By Shaun Casey

ARMAGH set out at the start of the season to reach the Division One National League final, and the defending champions completed that goal with two games still to play. Now, they’re looking forward to a big day out in Croke Park.

The Orchard County have been on the rise over the past number of seasons, winning four of the last five Ulster titles and claiming the Division One league title last season for the very first time in their history.

In terms of All-Ireland glory, Armagh haven’t quite cracked that particular code just yet, although they are heading in the right direction. In the last three years, the team that has ended Armagh’s championship journey has gone on to contest the All-Ireland final.

Darnell Parkinson and Joe Feeney have built a solid squad this year. Kelly Mallon and Clodagh McCambridge earned their first starts of the season the last day out against Meath, while Aimee Mackin is still on the mend.

“Getting to the league final was really big for us for a couple of aspects,” said joint-manager Parkinson. “One, we’re getting that extra experience in Croke Park. We saw Kerry doing it over the last few years – they have been in those league finals and that experience has stood to them on the big day.

“The other thing is we’re mindful of the length of the break between the league and the Ulster Championship – it’ll be an extra game for us and it’s something to break up that time period.

“Obviously, we’re the defending champions so we want to go out and defend that crown.

“Getting to the league final was a big goal for us so we ticked that box thankfully.”

A clash with the Kingdom will test Armagh. The two sides have built up a tasty rivalry over the past few years, including the Division One final last year, which Armagh won thanks to majors from Mackin and Niamh Coleman.

But when it came to the big day, in the All-Ireland semi-final, Kerry were the ones that came out on top. They had the last laugh at Croke Park too, soaring to the All-Ireland title with a fantastic display against Galway.

“The reality is that both teams, if you’re watching as a neutral, play good football. I suppose people would describe Kerry as a good kicking team and people describe us as a good running team.

“I think in the main, as much as there is a rivalry there, there’s a competitiveness there too.

“They’re normally really good games of football with both teams going at each other and hopefully it’ll be the same again.”

Parkinson and Feeney will have a selection headache heading into the final and the goalkeeper jersey is just one of the positions that will be up for debate.

Anna Carr has been the constant number one over the years, but Briana Mathers put her hand up against Meath.

She pulled off three superb point-blank saves and will be eager to earn that starting spot.

Armagh used 28 players that day, including 13 second-half subs, so selecting the strongest starting 15 could be a tough task for the management.

“We decided as a management team to give everyone football,” Parkinson said after the Meath defeat. “I don’t know how many debuts were made but it was good to see girls who have worked hard over the last few months actually get a chance to wear the jersey for Armagh.

“The main focus (against Meath) was a good performance off the back of the last game (loss to Waterford), we wanted to rectify that and put a few things to bed.

“There’s obviously still a lot to work on. We’d be disappointed that we didn’t see the game out, but we came through unscathed and that’s the main thing.”

On the goalkeeper situation, Parkinson added, “One of the first things myself and Joe would have said was that we probably have the best pair of goalkeepers in the country.

“Keeping both of those goalkeepers fully invested throughout the league as well as keeping them both competitive with each other has been a big task for us.

“It was something that we knew we were going to have to do.

“The reality is that it’s not just the goalkeepers, there’s a lot of girls that are looking over their shoulders. They know that they need to keep producing it every night at training because there’s places up for grabs,” the joint-manager added.