1. The harder side of the draw
Those on the B side of the newly formatted qualifier draw definitely drew the short straws. Just getting this far was a decent achievement considering the heavy hitters on the B side.
From as far back as the opening round, Tyrone, Cavan and Down were involved. The new A and B system does seem to have worked well. Among other things, it’s ensured that no beaten provincial finalist has faced the dreaded six-day turnaround. Last year, London and Donegal had just six days between their provincial finals and fourth round qualifiers.
“I don’t think we would have been able to do what we did today if we’d had to play last weekend,” said Galway manager Alan Mulholland, acknowledging the extra week they had to prepare for playing Tipperary after losing the Connacht final.
2. Progress is still possible for Meath
Traditionalists in Meath will argue that nothing short of winning the All-Ireland will make up for being hammered by Dublin in the Leinster final. But, on paper at least, they can still have a successful season by beating Armagh.
That’s because the last three times Meath have contested a Leinster final, in 2013, 2012 and 2010, they’ve lost their next game. Breaking that bad habit against Armagh could give them the confidence to take out another Ulster heavyweight in the last eight, Donegal.
Meath appeared unsure of themselves against Dublin, almost intimidated at times, but they’d hardly be unnerved by Donegal. Indeed Meath’s players were furious they didn’t beat Donegal in the league last March when Michael Murphy kicked a late leveller. So all is not lost.
3. It used to be good to talk in Armagh
There was a time when brass necked journalists would contact Armagh players days before big Championship games. That was around a decade ago when Armagh were big business and collected Ulster and All-Ireland titles for fun.
More often than not, players like Oisin McConville, Aidan O’Rourke, Andy McCann and Ronan Clarke took the call. Their great rivals Tyrone were equally accessible. Between them, they won four All-Irelands in six years and gave the sense that their confidence far outweighed anything written about them.
Even last year, Paul Grimley was one of the most talkative and obliging managers going. Since the row with Cavan, Armagh aren’t speaking at all – yet they’re winning. If they reach the last eight, exceeding all expectations, they may conclude it was a shrewd move.
4. Exactly how good are Kildare?
Entering August, it’s still painfully difficult to get a handle on Kildare. They are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde performers, showing the best and worst of themselves throughout 2014. Had Tyrone not scored two injury-time goals in their league tie in Newbridge, their Division 1 campaign mightn’t have spiralled towards relegation.
They recovered by hammering Louth at Croke Park before having the same done to them by Meath. Most recently the Lilies played a typical game of two halves with Clare and eventually won by a point, coming from six down to win. Their greater mobility this year under Jason Ryan is well documented.
But will they have the power and purpose to match Monaghan? And have they the leaders for a big occasion like this now that John Doyle, Dermot Earley and Ronan Sweeney are retired? As ever with Kildare, you wouldn’t put your money on it.
5. How deep can Monaghan dig?
Losing to Donegal will have hurt Monaghan deeply, maybe even stunned them. They’d beaten their rivals twice previously in big games – the Division 2 league final and last year’s Ulster final – and fancied three-in-a-row.
They chased the game from early, however, and didn’t appear comfortable with that. Their tackling and kicking got ragged. Suddenly, to go a step beyond last year’s campaign they’ve got to beat Kildare and then Dublin. Both at Croke Park.
It’s a huge task and they’ll have to produce, probably, their best football in living memory to do it and keep their title hopes alive. Unlike Kildare, Monaghan’s team is packed with experienced leaders. Vinny Corey, Dessie Mone, Dick Clerkin, the Hughes’ and Conor McManus so they at least know what’s required now.
