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This weekend we see both Ulster Football Championship semi final replays. They will be observed by afar from many with a degree of disdain. Ulster football. Ulster football to the uninitiated is considered a sort of faction fight with an O’Neills football thrown in for good measure.
But for the diehard Ulster football aficionado, a good tight match in Ulster is the highlight of early summer. And don’t be surprised this weekend if both matches attract a decent crowd, as all four counties, Tyrone, Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal approach the games optimistically. The two Ulster semi finals have been the best games this summer so far.
In 2014 Dublin GAA and Kerry GAA played in the All Ireland semi final, it was considered a classic game with brilliant scores, the ebb and flow, thrust and counter thrust of Gaelic Football at its best. A six-goal thriller, the final score was 3-18 to 3-11. Dublin won thanks to a scoring burst of 2-2 in the final few minutes. Kerry you will recall had themselves stunned the Dubs with three first half goals. Typically the Dublin bench contributed 2-2 – essentially the winning of the game. It was classic stuff and a joy to watch.
Only an Ulster GAA diehard could remark, “Where were the defenders? Six goals?” In the north there’s a premium, and paranoia even on defending. Thou shall not score. Ulster football is widely singled out as the home of cynicism, of the snidey dig and the sneaky foul. But truth be told the only games in which the championship has truly caught fire this season have been the Ulster semi finals featuring Tyrone GAA against Cavan GAA and Monaghan GAA and Donegal GAA.
You think we are joking about the reaction of the true Ulster Gael to a goalfest, you can rest assured that Mickey Harte will not have been one bit pleased at his team conceding 3-07 to Cavan. Its fair to say the dressing rooms in old Clones town might need a new lick of paint because I’d say the paint was taken off the walls at half time and again after the match. Tyrone outscored the Breffni men by sixteen scores to ten, kicked a series of balls short or wide and came away with the draw having put themselves in a pole position.
The last time that Mickey Harte conceded goals on a scale that threatened to derail his championship intentions was against Down GAA in 2003. Writing later in his book Mickey Harte said:
“It was hard to figure at the time, but I knew it was better we didn’t win that day. We needed that chastening. The players could see it.”
Oftentimes a draw allows a team to see fault lines in itself and cracks in the system that might not otherwise have emerged. For Tyrone it enabled them to adjust their system, replay players and tighten defensively. From hitting twelve scores the first day – 4-8, Down scored six scores 1-5 in the replay. They say the team that learns the most from a drawn game will prevail.
The Monaghan Donegal semi final promises to be a spicy affair. These two counties aren’t traditional rivals but they have managed to develop possibly the most interesting relationship in the GAA world in recent years. Both are hugely fit, competitive and battle ready.
For a team looking an area to improve, Donegal will be looking to concede less frees and keep fourteen men on the pitch. The likes of Odhran MacNiallais and Paddy McBrearty are massive talents and young to boot.
A couple of years ago the Donegal team were aggressive and played on the front foot, repeatedly using what was euphemistically described as the ‘half foul’ by a radio pundit to disrupt opponents. They can look back towards the drawn match and a series of handy frees coughed up which are meat and drink to the deadly Conor McManus. There’s no doubt his team play on the edge but Rory Gallagher will want to be careful they don’t teeter into the Ulster Championship Final short of a man that’s been sent off.
There’s rain forecast in the north. It’s getting close to show time. The teams have been posted for the media. We’ve no doubt there could be a change or two before the O’Neills ball is thrown in.
The most compelling spectacle in European sport this weekend isn’t on the green fields of France in Euro 2016 – it's right here. If you can, go and observe and see for yourself.