McShea’s Say: All eyes will be on fierce rivals Donegal and Armagh this Saturday

It’s a long time since I looked forward to a match as much as I’m looking forward to watching Saturday evening’s Ulster Final between champions Donegal and All-Ireland title holders Armagh. 

Though football matches are absorbed into folklore according to their own merits, what actually happens during them and where they happen also counts. 

Clones is steeped in the tradition of many great Ulster finals, and the atmosphere in the Monaghan town on Saturday will be riveting. 

For both teams, training will be minimal this week because it is not an issue. Mental fitness and freshness are the key, because if the players feel strong in their minds, they will be strong on the pitch.

It is rare in football for two great teams to reach a concurrent peak; it is more common for one side to gradually decline while the other matures. 

But I believe that both finalists are more formidable at this time than they were when they locked horns in last year’s provincial final. 

Armagh, even without the exceptionally talented Rian O’Neill, are playing with a maturity one expects of All-Ireland winners, while Donegal, with Michael Murphy back on board, have dealt with their championship opponents in a competent fashion so far in this campaign.

While it amounted to nothing tangible, the dynamic between the sides had been altered by last season’s Ulster final. 

It was a hugely significant milestone. Armagh have their All-Ireland medals, but this squad of players are without an Ulster Championship medal, and after defeat in the last two provincial deciders, they will be ravenous for success in their own province. 

If apprehension were excusable, you could almost excuse it in the Armagh players before this game. They failed to beat Donegal in three games last year, but to their credit they showed great resilience in winning Sam after their Ulster final setback.

It looks as if both managers will have close to a full deck to pick from for Saturday, and that will see both sets of spectators intrigued to see the respective starting fifteens. 

In last year’s final, Armagh had Blaine Hughes in goal, but Ethan Rafferty is now wearing the number one jersey, and his long-distance kicking makes him a serious asset to his team. 

A year ago, Armagh enjoyed a four-point lead late in the game, but Donegal showed great composure to claw back the deficit and won that final with five magnificent penalties. 

Armagh also played Jarly Óg Burns at wing forward last year, but after playing well against Tyrone at wing back, that is where I will expect to see him line out this weekend.

Whatever about Armagh’s starting fifteen, much interest will centre on Donegal’s line-out. An interesting statistic this year is that before last week’s two provincial finals, or the two finals this weekend, there was only a total of 35 goals scored in all the championship games played to date across the four provinces. 

Last year, in the same number of weeks, there was a total of 65 goals scored. It is difficult to understand why there is such an anomaly, but the advent of the two-points system may be a factor in this.

I would like to see Donegal start with a full forward line of Patrick McBrearty, Michael Murphy, and Oisín Gallen because that talented trio would have the ability to raise a green flag or two, and in what is likely to be a most competitive final, goals would be defining scores. 

But if the three boys are to be selected inside, they will have to be hit with quick early ball. At times in the Down game, Michael Murphy was on a one-to-one with his marker, but our build-up on occasions was somewhat laboured and allowed the Down defence to retreat in numbers.

Going back to last year’s final, when Donegal trailed Armagh late in the game, they refused to wilt at the crisis. 

By sheer force of character and willpower, they superimposed their character and willpower to dominate in the vital closing stages of a wonderful game. 

I believe that the final this Saturday will be yet another absorbing spectacle between two of the top sides in the game. This final will, I believe, be decided by small margins. 

There is little between the teams. In the belief that there is more pace in the Donegal team, I hope and expect that they can prevail, but this will be a stern test of Jim McGuinness’s team’s credentials.

Light analysis 

Watching the Munster final on Sunday between Kerry and Clare, commentator Ger Canning asked his co-commentator, former Kerry manager Eamonn Fitzmaurice, what he thought of Clare’s prospect of causing an upset. The answer from Fitzmaurice went something like this: “It is very hard to know.”

Ten minutes later, as Clare trailed by ten points, the Kerry man’s answer seemed incredible, and if he had difficulty with the question, his credentials as an analyst are difficult to comprehend.