Allianz National Football League Division Three: Sligo v Armagh (tomorrow, 2pm, Markievicz Park)
ACE marksman Stefan Campbell and Oisin O’Neill have returned to the Armagh fold after being named in the starting 15 for tomorrow’s potentially tricky Division Three opener against Sligo.
Campbell played in the Orchard’s successful pre-Christmas O Fiaich Cup campaign and also featured for Ulster in the Inter-provincial Championships, but didn’t see any game-time with Armagh during January.
His return to the forward division is a major boost for boss Kieran McGeeney, as is the inclusion of O’Neill.
The exciting Crossmaglen player starred for St Mary’s University College during the Dr McKenna Cup, and has also been in flying form as the south Armagh club progressed to the final of the Ulster U21 Club Tournament.
Whitecross’s Mark Shields also makes his return to boost Armagh’s defensive options.
It’s not all good news for McGeeney though. There is no starting spot for Rory Grugan, who was forced off with a hamstring injury late in Armagh’s Dr McKenna Cup victory over Down.
Tomorrow’s game comes too soon for the Ballymacnab playmaker, while goalkeeper Paddy Morrison looks set to miss the majority of the National League after undergoing a minor abdominal operation during the week.
The number one jersey will be worn instead by Annaghmore’s Matthew McNeice.
Following their relegation from Division Two last year, the Orchard fell through the trapdoor on scoring difference, the immediate priority must be to get straight back out of the third tier.
“It would be important,” admitted McGeeney.
“The higher you are playing, the more chance you have come Championship time. It's very rare you see Division Three and Division Four teams at the tail end of the Championship.
“I know you always have anomalies and that sort of thing but it's more rare than common. The higher up you are the better.”
And despite overseeing two underwhelming seasons since taking charge of the Orchard County, McGeeney insists he doesn’t feel under any extra pressure heading into his third year.
He said: “I have been part of teams getting to quarter-finals and semi-finals non-stop and that wasn't good either.
“It's a tough thing in the GAA. Outside Galway Mayo, Cork, Kerry, Dublin, the Ulster teams tend to take cycles.
“The pressure comes and the one thing you need to remember about management is at the start, some people like you, some people hate you. Eventually, everybody hates you, that's what you are working towards!”
At Markievicz Park tomorrow, McGeeney will go toe-to-toe with a man to whom he used to turn for advice on the line. Sligo boss Niall Carew was his number two at Kildare in the early part of the decade and the pair know each other inside out.
The Yeatsmen come into the game on the back of two FBD League wins, beating Leitrim the last day out, though they won’t have learnt much from the facile 5-25 to 0-1 victory over GMIT.
They may also take some inspiration from their last meeting with Armagh at Markievicz Park in April 2015.
With promotion to Division Two already secured, the Orchardmen travelled to take on a Sligo side fighting for their lives as they needed to win their final league game to have any chance of avoiding the drop to Division Four.
They achieved that with 11 points to spare but, given the respective mindsets of both sets of players, perhaps that wasn’t too big a surprise.
Armagh will start as slight favourites tomorrow, and rightly so. After looking stodgy and uninspired going forward sometimes last year, the McKenna Cup showed signs of renewed attacking promise – although the absent Grugan was often the key man.
There are still issues in the full-back line, as evidenced by the two soft goals conceded against Down last month, but Armagh’s superior firepower should prove the difference in Sligo.
Sligo: TBA
Armagh: M McNeice; M Shields, C Vernon, A McKay; A Forker, N Rowland, C Higgins; S Sheridan, B Crealey; A Duffy, C White, S Campbell; O O'Neill, E Rafferty, O Mac Iomhair
Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)
