A huge debt of gratitude will be owed to Seán O’Shea and Rian O’Neill in years to come. Both of these guys have demonstrated to the whole country in high-octane moments the importance of having a reliable free-taker capable of putting the ball over the bar when everything is at stake.I have long been an Read more about The Free-Kick Revival[…]
BACK in my minor playing days, when the age grade was under 18 – which should never have changed – I was very lucky to be involved in a successful Killeavy team that won two championships in a row. We had a great crop of players that played together from U10 level, up through all Read more about Ulster newcomers reaping major rewards from minor success[…]
I’ve seen it often enough as a spectator and manager and have been on the receiving end of it numerous times as a player. But how many times do we see a forward getting sent off for lashing out at his opponent, having not received any type of protection from officials, which include umpires, linesmen Read more about What do forwards need to do to get proper protection?[…]
About two miles outside of Clones you start to notice the cars parked alongside the road. That feeling of excitement and nervous tension starts to creep in. You try to keep the journey from the Westenra Hotel in Monaghan to Clones as light-hearted as possible, but this is the moment when things start to get Read more about More big game experience will only benefit current Orchard crop[…]
I have often seen it with teams I have been involved in, both as a player and as a manager, the guy that is exceptional in training but for some reason finds it difficult to replicate it on match day. There are many reasons why we train but the main one has to be geared Read more about Playing the game and not the occasion is key to replicating training ground performance on the big day[…]
As a player, you are always trying to find that edge that adds something different to your game. Being a forward all my career and particularly an inside forward, I found that working on your speed work in the summer months always gave me that platform to play and think a bit sharper. I’m a Read more about Training ground battles made me sharper for challenge of the Championship[…]
Armagh reached their second All-Ireland Final in as many years back in 2003, coming up against rivals Tyrone in the showpiece. The year started and ended in disaster, as Monaghan defeated the reigning All-Ireland Champions in the opening round of the Ulster Championship. Qualifier wins over Waterford, Antrim, Dublin and Limerick saw Armagh reach the Read more about Steven McDonnell looks back on Armagh’s 2003 Championship campaign – CREDIT – The SideLine Eye[…]
On Tuesday last, a message was put into an Armagh WhatsApp group from Kieran Hughes notifying us of the untimely passing of John Morrison early that morning. To say that this was such a sad message to get was an understatement. Just a week previous John had sent me a photo message of his latest Read more about John Morrison[…]
Conor McManus is one of those players that you would pay the entrance fee alone just to watch him play football. He is a class act on and off the field. There are numerous reasons why Conor excels in our game but one of the most important reasons is that he is a thinking man’s Read more about Newry Reporter Column 29.01.19[…]