Supersubs, hunger, speed - the reasons why Joe Kernan and Diarmuid Connolly think Armagh will beat Galway
Armagh are aiming for their first All-Ireland win since Kernan guided them to glory in 2002.
Joe Kernan compared Armagh’s bench to Liverpool FC’s golden era and is convinced their own supersubs can claim them a second All-Ireland on Sunday.
Legendary boss Kernan guided the Orchard County to their only previous Sam Maguire, back in 2002, but reckons his captain from that team, Kieran McGeeney, has the knowledge to direct a successful sequel.
And Kernan believes Armagh’s strength in depth is the difference between success and failure, drawing on the impact Liverpool’s impact sub, David Fairclough, used to have in their glory years.
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Armagh subs Stefan Campbell, Ross McQuillan and Jarly Og Burns all scored in their semi-final win over Kerry, with another replacement, Oisin O’Neill, playing a blinder.
Kernan said: “Everyone remembers the boy who used to play for Liverpool, David Fairclough. He was the original super sub.
"Well, we have five or six super subs and if they are ready to come on and do their job, that will be a big help for Armagh because they all have pace to burn. That is the ace in the pack to help us get across the line.”
Unsurprisingly Kernan sees parallels between his 2002 team and McGeeney’s current batch.
And Dublin’s six-time All-Ireland winning forward Diarmuid Connolly agrees with the former Armagh and Crossmaglen boss - recalling the influence Dub supersub Kevin McMenamon had when they dominated the football landscape between 2011 and 2020.
But it was not just that. Like Armagh now, and the Armagh team of 2002, there was a lot of heartache to endure before the big breakthrough.
Connolly said: “What Armagh have is a workrate, a ferocity in their tackling, and in Kieran McGeeney, someone who has belief in all his players.
“As Joe said there, this Armagh squad has a little more depth than Galway has.
“But they remind me of us in 2011, when Kerry were the team to beat. We hadn’t won in Killarney in decades and even though it was early spring when we did so, the fact we scraped out a narrow win meant a lot to us because it was a really young Dublin side who did it.
“That league win galvanised the younger core of our group. And I see Armagh's semi-final win over Kerry having a similar impact on them.
“To have done that in extra time will give them belief when the game comes down the stretch on Sunday because they will know then that they have the artillery to bring off the bench.
“They have scorers everywhere. Their whole half-back line can kick a point; their inside line, particularly Andrew Murnin and Rian O’Neill have been standout players this season. They have really impressed me.”
And also Kernan, who would not obsess over stats, but who could not fail to be impressed by the fact that Armagh have lost just one of their last 19 Championship matches over 70 minutes - their four other defeats coming via penalty shoot-outs in this period.
Kernan, speaking at a Boylesports media event, said: “People’s perception might be different of this Armagh team in terms of winning and losing.
“But the facts speak for themselves - one defeat across 70 minutes in 19 matches. That’s impressive.
“The team has had a bit of bad luck. You need luck no matter what you do but the fact is these lads keep coming back from these disastrous, heartbreaking days when they give everything and just fall short.
“Lesser teams and lesser players would have thrown the towel in but these boys have come back. And now, all of a sudden, they have won a few matches in a row, have turned the whole thing around and they are able to see things out now.”
And he knows the reason why - pointing to the shift in mentality following their Ulster final penalty shoot out loss to Donegal.
Kernan said: “Armagh are more positive at the end of games. The prime example of this was when Ross McQuillan got a ball under the Hogan Stand, 50 yards from the Kerry goal in this month’s All-Ireland semi-final.
“He burned the two boys with speed and skill and popped it over the bar.
“Remember earlier this season in the Ulster final, we got two marks, but each time we played the ball backwards instead of having a go from 40 yards.”
Plus they have the motivation driven by years of hurt, the 22 years without an All-Ireland, the 16 years without an Ulster title.
None of this Armagh side has a major medal on their CV but they all share a collective hurt, losing four penalty shoot-outs in the Championship across the last three seasons.
And, like Connolly, that stirs a memory in Kernan.
He said: “The one thing about the 2002 team was that even though they had been on the go for three years, and came so close to winning in 1999, 2000 and 2001, by 2002 there was still a hunger there.
"Those Armagh players were determined.
“I remember asking Geezer (McGeeney) to stay on as captain when I took over. The one thing that came out of him was the pain and the hurt. The rest of the boys had that as well. I thought, if we can hold these players together, all the skill, the experiences that they had, then this can happen.
“This current Armagh team seems to have the same mentality. What they went through the last two or three years, the whole country would acknowledge was heartbreaking.
“They have never waned. They have never given up. The main thing is they still had the drive, the hunger in 2002 to get to the top of the ladder. That is still there”
Diarmuid Connolly & Joe and Aaron Kernan teamed up with BoyleSports to preview this weekend’s GAA All Ireland Senior Football Championship Final. Get paid out early with BoyleSports if your team goes 7 points ahead, even if they draw or lose!
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