MOMENTUM is the buzz word around the Armagh camp now and Jarly og Burns says the Orchardmen hope to bottle what back-to-back wins has given them and carry it to Croke Park for their quarter-final against Galway.
Armagh clinched an All-Ireland quarter-final berth for the first time since 2017 with a 10-point victory over Donegal on Sunday and will have the wind firmly in their sails for the June 26 showdown (1.45pm) with the Connacht champions.
Burns finished Sunday’s game at Clones with three points from play and was outstanding in the second half as Armagh took control of a game that had see-sawed between the teams in the first half. The spirit and game-management Kieran McGeeney’s side displayed augurs well for their prospects in the last-eight clash at Headquarters.
“Our goal was to get back to Croke Park and try and express ourselves again,” said Burns.
“We want to bottle the momentum we’ve got again, we bottled it after the last day (against Tyrone) and we took it into today so hopefully we can do the same the next day.”
After years of failing to produce their best form on big Championship days, Armagh finally turned the corner in the first round of Qualifiers against out-of-sorts Tyrone. The challenge for them last weekend was to back it up with another whistle-to-whistle performance.
Rory Grugan’s early goal got them off to the proverbial flier but Armagh really showed what they were made of when they rallied after Donegal had scored the next six points on-the-trot. After Armagh had regained the lead before half-time, Donegal never gave the impression that they would be able to get back into the game.
“This team, we’ve struggled to give that back-to-back performance and that’s what had been asked for and we did it,” said Burns.
“We knuckled down, we didn’t panic - we could have panicked – and thankfully we got, not just a win, but a performance. That was the most important thing for us today. It wasn’t even getting the win, it was getting the performance and we’re happy with that.”
The scenes on the St Tiernach’s Park pitch after Sunday’s win brought memories flooding back of the day Burns’s dad Jarlath raised the Anglo-Celt Cup as Armagh captain in triumph in front of a delirious sea and orange and white at Clones back in 1999.
Jarly Og was too young to remember that game 23 years ago but he knows his history and hopes to write a new chapter with the class of 2022.
“This has been a long time coming,” he said.
“I can’t remember 1999 but I’ve watched the videos and it brings those memories back and memories of the noughties when Armagh were so successful and I was a child cheering them on.
“Now we’re just delighted we could get this day and Armagh are back again.
“Armagh fans have wanted a team to scream for and thankfully now we’re giving them that.
“They deserve it, they’re such loyal supporters. No matter how bad we’re going or how good we’re going they’re always at your back. It felt like there was two Armagh fans for every Donegal fan here today and the crowd was unbelievable. I know Kieran Donaghy had asked for the Armagh supporters to come out in force and by God they did.”
