‘We got punished and rightly so’ says Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney after 13-point loss to Kerry
Saturday’s 4-18 to 0-17 defeat at the hands of Kerry was a disappointing end to a promising year for Armagh.
Reflecting on the game, manager Kieran McGeeney highlighted a poor end to the first half – where Kerry got a two-pointer and a goal to pull six clear at the break – as the phase where the game got away from his side.
“Disappointing probably wouldn’t cover it,” he told the press in Fitzgerald Stadium.
“I thought we were doing well right up until the 34th and half minute when we gave away five points, which was hard to take.
“I still thought we were ok, but in the second half everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Kerry couldn’t miss and we couldn’t score. I think we had five goal chances; we had one in the first minute and scuffed it wide.
“That’s sport. It can be a cruel f****r, that’s the way it goes.”
Armagh needed to wrestle back control in the third quarter to have any chance of a comeback, but instead Kerry put further daylight between the teams – giving them no way back.
“We just seemed to fall apart in that period,” said McGeeney.
“We had shots, but I think we scored 10 out of 25 from play, it is just one of those days. Listen, the boys have been good all year, just over the last 1o days between Blaine [Hughes] getting injured and having to change a few things up, it was unfortunate.
“Ethan [Rafferty[ did well today, it just seemed to knock us a wee bit and Kerry were as efficient as usual today, while we were shocking in front of goals in terms of our efficiency. You do that at this time of year at this level then you are going to get punished, and we did.”
With the current format of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in its first year, debate has raged about whether the system of ‘luck of the draw’ regarding home advantage is fair. In Round 3 all four games were won by the home side.
However, McGeeney didn’t lean on that as an excuse.
“I don’t think you can blame home advantage for missing shots,” he said.
“We had cut right through and made the opportunities and they were decent saves (by Shane Murphy) but we had runners. Even dropping two-pointers with that breeze behind you, it is not acceptable at this level.
“We got punished and rightly so.”
When one season ends, very quickly the discussion turns to what comes next. Armagh have plenty of players with many miles on the clock, but McGeeney says that he would like players to ‘let the dust settle’ before making a decision on whether or not to commit for 2027.
“I still think everybody in that changing room has a lot to offer,” he said.
“The likes of Aidan [Forker] and Rory [Grugan] for example, they only came back into fitness around May time; they had no pre-season. But those lads and Andrew Murnin and Paddy Burns still have a lot to offer.
“But that is the hard thing – after days like today you can feel that you are a million miles away. You just have to let the dust settle and see when everyone comes back and start making plans then.”