By Shaun Casey
IF Armagh are to overturn Donegal on Sunday afternoon, something they haven’t been able to do since 2023, they’ll need to improve their efficiency in front of the goal posts, says boss Kieran McGeeney.
The two counties know each other inside out at this stage, locking horns five times since Jim McGuinness returned to the Tir Chonaill County for a second stint in charge. Donegal have won four of those last five clashes, while the best Armagh have done is a draw.
Two of those last three meetings have included two Ulster finals. Donegal edged the 2024 decider via penalties while they emerged victorious by the minimum of margins after extra-time last season.
They head into the game off the back of three consecutive wins while Armagh have suffered back-to-back defeats to Galway and Roscommon but will be aiming to change their fortunes when they welcome their provincial rivals to the Cathedral City.
“Probably our scoring ratio,” said McGeeney of what his side needed to improve.
“We’re playing really good football, but coming up against Donegal, one thing they do really well is not giving the ball away. They’re brilliant at it.
“Against Kerry they only gave away three scores from play. They’re very efficient. We’re playing well, but we’re not efficient at the minute.”
While Armagh lost to Roscommon last weekend, they did welcome back Paddy Burns and Ben Crealey for their first minutes of the season while Darragh McMullen made his first appearance of the league.
“Ben coming in and Darragh Mac, it was good to get Paddy out on the pitch too. The full=back line is a wee bit bare with (Aaron) McKay, Barry McCambridge and Aidan (Forker) missing.”
Armagh only have two points on the board from their three outings and McGeeney wants to avoid the trap door of relegation.
“You don’t like going down. We have a lot of young players who are coming through and although it’s a hard learning curve for the likes of Gareth Murphy and Fergal (O’Brien) and we have Aaron (O’Neill) and Padraig (O’Keefe) and a few other players coming in.
“I still think that it is the best place to learn your trade. If you make mistakes, you are punished. We did well coming from Division Two before, so I’m not saying that you can’t but it’s still nicer to stay up than go down.”