Trainor: Armagh camogs will give it our best shot against Down

By Niall Gartland

YOU never know until you try. This time last year, the Armagh camogs fielded in the Ulster Senior Championship in the first time in a generation and they more than justified their inclusion with a stirring performance against Derry at the semi-final stage.

Two late goals brought the game to extra-time, and while they ultimately fell short, it was a commendable effort and they’ll summon the memories of that game in preparation for Saturday’s last-four date with Down.

Both teams fielded two divisions apart in recent months – Down in Division 1B and Armagh in Division 3A, though they had contrasting fortunes and will play together in Division Two in 2027.

Down will be favourites for their imminent championship encounter in Crossmaglen, but Armagh skipper Rachael Trainor hopes they’ll do themselves justice on the day.

“Because we’ve been intermediate for the last number of years, we haven’t really played them much. We were up in senior last year and played Derry – they beat us, but the game went to extra-time.

“We were very happy with that result in a way. Obviously, we would have loved to win, but even taking Derry to extra-time in our first year back at senior level was a good reflection on us.

“There’s no doubt they’ll be strong – they’d a good win over Dublin in the league and were unlucky to be relegated. They were a couple of divisions above us, but we’ll go into it, do our best and give it a right crack.”

The Orchard camogs rounded off an impressive Division 3A campaign with victory over Roscommon in the final less than a fortnight ago, ensuring their promotion back to Division Two at the first time of asking.

Trainor, who jointly captained Armagh to All-Ireland Premier Junior success in 2020, commented:

“Everyone’s delighted. It was good to get that win and to get the league campaign over the line. Everyone’s happy in the camp, and things are going in the right direction.

“Look, we came straight down from Division Two. I think last year was a bit of a transition period for us. We had a lot of new girls coming onto the team, and Division Two probably came a bit too soon. We were experimenting with new players, and a few results just didn’t go our way. We just missed out on staying up.

“We were definitely in that transition phase, but we did aim to be back in Division Two. That’s where we want to be – playing better, stronger teams. I think we’re well fit for that level, so getting back up there was a big goal for us.”

This is PJ O’Mullian’s second season in charge of Armagh, and while last year climaxed in defeat to Laois on the All-Ireland stage, they knew that they were heading in the right direction.

“We’re into our second year with PJ and we’re delighted they stayed on with us. We’re picking up from where we left off. Obviously, things didn’t go the way we wanted towards the end of last year, but there’s been a big focus on staying together and building on what we’ve been working on.”