ARMAGH joint-manager Lorraine McCaffrey was not at all surprised by Saturday’s ground-breaking victory over Cork that saw the Orchard ladies progress to the quarter-finals of the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship.
The 4-9 to 3-11 win at O’Connor Park in Tullamore was the first time Armagh had beaten the 11-time All-Ireland champions at senior level.
The Orchard ladies came close in the 2006 All-Ireland senior final and again in the 2013 All-Ireland qualifiers, losing by a point both times but they finally got the elusive win they had been chasing on Saturday.
Armagh needed a win to progress but after losing their last two games to Donegal in the Ulster final and to Cavan in the first group qualifying game and after seeing Cork dismantle Cavan by 20 points the week before, the odds were stacked against them.
However, they threw the form book out the window and turned a four-point half-time deficit right into a 10-point lead with 12 minutes to go.
They had allowed an 11-point lead slip against Cavan two weeks ago, but they withstood a late onslaught from the Rebelettes to clinch victory.
Armagh joint manager McCaffrey knew such the impressive performance was in the side and there was no better time to produce it.
“We have had a lot of people doubting us the last two games and we needed to play for 60 minutes. We had said to the girls if we turn up for 60 minutes we will surprise a few people,” said McCaffrey.
“That result genuinely doesn’t surprise us. We knew it was there. It was not so much that the opposition in the previous games beat us, we beat ourselves. We are delighted for the players that on the biggest stage when the pressure was against them that they delivered.
“We played some exceptional football in the last two games but we didn’t get the result and unfortunately you don’t get the result if you don’t put in 60 minutes and we got what we deserved and we are delighted we are through to the quarter-finals.”
The Ulster finalists are now the only county from Ulster left in the race for the Brendan Martin Cup after champions Donegal bowed out with a four-point defeat to Mayo in Tullamore.
Maxi Curran’s side needed to win by four if they were to progress to the knockout stages and they did hold a four point lead shortly after half-time. However, they came undone as Mayo, whose full-forward line scored all but two points of their 1-22 haul, pegged them back and took control.
Manager Curran said the inability to win primary possession was their undoing.
“Two points up at half-time, we were half way there and we would have taken that at the start of the game,” he said.
“I think the game swung on the inability to get our own kick-out away in the second half at crucial stages. Mayo put a big squeeze on our kick-out and we just couldn’t get it away.
“The girls did battle hard and they give it their best and that is all you can ask of them on any day.
“I just feel our kick-outs were a big problem for us and ultimately that is the reason we were beat.
“We were under so much pressure on our kick-out and every time Mayo went up the field they were happy to even kick the ball dead just to put us under that pressure and that was ultimately our undoing.”
