By Shaun Casey

STANDING side by side at a recent underage game in Ballymacnab, Kieran McGeeney and Conor Laverty were able to shoot the breeze.

They weren’t inter-county managers on that sunny Sunday morning, just two fathers watching their children play as Kilcoo made the journey to the mid-Armagh club.

Two weeks on from that meeting, and the pair will not be as sociable.

The magnitude of Sunday’s semi-final showdown much out ways the underage friendly of a fortnight ago.

Geezer may have had eyes on Donegal, but Down upset the applecart and the Orchard County will have to be prepared for what’s coming down the track.

The 2024 clash between the two counties, at the same juncture of the championship, has been mentioned so many times in the past two years. It’s been used as a measuring stick of where Down are at and where they can go.

In additional time of that Ulster semi-final, the sides were level. A buzzer beater from Jason Duffy was all that separated the teams in the end and Down were more than a match for the team that would go on to win the All-Ireland just three months later.

Then last year, after gaining access to the All-Ireland series by winning the Tailteann Cup, Laverty’s charges again showed what they could do. They kept pace with both Monaghan and Galway, but in the end, came up short.

Three of the country’s big hitters. And Down matched them stride for stride. But they lost those games. Last Sunday, the stared Donegal square in the face and this time it was the favourites who blinked first.

Instead of just coming close, Down came out on top. They’d finally beaten a big team. And not just any team, but the team. That leaves them cruising into Clones this weekend a foot taller and their confidence will be through the roof.

The mythical Down swagger returned and the goal threat that is so often associated with the red and black jersey was most definitely evident. They hit the net three times but, on another day, it could have been four or five.

They targeted the heart of the Donegal defence every time they attacked. The pace and power of their runners was frightening, and they have the quality of Liam Kerr and Ryan Magill to come in and see the job out.

If they caught Donegal on the hop, then Armagh have been well and truly warned. McGeeney won’t let his men talk their eye off the ball as they target a fourth consecutive appearance in the provincial decider.

Against Fermanagh, their forward line purred with Conor Turbitt and Oisin Conaty in particular standing out.

The deadly duo shared 1-11 between them while Oisin O’Neill continued his super sub role, tagging on 0-4 after coming in off the bench.

Their half back line is arguably the best in the business with huge running and scoring power coming from deep. Ross McQuillan, Tiernan Kelly and Jarly Óg Burns contributed a combined 0-9 against the Erne County.

Considering the amount of men Armagh currently have sidelined, like Ben Crealey, Callum O’Neill, Greg McCabe, Rory Gurgan and Gareth Murphy, their strength in depth is awesome.

Ciaran Mackin is back in the fold after a tortuous few years while Barry McCambridge also earned his first minutes since the All-Ireland quarter-final defeat to Kerry last summer.

For Down, they will remain without Danny Magill and James Guinness for the here and now but other than that, they are full out, and flourishing. The return of Caolan Mooney certainly paid off as he was exceptional in Letterkenny.

Odhran Murdock remains an absolute powerhouse around the middle and how Armagh handle him will be crucial. Aaron McKay will likely go toe-to-toe with Pat Havern, but they also have Daniel Guinness and Ceilum Doherty to worry about.

Without Crealey and O’Neill, the midfield sector is going to be crucial.

On the Down kickouts, will Ethan Rafferty take a slot at centre stage? Will he even be playing?

How much did the Donegal game take out of Down? Armagh are fresher with the extra day recovery and the easier quarter-final tie? If Fermanagh can take Armagh for 1-24, what can Down do against them?

So many questions that won’t be answered until Sunday evening. One thing is for sure; both sides will go at this with everything they have and that should make for an enthralling encounter.

LAST MEETING

2026 McKenna Cup Armagh 3-10 Down 0-10

Ultimately, the game was null and void as Armagh played both Fergal O’Brien and Aaron O’Neill, who had been listed on respective Sigerson Cup panels but didn’t play in the competition. On the night, goals from Tiernan Kelly, Sean Conlon and Oisin O’Neill saw Kieran McGeeney’s men gain the upper hand with nine-points to spare in the end.

Armagh: B Hughes 0-1 (1f), F Downey, A McKay, J Morgan, R McDonald, T Kelly 1-1, J McElroy 0-1, C O’Neill, D Magee 0-1, P O’Keefe, C McConville 0-1, S Conlon 1-1, G McCabe 0-1, O O’Neill 1-2 (1-0 pen, 1f), F O’Brien.

Subs: S McCarthy for C O’Neill, C Magennis for J Morgan, A O’Neill for O O’Neill, R Duffy 0-1 for D Magee, D McCarthy for J McElroy, E Rafferty for F O’Brien, C O’Neill for S Conlon, T McCormack for P O’Keefe, J McCann for F Downey, G Duffy for R McDonald.

Down: J O’Hare, P Brooks, P Laverty, P McPolin 0-1, R McCormick, O Cunningham, P McCarthy, D Guinness 0-1, T Close 0-1, J Guinness, P Havern 0-3 (1f, 1tp), J McGeough, S Loughran 0-2, E Brown 0-1, A Crimmins.

Subs: R O’Hare for S Loughran, L Quinn for J Guinness, T Gilroy for O Cunningham, B McEvoy for E Brown, L Lynch for J McGeough.

LAST FIVE MEETINGS

2026 McKenna Cup: Armagh 3-10 Down 0-10

2024 USFC semi-final: Down 2-6 Armagh 0-13

2023 USFC semi-final: Down 0-12 Armagh 4-10

2019 USFC quarter-final: Down 3-13 Armagh 2-17 (AET)

2018 McKenna Cup: Down 0-13 Armagh 2-12

SEASON SO FAR

ARMAGH

NFL

Monaghan 0-18 Armagh 1-27

Armagh 0-20 Galway 3-12

Roscommon 3-18 Armagh 0-24

Armagh 0-19 Donegal 1-20

Mayo 2-17 Armagh 0-22

Dublin 1-25 Armagh 2-24

Armagh 1-21 Kerry 0-24

USFC

Armagh 1-17 Tyrone 1-16

Fermanagh 1-24 Armagh 2-32

DOWN

NFL

Down 2-19 Clare 2-14

Limerick 1-14 Down 0-18

Down 2-15 Westmeath 1-15

Wexford 1-19 Down 1-29

Down 1-18 Fermanagh 1-15

Sligo 0-21 Down 2-25

Down 0-24 Laois 2-22

Down 0-21 Wexford 0-18

USFC

Donegal 1-21 Down 3-21

TOP SCORERS

ARMAGH

Oisin O’Neill 1-44 (2tp, 5tpf, 14f)

Cian McConville 1-28 (1tpf, 11f)

Conor Turbitt 1-22 (2tp, 1tpf, 1f)

DOWN

Pat Havern 1-63 (4tp, 5tpf, 19f)

Odhran Murdock 2-27 (4tp)

Daniel Guinness 1-29 (3tp)

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Verdict: Armagh