A season of better balanced attack and defence has sent Armagh straight back to Division One and into Sunday’s Division Two final
A season of better balanced attack and defence has sent the county straight back to Division One and into Sunday’s finalKieran McGeeney: his Armagh side have been unlucky in recent years, losing an Ulster final and two All-Ireland quarter finals – all via penalty shoot-outs. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Adding to last year’s frustration was the sense among supporters that a level of caution introduced to improve matters defensively had shackled what is seen as the team’s greatest asset, their forwards. This Sunday, McGeeney’s team are back in Croke Park after a restorative campaign in Division Two. Derry’s Conleith Gilligan has joined Kieran Donaghy and Ciarán McKeever on the coaching ticket, new players have been trialled and a sense of adventure restored, or at least a perceived rebalancing of priorities.
An unbeaten league campaign ended in second place due to the point dropped in Cork. It was all fairly predictable, as from the start Armagh and Donegal, under the returning Jim McGuinness, had been the hottest favourites for promotion since Napoleon was a corporal. “His work rate, his endeavour has been brilliant, which is valued by Geezer but he’s still putting scores on the board. Cian McConville was playing brilliantly but picked up a bit of an injury. He’ll not be too far away.”
Another potential change in emphasis has been the goalkeeping position. Ethan Rafferty has been one of the new breed, especially plentiful in Ulster, who play as a 15th outfielder. In last year’s Ulster final, he was almost quarterbacking the Armagh attacks from the opposition 45.
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