Meath v Armagh, Saturday 5pm, Sky Sports 3

Hammer Archer

As far as I can see, this is only the second ever championship meeting between Meath and Armagh. The other was the All-Ireland Semi Final of 1999 when Meath won by 0-15 to 2-5 on their way to their 7th and most recent Sam Maguire.

After being relegated to Division 3 in the league, Armagh have been stubbornly hard to beat in the championship. They (controversially) beat a fancied Cavan team in the Ulster quarter final and took Monaghan to a replay in the Ulster semi final before bowing out. They were rewarded with the toughest possible draw in the qualifiers against Tyrone in Omagh. But they overcame them by 3 points after Tyrone played all the second half with 14 men. They then rather easily overcame Roscommon in Dr. Hyde Park 2 weeks ago to make it to round 4. Incidentally, this is the farthest Armagh have gotten since they won the Ulster championship in 2008.

As for Meath, they finished behind Monaghan and Donegal in division 2 and had a facile win over Carlow in the Leinster quarter final. In the semi final, an impressive performance (for 45 minutes at least) saw off Kildare. What happened in the Leinster final will give me nightmares for years to come.

As mentioned, this is only the second championship meeting between the two sides, but they did meet back in March as Jamie Clarke scored 11 points in a 3 point win in Navan.

Armagh are slight favourites for this game, though the odds have narrowed since the aftermath of the Leinster final. Their coaching team of Paul Grimley and Kieran McGeeney will know Meath well and certainly won't want to lose to them. On the other hand, Meath will be desperate to regain some pride after the humiliation 2 weeks ago and indeed gain revenge for the league loss earlier in the year when they threw away a 5 point lead.

Should be an interesting game. For Meath to win, they will have to keep Clarke relatively quiet and be extremely disciplined inside their own 45.
If Meath win, they'll play Donegal in the quarters. Armagh will do the same if themselves and Monaghan win on Saturday. However if both Armagh and Kildare win, it will be an open draw.

Odds:
Armagh 10/11
Draw 15/2
Meath 6/5

Prediction: Meath by 2

iDave

Very nervous about this. I worry about Meaths 'bouncebackability'. This could be our 3rd Leinster final/4th round defeat sequence in a row.
I really think this is season defining for Meath. No one expects us to beat Donegal in a QF but failure to reach that QF in itself will represent stagnation and not the progress we hoped for in MODs 2nd year.

klairondavis

Ciaran McKeever is a huge loss for Armagh.

Meath have the better footballers and I expect they will be a few points too good for Armagh as long as they have recovered mentally from the Leinster Final. The two week turnaround will help.

caomhino

klairondavis wrote: »

Ciaran McKeever is a huge loss for Armagh.

Meath have the better footballers and I expect they will be a few points too good for Armagh as long as they have recovered mentally from the Leinster Final. The two week turnaround will help.

Agreed. Meath have nothing to lose and nothing to fear from Armagh. Hopefully a good performance and good game will bring them on a bit.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I'd like to see Meath win they have some nice footballers and to be honest I don't think they are quite as bad as Dublin made them look.

Also I'm finding Armaghs media ban to be quite pathetic although it has no relevance for what happens on the football field I could do without a potential all Ireland quarter finalist banning the media when the GAA and its teams should be trying to get as much media coverage as possible.

Royal Legend

Think we will win today, we just did not start against the Dubs.

1999 vs Armagh was one of the best football matches I ever witnessed in my lifetime, Fast, hard, no quarter given, 100% commitment, after that semi final, Cork were never going to beat us in the final.

TheGoldenAges

Think Armagh will win, they're further down in their development than Meath. It's been years since Meath beat a proper top team and I think it'll be another year before they will (Not saying Armagh are a top team but are better).

Fireball07

TheGoldenAges wrote: »

Think Armagh will win, they're further down in their development than Meath. It's been years since Meath beat a proper top team and I think it'll be another year before they will (Not saying Armagh are a top team but are better).

I wouldn't have said Armagh are further in their development, they've been poor enough over the last few years, relegated this year in the league... their improvement in form in this year's Championship has been very impressive. Meath have been improving over the past 2 seasons and although the Dublin loss was a huge setback, I don't think there's much between these 2.


I think Armagh might just do it, but I think it will be down to the confidence they got from beating Tyrone in particular.

scudzilla

Making dinner tonight, anybody PM me a recipe that they recommend?

