Armagh need Defensive Football 2.0 if they're to beat Derry

Blanket defences - they haven't gone away, you know. Armagh, widely accepted as the most entertaining team in the land, arrived down in Tralee on Saturday and drove their bus straight on to Austin Stack Park.

As Armagh made their journey from Division 3 to 1 under Kieran McGeeney, he often commented on the game management and 'smarts’ demonstrated by other teams.

Sometimes it could have been misconstrued as a dig, but this is McGeeney, an ultimate competitor and winner, a man who loves his bit of mixed martial arts. It was hardly likely that a team moulded by him would rigidly stick to any notion of only wanting to win playing beautiful football.

And so to Tralee. David Clifford had about as much space during the game as he is afforded by the autograph hunters after it. Likewise, Seánie O’Shea got the human backpack treatment.

However, more than the close attention of key men, which was to be expected, and the universal retreat of men behind the ball, it was the return of the classic ‘blanket defence' tactics that may have been a surprise to some.

What stood out was Armagh giving up the Kerry kickout (even when playing with the wind or after free kicks) and happily waiting until the 45-metre line before getting the pressure on.

49' Kerry 0-08 Armagh 0-08 - Tadhg Morley's score here, and a subsequent David Clifford free, draw Kerry level Follow the action with RTÉ Sport