Some time towards the end of last year Ethan Rafferty was trying to work his way back onto the Armagh football panel when manager Kieran McGeeney suggested he might want to try out in goal. Better known for his skill and versatility out the field, it wasn’t an immediately appealing proposition.
Roll on around six months or so and Rafferty has clearly both warmed and risen to it, starting in goal in Sunday’s six-point qualifier win over All-Ireland champions Tyrone while also helping himself to two points from play, one in each half. The perfect fusion is near complete.
Rafferty isn’t the first goalkeeper to take on this occasional roaming up the field role – Tyrone’s Niall Morgan and Monaghan’s Rory Beggan have been playing it for a few years now – only his more natural forward instincts are very much still intact.
Not once but twice, two shots out-of-two on target. His second point on Sunday, in the 52 minute, was a thing a beauty: collecting the ball at midfield, Rafferty paced gently forward to the top of the D then shot cleanly between the posts off his left boot. Armagh went up 1-10 to 1-6 and never looked back.
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The tall and rangy 28 year-old from The Grange was brought into the senior setup in 2014, by then manager Paul Grimley, based on his midfield potential and forward potential, which he still displays for his club.
Last June, Rafferty ruptured his cruciate in a pre-championship warm-up game, and after recovering just seven months later, was understandably keen to regain a starting place somewhere on the team. At that point he never imagined it would be in goal.
“There was a fair bit of debating,” Rafferty says of McGeeney’s initial proposition. “It was a tough enough decision, coming back after that cruciate, after seven months, which I was delighted with.
“It was hard getting back in, and Kieran just came to me and said ‘maybe give this a go, see what it’s like’. I was to-ing and fro-ing, but happy enough to give it a go, if it means were one or two per cent better, or a different set up if maybe we are chasing games. It’s going well in training, I’m just glad to be a part of it.”
Rafferty’s father Peter was also known for his versatility with Armagh in the 1980s, although outfield only. It can be a risky tactic at times, and Rafferty relied on Connaire Mackin to make a crucial block later in the second half after being caught off his line.
“I nearly scuffed the first one, I didn’t make a good connection,” he says of his two scores. “As soon as I kicked it, I thought ‘oh, no’ so I was glad to see it go through when I lifted my head. The second one, I had a change of pace, beat my man, and made space to kick it It’s alright if you’re that when you are an outfield player, but they’ll me more on your case if you (the goalkeeper) misses them.
“It’s something we can use in transition. Football has gone a little bit like basketball, defending in transition. If the ball is slowed and we can recycle it and help the attack, I’m happy to do that, it’s a new thing. You don’t want to do it all the time as you do leave yourself susceptible. At the end of the day, you are there to stop goals and get the restarts away.
It may be the latest trend in Gaelic football, but still some teams are more successful at it than others. Beggan was very nearly caught in Monaghan’s league game against Kerry in Inniskeen earlier this year, scrambling back 80 metres to prevent Paudie Clifford from scoring a goal after Jack Barry’s interception, Clifford content to take his point. Morgan has scored his share from play over the years too, including a long-range hit against Mayo in the 2020 league match in Omagh.
While Blaine Hughes started in goal for much of the league, Rafferty looks to have made that position his own now, although this weekend’s rematch against Donegal will be another test of it, particularly given the pressure Donegal put on his kick-outs in Ballybofey six weeks ago.
“It’s a big win, delighted with it,” he says of beating Tyrone, “it’s been a long six weeks since Donegal, we didn’t do ourselves justice at all. You’re mad to get back out and correct mistakes, and hopefully we can do more of that.”
