in the quarter-final. The Kingdom tossed their first ball in from 70 yards and he dealt with it. The first 15 minutes, he punched everything and then it stopped, the storm ridden. But he and they had clearly spent the whole two weeks preparing for it amid all the noise around it. This time, it’s quieter. Armagh snaffled their recovery 1-1 off his kickout in the group game a month ago but it’s how they’ve hurt Galway in the air that they’ll maybe look to here. Ethan Rafferty’s long-range goal in last year’s league game came off throwing a ball into the sky and getting bodies in around, causing a nuisance. They haven’t kicked much long to Andrew Murnin this summer but you could see the St Paul’s man goal-hanging a lot this weekend.
ARMAGH’S PRESS AND DYLAN McHUGH: On the occasions when Armagh went after Galway with a high press in Markievicz Park, all bases were covered except one – Dylan McHugh. It was the in-form Corofin man who continually paid bail for the Connacht men. It creates the likelihood that Armagh will actually put a full-time tag on McHugh on Sunday, with Joe McElroy – having done a good job on Paudie Clifford after moving there at half-time in the semi-final – the most likely recipient of the task.
GALWAY JUST DO NOT GIVE THE BALL AWAY: In last year’s group game, Armagh scored 0-9 off turnovers. This year, that tally was reduced to just 0-2. In Galway’s All-Ireland semi-final win over Donegal, the Ulster champions scored just 0-3 off turnovers. In both this year’s games, they took 28 shots from 32 attacks. They just do not get turned over. Armagh will look to lay traps for corner-backs Johnny McGrath and Jack Glynn, their least likely shooters, but both are comfortable taking the ball into pressurised spaces. So much of Galway’s plan is about keeping the ball out of contact – does that make Armagh’s best chance of winning to create as much contact as possible, all over the pitch?
BENCH ENERGY v BENCH EXPERIENCE: Armagh’s bench has been a huge factor in their run to this point, not least the explosive introductions from Stefan Campbell. He’ll see at least the whole of the second half, more if things aren’t going to plan. With Armagh, you see a mature approach to winning games. They’re criticised for holding players in reserve but for them, being ahead at minute 35 or 50 or 65 isn’t important. It’s being ahead at minute 75. The classic quarter-final of two years ago, this year’s group game and their semi-final win over Kerry all followed a similar pattern of recovery. But they took advantage of the opportunities presented to them. Galway have security and coolness on their bench, John Daly, Cathal Sweeney, Johnny Heaney, Cein D’Arcy. But Armagh have zip and energy and probably the edge.
