GERARD O’KANE: There are no moral victories

AND boom, just like that, the Ulster Championship has begun. Some say it officially started at 4.15pm last Sunday, while others might argue it wasn’t really alive until around 5.15pm. If you had been blindfolded and transported back two years, you could have been forgiven for thinking we were back in the old version of the GAA.

I hesitate to keep using the term “new rules” – at what point, 18 months down the line, do they stop being “new”? Anyway, that’s a debate for another day.

As for the match itself, it was definitely a slow burner. The opening game can often be a nervy affair, especially with local rivalries at stake. Should we have been surprised by the result? Well, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Post-game, much of the commentary centred around how it was madness to write Tyrone off to the extent that many had. A Tyrone team backed into a corner is a dangerous proposition. Ask 10 people for a pre-game prediction and nine would likely have plumped for an Armagh victory. Yet Tyrone hung in there without even needing six or seven players to perform out of their skin. That probably says more about Armagh’s performance, but regardless, with 70 minutes on the clock and the teams level, it was anyone’s game.

It took until late on for the contest to truly burst into life, and given how tight it was, extra time proved enthralling. Penalties looked very much on the cards until the late miss from Morgan. Over the course of the 100 plus minutes, Armagh might just have done enough to be deserving winners.

When they were harshly reduced to 14 men, they showed greater bravery in how they approached the game.

They backed their physicality and, with Brian Kennedy already injured, took control around the middle.

Their ability to work short kickouts and retain possession proved crucial. Listening to Kieran McGeeney afterwards, it was clear this was something they had specifically worked on, recognising how vital possession is in today’s game.

Many observers felt Tyrone restored a sense of pride and belief after Sunday, with supporters leaving in a more positive frame of mind than when they arrived. The players themselves won’t feel that way. They’ll believe they left something behind. With no game for six or seven weeks, sustaining any momentum from that performance will be difficult. Navigating that period will be a real challenge for Tyrone.

Armagh, meanwhile, will be back in action sooner and will benefit from the sharpness gained from a hard-fought home victory. While the performance may not have matched expectations, they’ll still enter their clash with Fermanagh as favourites, despite Fermanagh’s own difficult league campaign.

Looking ahead to this weekend, my one hope is that David Gough doesn’t hand Conor Glass his customary red card. After the league final controversy, this feels like a good fixture to ease Gough back in.

From a Derry perspective, any kind of victory will do. In many ways, they’re in a no-win situation. Everyone expects them to win comfortably. If they do, it will simply be met with “we expected that.” If the game is tighter than anticipated, criticism may follow – particularly after failing to secure promotion from Division Two.

Antrim arrive at Celtic Park with very little to lose – a free hit, in many respects. Similar to their game against Armagh last year, they could well compete for long stretches before the game potentially drifts away from them late on. I can see a similar pattern emerging. While I expect Derry to win with something to spare on the scoreboard, it won’t all be straightforward, and Antrim will likely have their own purple patch.

Interestingly, there will be two Sleacht Néill men involved on the sidelines. Chrissy McKaigue is part of Ciarán Meenagh’s backroom team, while Paul Bradley is involved with Antrim alongside Mark Doran, having built a relationship during Doran’s time in Derry. Small details like that add an extra bit of intrigue to the sideline battles – though they won’t help anyone kick the ball over the bar.

The other Ulster clash this weekend is another boundary derby, as Monaghan and Cavan meet in Clones on Sunday. Both sides come into this on the back of underwhelming league campaigns, although each showed signs of improvement in their final outings despite defeat.

Former Monaghan great Conor McManus described this as a 50/50 contest, and it’s hard to disagree. Recent meetings between the sides have been tight, and we could even be looking at another draw.

If pushed to pick a winner, Cavan might just edge it and spring a slight surprise given their league standings. Dermot McCabe could have them primed for championship mode and get something out of them for the day that is in it and set them up for an Ulster semi-final with Derry (I hope!).