Football

In the Irish News on April 10 1997: Surprise at only four Crossmaglen stars in Armagh Championship panel

Tony McEntee was one of only four Crossmaglen players named on Armagh's 1997 Championship panel. Picture by Ann McManus
Tony McEntee was one of only four Crossmaglen players named on Armagh's 1997 Championship panel. Picture by Ann McManus Tony McEntee was one of only four Crossmaglen players named on Armagh's 1997 Championship panel. Picture by Ann McManus

The Armagh football management have surprisingly opted to include only four Crossmaglen players in the county panel for the Ulster Championship.

Oisin McConville, Cathal Short, and the McEntee brothers, Tony and John, are the only Cross men in the panel of 30 which has been finalised for the Championship opener against either Down or Tyrone on June 15.

This has come as a surprise to south Armagh football fans as it was generally felt that the club’s All-Ireland triumph on St Patrick’s Day would hasten call-ups for more than a half-dozen of the team to the county squad.

Midfielder Colm O’Neill has apparently paid for a disappointing performance in a challenge match for the county on Easter Monday. He was tried out on that occasion but his performance failed to convince Brian McAlinden and Brian Canavan that he should be added to the panel.

Francis Bellew did line out for the Armagh U21s in the Ulster Championship defeat against Tyrone five days after the emotional St Patrick’s Day triumph in Croke Park, but the solid-looking centre half-back has not been promoted to the senior squad.

Full-back Donal Murtagh, outstanding on St Patrick’s Day, has also surprisingly been overlooked by the Armagh bosses.

Crossmaglen captain and former county star Jim McConville was one of only a couple of veterans who ruled themselves out of contention for county call-ups. But the majority of Cross players were understood to be keen to throw their weight behind the county’s Ulster Championship bid.

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ERIC CANTONA cost Manchester United their fourth defeat in this season’s European Cup [beaten 1-0 by Borussia Dortmund] but Alex Ferguson’s men left the Westfalenstadion still convinced that they can be crowned champions back here in Germany on May 28.

Rene Tretschok punished the Frenchman’s moment of sloppiness, his 76th minute shot taking a cruel deflection to evade stand-in goalkeeper Raimond van der Gouw’s groping fingertips.

But though Roy Keane ruled himself out of the semi-final second leg with a foul on Portuguese star Paulo Sousa, his second booking of the competition, United can pull off another great escape.

Alex Ferguson brooded on missed chances by Manchester United last night but still insisted his side have a good opportunity to make the European Cup final.

“We have got a good chance, we know that. Peter Schmeichel should be back, hopefully David May will be back,” said the United manager.

“I suppose it’s not too bad, the one goal, but we had some good chances for a goal ourselves. That’s the disappointing thing, getting the opportunities and not taking them.”

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Glenavon manager Nigel Best last night denied James McCartan had been dropped from the team because he is back playing gaelic football for Down.

McCartan, one of the Lurgan Blues’ best players this season, was surprisingly relegated to the bench for Tuesday night’s Coca-Cola Cup final victory over Glentoran, but Best last night said this was for tactical reasons.

“It wasn’t done in terms of punishment or anything like that. It was simply that we put Ray McCoy on one wing and wanted to try Sammy Johnston in a new position,” he said.

However, the Glenavon boss admitted that he did think McCartan wouldn’t have been fit enough, considering his exploits in a Down jersey at Croke Park on Sunday.

“James played for us on Saturday [against Ards] and for Down on Sunday so we didn’t think he’d be fit to play in an important final on Tuesday night.”

Best added that the fact McCartan had appeared on the bench instead of being left out altogther indicated he is “still very much a part of Glenavon’s plans”.