Hunger or experience to win in Ulster rematch?

Vodafone Big-Match Stats show Fermanagh's and Armagh's different strengths make for fascinating re-match

The in-depth analysis of the Vodafone Big-Match Stats from last weekend's nail-biting Ulster Senior Football final shows that while Fermanagh were on top in terms of possession, Armagh were more prolific in terms of finding the target and their man.

The thorough statistical analysis show that while Fermanagh had possession for 55.17% (18mins 25secs) of the game compared to Armagh's 44.83% and passed (foot or hand) the ball 199 times compared to Armagh's 176, the Orchard County were more precise in their passing, with a 92.04% pass completion rate compared to the Ernesiders' 89.94%.



It seems also that the fisted-pass dominates in Ulster, with 272 hand passes in last weekend's decider, all of 86 more than the highest figure from the other three provincial finals - Cork v Kerry (186 hand passes). By comparison with the 272 hand passes in last weekend's drawn game, there were just 71 short-kick passes and 32 long-kick passes.



Fermanagh also tackled more than Armagh, with 19 successful tackles (over twice as many as Armagh's nine) and 61 unsuccessful compared to Armagh's 49.



Similar to their success in link-up play, Armagh were also more economical in shooting for scores, with 22 attempts producing 10 scores, compared to Fermanagh's 36 shots on goal producing 14 scores. That amounts to a 45% strike rate for Armagh compared to Fermanagh's 38%.



On an individual level, Fermanagh's Ryan McCloskey had the highest completion rate, with not one of his 38 passes going astray. The Ernesider defender also passed more than any other player, with Armagh's Aaron Kernon second highest with 27 passes and a completion rate of 89%.



Martin McGrath had the most shots on goal for Fermanagh, with six attempts, scoring two points. On the Armagh side, star attacker Steven McDonnell was their most frequent shooter with 10 kicks at the posts producing 6 points.