AS I write this I have a sense of déjà vu. Another big game for Armagh and another heart-breaking penalty shoot-out defeat. I’m just back from a coffee with Aaron McKay and he was so disappointed he let me pay (again!). I would suggest the next time instead of penalties we should have a supporter […]
Does the Ulster Championship still matter?Three leading lights in Ulster football certainly think so. By Shaun Casey WHAT does the Ulster Championship mean? Does it still carry as much weight as it used to? A lot of talk has surrounded the provincial championships over the past number seasons, due to the new restructuring of the […]
THERE’S a feel-good factor around the Mourne County in the build up to their Ulster Championship opener this weekend. Conor Laverty’s Down host Donegal on Sunday afternoon, a side they haven’t beaten in the championship since 2010. Donegal have dominated the recent history between the two teams, winning the last four meetings, including the opening […]
By Mark McGoldrick BEING confident and composed on the ball is one of Erne boss Kieran Donnelly’s key messages to his players this week as they prepare for a crunch Ulster Championship opener against champions Derry on Saturday. Having reviewed the video of the Division Three final defeat to Cavan, the Fermanagh manager said that the most disappointing aspect […]
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 […]
PETER Healy isn’t talking too long before you get the sense of why Andy McEntee left the captaincy Enda McGinley had in place for the previous two seasons. Healy speaks clearly, with both thought and positivity. The glass is half full. He played every game last season and after sitting out the McKenna Cup earlier […]
THERE was a wide smile across the face of Cavan goalkeeper Raymond Galligan as he swapped the league cup for his newborn son Rian after Saturday’s league final win over Fermanagh. The Breffni blues needed an impact from the bench and an increased determination to see off Fermanagh and seal promotion with silverware. “It was […]
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 CROSSMAGLEN are back in the Ulster Championship for the first time since 2019 and they’ll open their 2022 account against Monaghan champions Ballybay on Saturday evening. Stephen Kernan has been in charge of the Rangers since 2020 and is looking forward to his first go at the provincial championship as manager. “I’m […]
