By Shaun Casey LOSING a league final, or any final for that matter, in Croke Park is tough to take. Armagh suffered that exact experience this time last year when Kerry pipped them at the post to earn promotion to the top tier. The hurt, the disappointment, Armagh don’t want to be feeling that way […]
By Shaun Casey ARMAGH were routine winners over Antrim in the preliminary round of the Ulster Championship, sending them through to a mouth-watering quarter-final encounter with Cavan in two weeks’ time. From start to finish, Kieran McGeeney’s side dominated the tussle, bursting out of the traps to strike the first five scores of the game […]
By Shaun Casey THE last time Armagh faced Antrim in the Ulster Championship, Aidan Nugent missed out through injury. That was back in 2021 and Nugent, now Armagh’s joint-captain along with Rian O’Neill, was sidelined for the entire year having suffered the dreaded ACL tear. Two years on and the lively Cullyhanna sharpshooter is making […]
By Shaun Casey KIERAN Donaghy isn’t expecting a warm welcome this weekend when he’s in the Armagh dugout against All-Ireland champions, and his former side, Kerry on Saturday evening. The Austin Stack’s clubman will know every inch of the Tralee turf and he’ll be hoping that knowledge can help the Orchard County. They face a […]
Two former net-minders examine Ethan Rafferty’s role as Armagh’s fly-goalkeeper. Shaun Casey writes… THE role of the goalkeeper is constantly evolving and in the modern game of tactical innovation, systems and patterns of play, Ethan Rafferty has taken the netminder’s job to another level. The sharpshooter turned shot stopper has been a huge asset for […]
I CANNOT remember seeing a bad match at the Athletic Grounds. Something about it brings footballers and supporters to life. In the same way as Donegal cannot lose at Ballybofey, even if they pick a tall u-14 in goals and half the team has hangovers, the Gods have decreed that the Athletic Grounds will bring […]
WE head for a break this weekend with the first two rounds of the National Football League over us. The one thing that is clear to see is that the intensity levels are a lot higher than they would normally be at this time of the year. Given the condensed season and the fact that […]
By Shaun Casey JOHN McEntee was the man in charge of Clontibret when they last won the Monaghan Senior Championship in 2019 and could call upon Farney legends such as Conor McManus, Dessie Mone and Vinny Corey. On Saturday evening, Corey will lead his Monaghan team into battle for his first league game in […]
By Shaun Casey A LOT has been made of Armagh’s 2022 campaign, but as the new season starts to get into full swing, Kieran McGeeney is looking forward rather than looking back. ‘Geezer’, entering his ninth year in charge of Armagh, is looking forward to another year competing at the top level and hopes the […]
By Shaun Casey RORY Grugan was named as the 2022 Armagh Player of the Year after another fantastic season in the orange and white at the start of December. The Ballymacnab playmaker, who won an All-Ireland minor title in 2009, first represented his county at senior level in 2011. Over the past decade, he’s moulded […]
