LAST Saturday afternoon, Middletown travelled to south Dublin to play Ballyboden in a challenge game. Ballyboden were missing their Dublin players but they still won the Leinster league in June with that squad.
When they have a full panel available, Ballyboden will be one of the favourites for the Leinster club hurling title. Middletown were also missing a couple of players but they won the game by six points.
The margin would have been greater if they hadn’t conceded a few late soft goals. Challenge matches are never an accurate barometer of anything but it still says something about the potential of any side when they can beat one of the top club hurling teams in the country.
Ballyboden are managed by Paul Carley, a former Wexford hurler. Carley was taken aback by the talent on show. He had never heard of the players who played for Armagh but he was fully aware of them by last Saturday evening.
Twelve of that Middletown side are part of the Armagh squad which contest this Sunday’s Ulster final against Antrim. They have some hugely talented players but Middletown have a relentless work-ethic and a never-say-die attitude. Nobody gives them a chance but if Armagh can produce a performance driven by those qualities on Sunday, they could cause a massive shock.
For a start, nobody knows what Antrim team will turn up. What mental state will they be in after losing the Christy Ring Cup final after two attempts? A handful of players have moved on since those matches. With Antrim’s players now heavily focussing on the club championship, are they just ripe for picking?
Armagh don’t have anything like the same talent as Antrim. Only having three senior clubs reflects the gulf in resources between Armagh and Antrim but Armagh have a real togetherness, which always gives them a chance –especially in a fixture like this. The club atmosphere within the squad adds to the drive and commitment they show to the Armagh jersey.
Despite losing the Nicky Rackard Cup final for the second successive year, Armagh have been the shining light for Ulster hurling at inter-county level this season. Two years after surviving a relegation play-off to Division 3A against Fingal, Armagh won Division 2B of the National League, which nobody thought they would. They took some big scalps along the way, including Christy Ring Cup champions Meath, who they hammered by 13 points.
The squad were extremely low after the Mayo defeat in the Christy Ring final but they didn’t allow it to contaminate the rest of their season. Despite going nine points behind against Down in the Ulster semi-final after 30 minutes, they came roaring back to win the game by seven points.
Winning a first Ulster title would be about more than just history; it would also provide a massive boost to the game within the county. A lot of Armagh’s main players are getting close to 30. Armagh manager Sylvester McConnell spoke last year about the strength of Armagh’s U21 squad but failing to field at minor level two weeks ago against Down (a week after beating Donegal in the quarter-final) highlights a concern about the next level of talent coming through. With the excellent coach Ronan McWilliams having moved on from his coaching officer role, which he held for over 10 years, his loss has been hugely felt in the last couple of years, especially when Armagh need to keep tilling the ground.
Moving up to Division 2A next year will be another massive challenge. Armagh could face some tough days out against teams like Antrim, Westmeath and Carlow. That should be even more of a motivation now to win an Ulster title when a huge opportunity presents itself.
Down had that half-chance last year and they couldn’t get over the line. Neither could Derry in the 2014 Ulster final, when they also ran Antrim to one point. Antrim may not have had their strongest teams out in those matches but maybe Down and Derry would have won if they had looked at Antrim as just another team, and not just as the county always expected to win the Ulster title. If Armagh adopt that mindset, they have a great chance of halting Antrim’s bid for a 15th consecutive provincial crown.
Most of these players know they can compete with the best Antrim have to offer. Middletown led Cushendall at half-time in last year’s Ulster club semi-final before Cushendall capitalised on a Middletown red card to push on and win.
Keady have long been the standard-bearers of Armagh club hurling but Middletown have played a huge part in establishing a new culture in Armagh. Middletown reached the All-Ireland intermediate club final in 2011, which they lost to Mount Leinster Rangers, who subsequently reached an All-Ireland club senior final in 2014. That side was managed by McConnell, who continues to do superb work with this Armagh squad.
The quality is there. Antrim may have far more talent but the big question now for Armagh comes down to belief.
“With the template that has been set down it’s scary in one sense because you’re thinking ‘God where could this team actually finish?’” said McConnell in a TV interview after the 2015 Nicky Rackard semi-final win against Donegal. “That’s an exciting platform to be involved in.
“There’s a lot of honest people involved in Armagh hurling.
A lot of great families involved. We hope too we can give something back to the kids. If we can give something back by winning in Croke Park, and doing a bit of coaching later on, we will do it. That’s something for the future.”
Successive Nicky Rackard Cup final defeats in the meantime have been a blow. Training numbers dropped for a few sessions after the loss to Mayo in June but Armagh regrouped because nobody disputes the resolve and will within this squad to keep going. Despite the low profile surrounding the Ulster final now, if Armagh do keep going they could walk into history on Sunday.
Especially, if they believe it is possible, and that history could very well be within their grasp.
