All-Ireland SFC semi-final
Armagh 1-18 Kerry 1-16 (after extra time)
THE Champagne (Lurgan variety or otherwise) will remain on ice for now, but Kieran McGeeney certainly wasn’t going to apply a drinking ban after Armagh ended their 21-year wait for an All-Ireland final appearance.
Roared on by their massive loyal support, the Orangemen marched into the decider by deservedly defeating Kerry in extra time.
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McGeeney knows the hype in his county will verge on hysteria, but he welcomes that as long as it doesn’t affect his players’ preparation:
“Will Armagh go nuts? Yeah. There’s no doubt about that. But they are entitled to do it.
How Armagh players rated as they reached their first All-Ireland final since 2003
“That’s supporters, the whole point of sport and spectacle and the occasion. I want them to do that, I suppose I just want them to leave the players alone and let them do their bit.
“That’s what we want. We want our county to enjoy the build-up and the next two weeks to the All-Ireland final. That bit’s going to be hard to handle, the bit inside won’t. I can’t control the outside. But you can control the training.
“They have been warned over the years about the noise, and you want your county to have that…”
Indeed he hinted that his players might have a celebratory tipple or two as well, saying with a smile: “You wouldn’t be the most popular man in Armagh if you went and told them they weren’t to have a drink tonight. So, you let that go.”
‘Geezer’ undoubtedly bears that title of ‘the most popular man in Armagh’ now, but that hasn’t always been the case after a decade in charge without a major trophy won.
Their recent near-misses have included the last two Ulster Finals lost on penalties and two All-Ireland quarter-finals also on the wrong end of shoot-out scorelines.
On this unforgettable occasion Armagh avoided that fate, although the Mullaghbawn man admitted that daunting prospect had loomed large in their thoughts:
“As we were getting closer to extra-time, we were all going, ‘F**k, is it going to be penalties again?’ But the boys went after it, Ross [McQuillan], Turbo [Conor Turbitt], they really went to win the game, which is something you have to be really proud of as well.”
‘Geezer’ insisted that he could still envisage leading Armagh into an All-Ireland Final even after that gut-wrenching quarter-final defeat to Ulster rivals Monaghan last year:
“Yeah, I probably could. I felt we were unlucky again that night. You try to put the outline of a plan together but we missed a lot of shots.
“That composure is the fine line between the very good and the also-rans. It’s one thing creating those chances, it’s having the composure to take them. Tonight we did.
“Possibly on other nights ‘Turbo’ [Conor Turbitt] might have tried to go round the keeper, been stopped, and they go up the field and get a point. Being aware of the time on the clock, he took the point, took the easy score. Ross [McQuillan] did the same to push it out to three. So there is maturity there.”
Kerry had been the better side in the first half, leading by 10 points to six at the break, but this Armagh side is made of stern stuff now.
McGeeney pointed to their arduous journey back up through the League divisions, and also to his players’ willingness to learn, as factors in their improvement:
“The resilience part is borne over other stuff. When you start in Division Three which a lot of our older players have, that understanding and lack of hubris is a great thing to have in a set-up because they want to be coached and they want to learn and they want to push on.
“The resilience definitely helps, but to me the openness to be coached and those finer nuances details to be keep pushing on and trying those things. A few of them worked for us today, a few of them didn’t.
“It’s a credit to the fellas. It’s a tough grind, some of those players have been there 10, 11 years. Armagh like most mid-level counties have those periods when you are trying to push on so I am delighted for them today, I genuinely am.”
Obviously Armagh don’t want their journey to end without another Sam Maguire Cup triumph, and McGeeney is adamant that he could see them on that winners’ podium in the Hogan Stand:
“Did I think we have the players? Yeah, I do. Sometimes you push players a wee bit hard because their form’s not good and they’re being told they’re this, that, and the other. You’re trying to get them to understand that there is something there if they just keep pushing, make the right decisions, play the team call.
“I couldn’t have said for definite, but I wouldn’t have gone back unless I could have pushed them on. We’re in an All-Ireland Final, and it’s a great achievement – but the whole thing about getting to finals is that you want to win them.
“I think there is more in them. A lot of our players didn’t play as well as they are capable of. I hope to see that, I hope they push on and realise that today is a semi-final. I want them to enjoy it, they haven’t won one before….Hopefully they can push on and go one more step.”
Armagh supporters will definitely drink to that.
