Football

Armagh attackers can see off bogeymen of Laois

The Armagh team which began Division Two with a convincing win over Cavan.<br /> Pic Philip Walsh
The Armagh team which began Division Two with a convincing win over Cavan.
Pic Philip Walsh
The Armagh team which began Division Two with a convincing win over Cavan.
Pic Philip Walsh

Allianz Football League Division Two: Laois v Armagh (O’Moore Park, 6pm)

EVEN without the events of the last few minutes in Hyde Park last weekend, where Laois rescued a draw with two late goals, Armagh would have been wary of tonight’s trip.

The O’Moore men have been a bogey team for the Orchardmen in their regular meetings over the past decade, winning nine of their last 11 meetings in League and Championship.

Embarrassingly, the two Championship defeats for Armagh in that timeframe came in the same campaign, in round one of the 2016 qualifiers, after a replay was ordered as Laois had used seven substitutes during their first win.

No matter how weak they were, Laois almost always seemed to beat Armagh. They’d been relegated from Division Two earlier in 2016 – but their only win of that series had come at the Athletic Grounds, contributing to Armagh’s own demotion.

Laois tumbled on down to the lowest level, finishing bottom of Division Three, but they still managed to overcome Armagh, again snatching a one-point success in the cathedral city.

Former Kerry player Mike Quirke has become the fifth different man in charge of the Laois footballers during Kieran McGeeney’s tenure as Armagh boss – and this is only the latter’s sixth season.

Tomas O Flatharta, Mick Lillis, Peter Creedon, and John Sugrue have all tried their hand from 2015 onwards, but only the last-named lasted more than a year, and he was the only success, earning successive promotions. However, the Kingdom native somewhat surprisingly stepped away, although that decision became more understandable when he was announced as Kerry U20 manager, taking over from Kildare-bound Jack O’Connor.

Yet another Kerryman, Quirke is highly-rated, and certainly made a commendable start with the result and performance last weekend – remember that Laois were two divisions below Roscommon last year.

Still, Armagh should travel down to Portlaoise with some confidence after their 13-point hammering of Cavan last weekend - although they would be the first to point out that the Breffnimen were a shadow of the side who saw them off in an Ulster semi-final replay last summer.

Laois were on top around centrefield thanks to John O’Loughlin and Sean Byrne, plus Kieran Lillis on his occasional sojourns there. Yet if Armagh can secure a sufficient supply of possession then they definitely have the forwards to do serious damage. Quirke has made one change to the Laois defence, bringing in Brian Byrne at right corner-back for his Graiguecullen club-mate Trevor Collins.

Armagh newcomer Conor ‘Turbo’ Turbitt has really caught the eye so far this year, notching 1-6 against Cavan, all from play but for one ‘mark’ free. The Clann Eireann lad joins the O’Neill brothers Oisin and Rian, new skipper Stefan Campbell, and former captain Rory Grugan, all of whom can make and takes scores – and Jamie Clarke could be back in contention too.

There are still question marks over the Armagh defence, and tonight could be a tougher test for fresher faces such as Conor O’Neill and Callum Cumiskey, so the return of Dromintee’s Aaron McKay to the rearguard would be a significant addition.

The biggest criticism of Armagh in recent seasons has been directed at their perceived lack of ‘game management’ but this squad now seems to have sufficient experience to make positive performances count on the scoreboard.

Recording another win, away, and against a ‘bogey’ team like Laois, would be a major psychological boost to their hopes of securing a return to Division One.

Laois: N Corbet; B Byrne, M Timmons, G Hanrahan; S O'Flynn, R Pigott, P O'Sullivan; J O'Loughlin, S Byrne; M Keogh, C Murphy, E Lowry; M Barry, K Lillis, E O'Carroll.

Armagh: TBC