Crackers on paper but shadowboxing may yet prevail

Before we get onto the big games at the weekend - which should be bigger still if we tweaked the format - we might pause and reflect on the drama of Clones last weekend.

Extra-time alone in the Ulster decider provided more excitement and intrigue than the other three provincial finals put together.

It was a slow burner for 50 minutes, giving way to a frantic finale in both normal time and extra-time.

Shane McGuigan pulled it out of the bag for Derry. He lit up the Ulster final. It was a sensational performance - scoring, assisting, plucking balls out of the sky in midfield. We saw he cramped up immediately after sliding home the penalty in the shootout. I wonder was that from carrying the team on his shoulders for large parts of the game.

Armagh will have massive regrets. They left the game behind, if I'm being honest. We said at the start of the campaign that Armagh - perhaps more than any other of the contenders - needed championship silverware. They'll be bitterly disappointed they let it slip away.

Like any game that goes the distance, it was a case of small margins. While Armagh did a lot right, Derry's superior game management at key moments made the difference. A couple of examples spring to mind.

One moment that stands out for me as typifying both Derry's doggedness and their smartness was Odhrán Lynch in the final play of the game.

Rory Grugan's free drops short, the ball runs along the endline, Lynch manages to shepherd it and protect it from the Armagh tacklers, knowing that if he picks it, he'll likely be hustled out of play for a '45. And you'd certainly be backing Rian O'Neill to nail that opportunity.

It might be pushing it to describe it as a 'magic moment' given that it involved him crouching over the ball for a