Sorted, nice Chicken Madras it is

kingshankly

Unlucky for Meath there what was that ejit half forward at trying to slap the ball with both hands

kingshankly

Fair play to Meath players can't be easy when all your players are colour blind

Nib

Armagh the better side so far. Kevin Reilly's loss is huge, Mickey Burke looks all at sea.

kingshankly

Meath are horrific up front

Diabhal Beag

I ****ing hate a half arsed attempt at a point that drops in the keeper's arm. This game is shocking for it.

aveytare

Forker's hit a few good points now.

Nib

Diabhal Beag wrote: »

I ****ing hate a half arsed attempt at a point that drops in the keeper's arm. This game is shocking for it.

Happens a lot when the ball is wet, it's much heavier and sometimes just slips off the boot.

Speaking from experience.

kingshankly

Who ever sold Brian Meade a pair of boots should be ashamed of themselves

Hammer Archer

We seem to be aiming for Armagh's extra defender with every ball into the forwards.

Moneymaker

Meath defence is a mess.

Moneymaker

Better from Meath, finally starting to convert their possession.

Hammer Archer

Destroying them in midfield. Only just starting to convert the chances.

kingshankly

kingshankly wrote: »

Who ever sold Brian Meade a pair of boots should be ashamed of themselves

It's amazing how better Meath have been since he came off

Diabhal Beag

Nib wrote: »

Happens a lot when the ball is wet, it's much heavier and sometimes just slips off the boot.

Speaking from experience.

It's a lot worse than usual in this game especially when Reilly is bombing them over from miles out.

Tidy comeback from Meath there. Newman's frees are top class.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Exciting match so far.Finishing by both sides was poor for the first 20 minutes but this has improved in the last 15 minutes and we look set for a good second half.

Armagh have been the more impressive side and look very well organised an there footpassing has been excellent so far.

Pegasusbridge

Armagh playing with 4 forwards and Meath are leaving 5 men back. Armagh are using the spare man this gives them very well. Meath keep kicking balls where Armagh have the spare man.

Hammer Archer

It's absolutely ridiculous that this game is in Croke Park. No way does the attendance justify it.

Nialler15

Hammer Archer wrote: »

It's absolutely ridiculous that this game is in Croke Park. No way does the attendance justify it.

Not the first time we have seen this. Croker used far to much for these sort of matches and end up with lack of atmosphere.

kingshankly

Cain ward spoke very well knows his stuff

Nidgeweasel

Is the draw this evening?

*If Kildare & Armagh win obviously.

shoulder

Nialler15 wrote: »

Not the first time we have seen this. Croker used far to much for these sort of matches and end up with lack of atmosphere.

It's really silly that this goes on. The old reliable excuse is the players want Croke Park experience. Damn shame to be looking at this game with such a disinterested and void looking backdrop.

Moneymaker

Newman is infuriatingly erratic.

howiya

shoulder wrote: »

It's really silly that this goes on. The old reliable excuse is the players want Croke Park experience. Damn shame to be looking at this game with such a disinterested and void looking backdrop.

And only expecting twenty odd thousand for the both games according to the commentator. A double header in Breffni Park would have made more sense

bonerjams03

Hammer Archer wrote: »

It's absolutely ridiculous that this game is in Croke Park. No way does the attendance justify it.

Armagh's Athletic Grounds were only recently redeveloped and have covered stands as I recall, but it's just lying there unused. Would be far better to see a full local stadium than this.

Johner

Armagh are the much better team here, always a man overlapping. Meath have been very poor.

copacetic

Hard to believe Meath look like losing this, their finishing in first 25 mins of first half and pretty much entire second half has been atrocious. Really let themselves down.

Moneymaker

Better team won.

Armagh will be a tough nut to crack.

Pegasusbridge

Well done Armagh. Better team won. Meath couldn't deal with the blanket defence. Letting Armagh take short kick outs to a free man didn't work out for Meath at all.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Armagh look like a good team.well organised , very fit and strong and their skill level is high as well.Their foot passing was excellent tonight.If they can cut out some of their wastefulness in front of goal they'll give Donegal a game.

Some of Meaths play was infuriating the amount of times they stupidly carried the ball into contact when it was obvious Armagh were physically stronger then them really annoyed me and the free taking was disappointing as well. Paddy O'Rourke should have been taking all of their frees.

