As expected, the Munster and Connacht deciders were one-sided affairs with Kerry and Galway in cruise control to win their provincial titles.
I can’t see that scenario being repeated in Sunday’s Ulster final between Armagh and Derry. As reigning provincial champions, Derry are going into the game as favourites, but in reality, this is an extremely hard one to call.
Armagh have been playing at a higher level over the last couple of years than Derry have. However, since the appointment of Rory Gallagher, they have continued on an upward trajectory and are rated by many as dark horses for the All-Ireland title.
It’s a game that many from both counties and, indeed beyond, are really looking forward to and I think the Ulster Council possibly missed a trick by not looking for it to be played in Croke Park.
The ticket situation is a farce with many genuine supporters under pressure to get their hands on one and, for me, the option to purchase on Ticketmaster for previous rounds worked and everyone that wanted to go to the game got a ticket through this platform.
Putting the responsibility on clubs to distribute tickets has created massive headaches because demand is simply outweighing the number of tickets they have to distribute and moving the game to Croke Park would have meant that nobody would be let down.
Hopefully, though, tickets will be available for those interested in going to the game and we get to witness another Ulster final classic.
On the field of play, Derry have become such a well-organised unit that is extremely hard to break down, but when they attack, they do so in droves and are full of energy and hard-running.
Gallagher is highly-rated around the country and over the last couple of months, I’ve often read that Derry are the best coached team in the country. This will be put fully to the test on Sunday afternoon by an Armagh team that are improving game on game and one that has such an array of talented footballers.
In fact, both teams are littered with some of the best players playing the game right now. One of my favourite players to watch is Brendan Rogers and moving him to midfield has been a masterstroke by Gallagher.
Conor Glass is another that has always oozed class and that is a midfield pairing that most teams could only dream of having.
At the back, Derry have one of the most consistent man-marking defenders in the game in Chrissy McKaigue and it will be interesting to see who he is earmarked to pick up.
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With all good teams, though, they need classy forwards to put the ball over the bar and in the back of the net and with Shane McGuigan playing as well as he is right now, they have that player.
They aren’t overly reliant on Shane though as they had 10 different scorers in the Ulster semi-final win over Monaghan and they proved that it is not all about their defensive structure either as they amassed 1-21 in that match.
That type of scoring return will win you most matches. Will they score that much against Armagh, though? I can’t see it.
Like Derry, Armagh have tightened up at the back and scoring opportunities, when presented to both teams, will need to be taken, to give themselves a chance.
Armagh have a forward line that will cause even the tightest of defences harm, and I expect this will be the case come Sunday.
You just have to look at the calibre of player that they called from their bench the last day against Down, to realise the quality they have at their disposal.
Stefan Campbell and Aidan Nugent are two players that would walk into the starting 15 of a lot of teams and they have often started games for Armagh in the Championship, but it shows how well the lads are that are starting the games, that they are keeping these two guys out.
Winning an Ulster title is massive for both sides, and it’s hard to believe that it has been 15 years since Armagh last won it or even appeared in a final.
My brother reminded me last weekend that this will actually be the first time that I will be going to watch Armagh in an Ulster final that I have not been involved in.
From 1999 through to 2008, I was with the team. Their last final before that was 1990 and I was just 10 years old and didn’t get the chance to go.
I’ll be cheering on the Armagh lads this Sunday from the stands, and please God, they can ensure to make it eight wins on the spin in provincial senior finals.
As part of the pre-match build up, this Friday evening I will be part of a discussion panel organised by the Eire Og Club in Lurgan that includes Joe Kernan, Conleth Gilligan, Enda Gormley, Sean Cavanagh and Enda McGinley.
This should be a fantastic event and I am particularly interested to hear the prediction of our Tyrone panellists given their shared love for both counties. The event takes place in the Ashburn Hotel in Lurgan and commences at 9pm.
