Not that any of Galway’s strengths will faze Armagh. Their journey has been inspiring and they have built up serious momentum since that Ulster final loss.
Their ability to get over painful defeats and setbacks has been really impressive.
Going back to the group stage, I was certain they would struggle to cope with Ciaran Mackin’s absence through injury. He has been a pivotal part of their defensive structure but Tiernan Kelly has slotted in seamlessly.
Blaine Hughes has been excellent too, so much so that Ethan Rafferty – who before his injury was the best sweeper-keeper in the country – hasn’t been able to win his place back.
Hughes has all the kick-out tools and he keeps his run-ups short to keep the opposition guessing. With just two or three steps in his run-up, the opposition’s pressing players are always guessing.
Armagh draw so much from their spiritual leaders, too. Aidan Forker is their captain and longest-serving player while Rory Grugan is a hugely effective creative presence.
Looking at Grugan, 14 points from play in eight championship games for the team’s left-footed free taker isn’t a huge return, but his assists and how he sets the tempo are pivotal to how Armagh play. If McHugh and Silke are like Kroos and Modric, Grugan is Armagh’s very own Andres Iniesta: the thinking man’s footballer, always probing and plotting, always thinking a few moves ahead.
Grugan’s intelligence is symptomatic of Armagh, who have developed some clever attacking set-pieces, one of which sees them bunch in the middle of the D and leave space on the wings for Andrew Murnin.
Much has been made of Galway’s options on the bench, but the quality Kieran McGeeney is able to keep is reserve should not go unnoticed either. I’ve counted 1-23 from the bench, which is a huge return.
Think about Jason Duffy’s winner against Down in the Ulster semi-final, think of Stefan Campbell who always inject pace and forward-thinking when comes on, think of Jarly Og Burns and Ross McQuillan. That’s a serious line-up of quality to bring on.
It will be interesting to see Armagh’s approach to the Galway kick-out, too. In the semi-final against Kerry, they pressed a number of Shane Ryan’s kick-outs and that yielded 1-1.
Connor Gleeson tends to go long for the vast majority of his kick-outs. He certainly did against Donegal and had huge success, but with players like Rian O’Neill, Ben Crealey and Niall Grimley there to field the ball, Armagh will surely relish Galway’s kick-out as a key way of gaining primary possession.
Don’t be surprised if Armagh identify this area and really look to hammer it.
