Football

Armagh face tough test against a talented Ulster University

Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney expects a tough test against Ulster University in the McKenna Cup on Wednesday night <br />Picture by Colm O'Reilly
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney expects a tough test against Ulster University in the McKenna Cup on Wednesday night
Picture by Colm O'Reilly
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney expects a tough test against Ulster University in the McKenna Cup on Wednesday night
Picture by Colm O'Reilly

Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup Group C: Armagh v Ulster University (Wednesday, Athletic Grounds, 8pm)

DESPITE a squad stretched thin, Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney is keen to extend their involvement in the McKenna Cup.

However, he knows it will be tough against an Ulster University outfit that has plenty of talent to pick from: "Another game would be great, competitive games are always better, but as you get closer to the Sigerson, university teams tend to get better, their better players come back and play," said McGeeney.

The Orchard men will certainly have to win to have any chance of sealing the best runners-up spot in the semi-finals and will probably have to win well. In the other two groups, Derry, St Mary's and Donegal all have better scoring averages than Armagh at present and UU are in close contention too, but calculating how those figures will end up is as difficult as predicting which UU team will turn up on Wednesday night - both in terms of personnel and performance.

The student side, jointly managed by Barney McAleenan and Martin McHugh, won well at Monaghan in the opening round, by 2-16 to 1-9, but were then overwhelmed by a Cavan goal glut last Saturday, losing by 3-14 to 0-10.

McGeeney smiled slightly when asked what he expected to face, replying: "It's hard to say. Well, according to the Jordanstown players they were missing about 11 of their starting team [against Cavan], so it's hard to know.

"It's going to be hard because some of the other teams have massive scoring differences. This time of year is all about getting games and trying as much as we can to get close to a settled team."

That task isn't too tricky for Armagh as their pick is limited by absentees, although Brendan Donaghy is available after suspension and Charlie Vernon may have recovered from the injury that ruled him out against Monaghan. Full-forward Andy Murnin went off early in Clones after taking a knock and could feature on Wednesday.

In contrast, UU have a very strong squad to select from and this year's Sigerson Cup hosts won't play their first round game in that competition until the first midweek of next month. Nine players started both their games so far, including Tyrone men Seán Fox, Conan Grugan and Conor Clarke, with Derry's Cailean O'Boyle and Down's Niall Madine among their forwards.

Antrim defensive duo Ricky and Marty Johnston came in for the second match, as did Monaghan's versatile Kieran Hughes, while Tyrone Allstar nominee Ronan McNamee and Derry defender Gareth McKinless only came off the bench against Cavan, and both Killian Clarke and Michael Argue sat out the game against their native county. Donegal's Ryan McHugh and Mayo forward Evan Regan also started the win, but missed the loss.

Last year's All-Ireland U21 winning goalkeeper Fox has been starting ahead of Monaghan's Rory Beggan and others from that Red Hand squad include Rory Brennan, Frank Burns, Caolan Harvey, Ruairí McGlone and Matthew Walsh. Clearly, McAleenan and McHugh have a host of inter-county players available for selection.

As any sort of form guide, UU's big win came against a Monaghan side that included four first-choice men, while Armagh's one-point victory was over an Ulster champions' selection with six regular starters and that game under their collective belt.

Armagh will feel good after their strong second-half showing against Monaghan, but UU have the talent to win.