ARMAGH LADIES – Orchard hope to get something from season

ARMAGH ladies manager Ronan Murphy feels that his side should be well represented when the 2020 Senior Team of the Year is announced.

Unlike previous seasons when an Allstar selection covered all three grades, the Ladies Association are planning a Team of the Year at senior, intermediate and junior level.

Given how well they performed in their wins over Tyrone and Mayo, and how hard they pushed Dublin in Saturday’s 3-13 to 3-8 All-Ireland semi-final loss, the final 15 can expect to have a tint of orange.

Aimee Mackin is a cert for a spot while it would be a surprise if Aoife McCoy and Clodagh McCambridge are excluded. Murphy said that players like Niamh Marley and Tiarna Grimes are amongst other who deserve credit for excellent campaigns.

“We’ve had a lot of good performers,” he said. “You look at the entire forward line and you’d think they’ll all have to come into consideration.

“It was disappointing that the campaign ended where it did but we have had a lot of good showings from players this year.”

Murphy watched the game back in full on Monday and was left with even more ‘what ifs?’

He didn’t want to be drawn on the performance of referee Garryowen McMahon but there were some within the Orchard camp who were bemused at the decision to sin-bin McCambridge for her penalty foul on Niamh McEvoy while Lauren Magee escaped similar censure when she barged into Mackin for Armagh’s spot-kick.

For now though, attention turns to the side’s upcoming Ulster final against Monaghan. There is confusion over whether the competition is deemed elite, which would allow it to be played under covid restrictions, so a date is yet to be decided. Whatever happens, Murphy said that the players can be proud of their efforts this season.

“Hopefully we can get playing the Ulster final soon, but it’s a bit up in the air at the minute,” he said.

“The players put in a great effort this year. We tried to play football that made it enjoyable to come to training and I think you saw that in their performances over the last few weeks.”

By Niall McCoy