Nialler15

What is peoples opinions on the elbow from Armagh midfielder early on? IMO should have been red. Not a black card offence and definately more than a yellow.

Pete_Cavan

Meath incredibly naive doing the same thing they did against Dublin carrying the ball taking 4/5 hand passes to get to midfield while the opposition set their defence. The sweeper Armagh had in front of the Meath full forward line didnt have much influence because Meath had usually lost the ball before they could get that far, constantly taking the ball into tackles or passing to players already marked. Armagh on the other hand were able to attack very effectively because one well executed kick pass put Meath on the back foot and they had to scramble. Very poor from the Meath management to send their team out to do the same things that resulted in them being hammered by Dublin. Meath look like they have the players to be a decent team but they are let down by the management imo.

thelad95

What was the final score?

Atomic Pineapple

thelad95 wrote: »

What was the final score?

18 - 13

thelad95

Armagh coming in ''under the radar'' it has to be said. Don't think they could win it though.

A-Train

Meath were terrible, so naive in their play. Really can't see we're the team is going, showing that the Kildare result was a fluke.

Nidgeweasel

thelad95 wrote: »

Armagh coming in ''under the radar'' it has to be said. Don't think they could win it though.

Of course they won't win it for Christ sake!

howiya

Nialler15 wrote: »

What is peoples opinions on the elbow from Armagh midfielder early on? IMO should have been red. Not a black card offence and definately more than a yellow.

Shouldered him in the chest. Elbow came up afterwards as a result of the contact. Certainly didn't look intentional. Correct decision by referee

Reality_Check1

Let me be the first to say Im a really big fan of Mick O Dowd and the current management set up but if Im being completely honest they need to take a lot of the flack for today's loss. I just cant understand why they would decide to double mark Jamie Clarke when;

(1) Keoghan was doing well on him single handedly for the first 35 mins
(2) we were winning the majority of kickouts when both teams were forced to kick it long

by playing a sweeper for the 2nd 35 mins it allowed Armagh to take short kickouts and destroy us down the field. A sweeper is no good when the runs are coming from the Armagh Half back line.

Then when we need a goal we bring on Dalton McDonagh and walace....No Disrespect to the lads but they are far too light for this level and the Armagh boy must have been delighted to see them coming on for the 2 Brays.

Im terribly disappointed

copacetic

howiya wrote: »

Shouldered him in the chest. Elbow came up afterwards as a result of the contact. Certainly didn't look intentional. Correct decision by referee

He shouldered him in the head then followed through with elbow, it was as clear a red as you will ever see. Lucky it was on wrong side for ref so he could claim he wasn't sure. If it hadn't been the first few mins it would have been a red.

Pegasusbridge

Reality_Check1 wrote: »

Let me be the first to say Im a really big fan of Mick O Dowd and the current management set up but if Im being completely honest they need to take a lot of the flack for today's loss. I just cant understand why they would decide to double mark Jamie Clarke when;

(1) Keoghan was doing well on him single handedly for the first 35 mins
(2) we were winning the majority of kickouts when both teams were forced to kick it long

by playing a sweeper for the 2nd 35 mins it allowed Armagh to take short kickouts and destroy us down the field. A sweeper is no good when the runs are coming from the Armagh Half back line.

Then when we need a goal we bring on Dalton McDonagh and walace....No Disrespect to the lads but they are far too light for this level and the Armagh boy must have been delighted to see them coming on for the 2 Brays.

Im terribly disappointed

I'd agree that playing the sweeper didn't work but they were doing it for the whole match not just the second half.

howiya

copacetic wrote: »

He shouldered him in the head then followed through with elbow, it was as clear a red as you will ever see. Lucky it was on wrong side for ref so he could claim he wasn't sure. If it hadn't been the first few mins it would have been a red.

He did not shoulder him in the head

Pete_Cavan

Reality_Check1 wrote: »

Let me be the first to say Im a really big fan of Mick O Dowd and the current management set up but if Im being completely honest they need to take a lot of the flack for today's loss.

Yeah MOD seems a lot like Terry Hyland here in Cavan, a likable and respectable person and Im sure lads enjoy training under them but they lack a bit of a hard edge. It is also hard to criticise them because they are both very genuine and mean well. They seem to want their team to play a certain system but dont seem to be able to react or change things from the sideline when it starts going wrong. I think there is a bit of naivety there and both sides need a bit more steel on the sideline.