By Shaun Casey

SOME 27 players have got game time during Armagh’s successful first four league games and joint manager Darnell Parkinson, who takes the side along with Joe Feeney, is delighted with the depth of their playing squad.

The Orchard County claimed the Division One crown last season for the first time ever and they are the in-form team in the country at the moment. They are top of the table having picked up wins over Kerry, Tyrone, Dublin and Mayo.

It’s a remarkable run of form given the players that Armagh have been without. Star player Aimee Mackin, captain Clodagh McCambridge and the experienced Kelly Mallon have yet to see any minutes in 2025.

“We knew at the start of the season; we have eight or nine Clann Éireann players and we made the call very early that we weren’t going to bring them back in immediately,” said Parkinson.

“They deserved a bit of extra rest, so we told the squad there were going to be chances there for all of them. We didn’t want them seeing it that they were just waiting for someone to come back in and take their jersey.

“The likes of Moya Feehan kicked a couple of points in the first half (against Mayo), then forced herself to go off, she was sick at half time. Maeve Ferguson got injured in a college match midweek, so we had to make the call there.

“The squad is really healthy, and we still have a couple of players to come back in as well so we can’t be unhappy with that. Last week was actually the first time where we were able to have a full in-house game, full pitch.

“It ended up that we had one team winning by a point and you come away from that absolutely delighted, that’s exactly what you want. Everyone is playing for their jersey and when an in-house game is as competitive as that, it showings the depth in the squad.”

Armagh welcome Kildare to Crossmaglen this week and another victory should more or less secure their place in another league final and another day out at Croke Park.

“We were happy with the first half, maybe not so much with the second half but it’s always good to get a win and still come out with a lot of things to improve on,” added Parkinson, speaking after Armagh’s win over Mayo.

“We got to use a lot of our squad as well, so you’ve got to take that into consideration. At the end of the day, when myself and Joe took the job on, we had a fair idea of what was already there.

“We knew there were players there that possibly didn’t get opportunities last year.

“They maybe did deserve to get more game time. This year we said we’d throw them in and see what they’ve got and if they’re good enough, if they’re hungry enough, they’ll prove it out on the pitch and thankfully they are doing that.”