By Michael McMullan

ARMAGH minors welcome Cavan to Crossmaglen on Saturday with an Ulster Championship semi-final spot up for grabs.

It’s a big weekend for the county with the seniors also embarking on a fourth successive bid to get their hands back on the Anglo Celt Cup.

Minor manager Barra Ó Muirí feels the minor race is wide open, a theme that has been rolled out by many of the counties involved.

The Armagh management learned from their first outing of the season, a heavy defeat at the hands of Monaghan.

Their small and silky U16 players were not able to compete with a physical home side in Corduff. It was time to reshuffle the pack.

“We do have big fellas, so we were matched up to Derry then in the next round of it and we’re really happy with that Derry game,” Ó Muirí said of their turning point.

After a victory over an Antrim side coached by Ó Muirí’s ‘Ranch’ Owen Doherty, Armagh gave a good account of themselves against Donegal.

Armagh then lost to Tyrone in the championship but reached Saturday’s quarter final with wins over Antrim and Fermanagh.

“We gave them (Tyrone) a good game,” Ó Muirí recalls. “They hit a couple of goals, we hit the post and we made a hero out of their ‘keeper.

“On another day, if we were playing them again in the championship, you’d think you’d give them a good game.

“I don’t think there’s a whole pile between the teams,” he added of the greater championship field that has been reduced to six teams that will become four by this weekend.

“There’s nobody, I don’t think, that stands out better than anyone else. Donegal would have fancied their chances and Cavan showed against Donegal that anybody on their day can beat anybody.”

For Ó Muirí, knock-out football is where everybody is at as he looks towards this weekend’s clash with Cavan.

“Everybody’s in the same boat,” he said. “You just go out and try to put your best foot forward.

“You try and get your kick-outs right, and you try and compete for their kick-outs, and you try and transition it well.”

Development

Ó Muirí has come into the minor role after time with development squads and is full of praise for the county’s pathway towards the senior team.

“There’s a wealth of talent in the county,” he said. “There’s a good link-up between the schools and the clubs.

“There are experienced coaches in U14, U15 and U16. Armagh is a small county, if you miss somebody at U14 or U15, you’ll see them playing in
the (club) league and championship.

“All it takes is for a lad to put two performances together and people are asking if someone can take a look at that lad.

“Armagh pretty good at identifying the talent and getting them together into successful squads.”

Since the new-look game has bedded in with the new rules, Ó Muirí has noticed the level of enjoyment has risen among players.

Before that, there was a one size fits all approach, which has been replaced by more specialised players again – the fielder, the carrier, the break ball man and the finisher.

“Boys love it,” he summed up. “If you’re an inside forward, even if it’s a slow attack and it’s going round the arc, you can make a dart and run inside.

“You’re asking lads at training to be inventive. Can you make a double movement? Can you make a triple movement? And can we make something happen in there?”