ANNAGHMORE veteran Owen McCormack celebrated his 40th birthday earlier this week and maybe the best present he could receive would be an Armagh championship win over rivals Maghery on Friday night.
About four miles separates the two clubs and intense competition has always existed between them, even if that has only really manifested into Senior Championship action in recent years.
Their adult teams have often missed each other but since Annaghmore moved from junior to senior at the end of the 2013 season – missing the intermediate grade altogether – meetings have been common.
This weekend's clash will be the third between the sides in the Senior Championship in six years with Maghery winning their 2016 meeting by nine points while the sides could not be separated in a group clash at Páirc an Phiarsaigh last year.
John McCormack, part of a management team that also includes Dessie McCormack, Paul Cullen and Padraic McKeever, knows that getting anything out of the match will be a big ask.
"Maghery will be out to hammer us into the ground and if we aren't ready that could happen," said the former Armagh minor who is a younger brother of Owen.
"We've been senior since 2014 now and we've played them a few times. They've always beat us well in the league and championship bar last year when we got the draw.
"We're going to go and give it our best though, there's no point in lying down and giving up before it's even started."
There's more on the line that just local bragging rights with the two teams smarting from round one defeats.
Maghery's six-point loss in Madden was one of the shocks of the opening weekend while Annaghmore lost 1-6 to 0-12 at home to Dromintee.
"We missed a bagful against Dromintee, a lot of frees and that, so we were right in it," McCormack continued.
"I saw the Maghery game and I expected Madden to give them their fill because they were the best team we have played in Senior B all year. I didn't expect them to lose though.
"Maghery were without Stefan Forker and Stephen Cusack and they'd be big players they might have back."
Whatever way the next few weeks pan out, Annaghmore will be back in the hat for the 2020 Senior Championship draw.
For McCormack, whose brothers Tomás and Daniel are also in the squad, it's a super achievement for the small club.
"That team we had between 2013 and '16, that was probably the best team the club has ever had but the last few years have been more of a struggle. Quite a few players in the spine of the team would be old enough now.
"We got a draw with Granemore in our last league game to secure our senior status for next year and to be honest if felt like a big championship win.
"It's unreal to remain at senior this long considering that we have a primary school with about 60, 65 children.
"At some age groups we have to amalgamate with up to four other teams and some of them are really struggling to field.
"That shows the difficulties that go along with it so it is something to be proud of knowing that it will be our seventh season at senior next year."
