By Shaun Casey
IT was at Celtic Park last year that Armagh really started to believe they could go all the way. After a heartbreaking Ulster final defeat, Armagh showed their worth against Derry and enjoyed the experience of a lifetime. Philly McEvoy is hoping for some déjà vu this weekend.
After another gut-wrenching Ulster final loss to Donegal, their third in a row, Armagh begin their All-Ireland title defence against the Oakleaf County, although Kieran McGeeney’s men will enjoy home advantage this time around.
Starting the All-Ireland series with a win will be crucial for the Orchard County as they look to reach the knockout stages of the competition. McEvoy believes the quick turnaround of just two weeks will be a good thing.
“After the defeat, Armagh can dust themselves off and get ready to go again and get another good performance, because the Ulster final was a good performance too,” said the former Armagh goalkeeper.
“If you look at Derry, they’ve been sitting about for six or seven weeks so they could come out fresh or maybe a wee bit stale. Armagh will be chomping at the bit, and their performance level was that high, they’ll want to continue that momentum.
“It was only a couple of wee decisions here and there that cost them, but Armagh are in a good place. They have all the learnings from last year and if they hit the ground running against Derry, they’ll be in a good place.
“As we know from last year, if they get a bit of momentum in the All-Ireland series, it can keep you going and get you over the line. Hopefully it’ll be a similar outcome for Armagh as last year.”
While Armagh just came up short in the provincial final as they’d aimed to end a 17-year wait for the Anglo Celt, McEvoy thinks McGeeney’s hand will be strengthened with the return of some key personnel.
“They’ll hopefully have Aaron McKay, Joe McElroy and Rian O’Neill back, although we don’t know when Rian is going to be integrated back into the team. They’ll be looking towards that in the group stages,” he added.
“That alone, those three lads coming in, having pretty much not featured at all this year, will give the team a massive boost. McElroy and McKay will shore up the defence and Rian might take this Armagh team to a whole new dimension with the new rules.
“He has the potential for two-pointers, and we feel the new rules are set up for him. Hopefully that break he had has got him into a good space and he can start contributing to Armagh and prove how good of a player he is.
“Armagh have missed him, regardless of the good scores they’ve been putting up. Rian always has that potential to pull out a real game-defining moment and there might be an occasion or two that we might see that coming to fruition.”
On Derry themselves, McEvoy continued, “Last year, as supporters, we were very despondent after the Ulster final, and we needed something to kick us on and it was that day in Celtic Park that did that. It was the bit of fight we needed to burst forward from there.
“I feel we’re in a better place this year given all of that experience from last year. We’re All-Ireland champions and despite being disappointed with the Ulster final, they can still take a lot of positives from it, and they’ll be looking to continue that momentum.”
There are huge tests against Galway and Dublin coming up in the next couple of weeks for Armagh in the ‘Group of Death,’ but that’s nothing new for the current Orchard players as they’ve come through tough groups in the past two season.
“It’s the group of death but Armagh are well versed in that. As a player, playing the teams of the calibre of Derry, Galway, Dublin is where you want to be. You’re pitting yourself against the very best really from match-day one and that’s what you want.
“It’s a good parameter for any team but particularly for Armagh, to see where they’re at.
“They know they’re at the top table and they proved that last year so I see no reason why they wouldn’t be chomping at the bit to get stuck into Derry.
“They certainly have their eyes set on All-Ireland success too so pitting your wits against Galway and Dublin, even at this stage of the season, leaves you in a brilliant place and you’ll be under no illusions of where you stand at the end of the group stages.”
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