What the hell Happened?

If you are not ready to talk about yesterday yet, I understand. 

but, if you want to talk about it, and only if you are ready.

read on below.

Shadows

Where do we begin?

Lets start at the begining of the end shall we?..the 55th minute.

Colm Judge clipped over from play

The score is Louth 0-16 Armagh 0-8

Seventeen Minutes later 

Louth 0-16 Armagh 1-13

what the hell happened!? A number of things....

We didn't kill them off
no shit, sherlock! But I mean in general not just on the scoreboard... 
Psychologically we checked out. Physically we took our foot off the gas. 

we let them win the next kickout, 
we let them move up the field, 
we let them get a shot off, 
we let them have the ball,
we let them have the 50/50 ball,
 
all those little things add up, combine to give them hope and it was us that let this snowball gain momentom and eventually them back into the game.

8 up, we thought we thought we were home and hosed. We all did Armagh fans and players included. 

It is so frustrating to watch like a bad horror movie where the victim goes outside to see what the noise is....wanders about for a couple of minutes has a couple of chances to go back inside but doesn't...the background music heightens, the tension builds, you know whats about to happen but you can't stop it and you still jump with the shock! That is what it was like for a Louth fan in Drogheda yesterday.

Fitness

I don't know whether fitness was the reason we tailed off, but it certainly was an issue. Our game plan was excellent 7 defenders 4 across the middle and 3 inside forwards. It worked really well limiting them and empowering us.
We defended really superbly at times and attacked with pace and purpose mostly resulting in scores but, come the end of the game when it was there to be won truth be told, we were a little gased. 
Our game plan requires optimum fitness. High intensity tackling and counter attacking. when it drops slightly we are lesser for it. 
Yesterday come last ten we lost our shape, composure and a point as a result. 

Thats why I think fitness was an issue. I think it could be the reason we lose games come the end. It is not that I think the Louth team is unfit because they are the fittest we've ever seen. I just think our tired minds are not able to cope with broken play, throw in fresher Armagh substitutes and switches and we are all at sea.
We are not sharp on the field  and on the line to react either. AOR prepares his teams superbly but his in game management, he doesn't react quick enough or correctly.

In Game Management
The players need to get used to playing off the cuff, in the moment..maybe they are overcoached? There are not enough leaders that don't take their own initiative simple as Slowing down the kickouts. PK can't keep doing it on his own, in defence we had a number of debutants (Reilly and McLaughlin)that played  well but more experienced players should take the responsibility off them.

I thought yesterday the decision to bring in Doyle and Campbell on 51 minutes was very ballsy but the right decision by AOR. We were 6 points up and regardless of Campbell setting up the next two Louth scores to move us to 8 I thought it was a positive move and sent out the right message to the players on the field. Say for example, He brought on two defensive minded players, supporters would have given out it was too negative and allowed us to sit back. So you can't win.

However, I would argue that we needed fresh legs and experience in the right area's be it off the bench or an in game switch.
 
Andy was wasted inside for majority of the game, Eoin O'Connor was largely misused inside also and then he was replaced by another debutant John Kermode. Colm Judge needed to get his hands on the ball out the field instead he was put inside and then hauled off.  We need to stem the tide in that middle sector and management didn't do it. 

3 4 debutants were brought on before Conor Rafferty and Darren Clarke our two most experienced substitutes and by the time they were brought on it was too late.

Armagh on the other hand got Ciaran McKeever in as quick as they could and 101 capped Brian Mallon was instrumental in the final 1-5 scored by Armagh when introduced.  


Yesterday, we did manage not to lose which was a positive but throwing away leads is now becoming a worrying trend of ours.

The management not only the players need to learn from their mistakes.

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