JAMES Morgan and the Armagh management had high hopes that the red card the Crossmaglen Rangers defender was shown against Donegal would be rescinded on appeal, but their arguments failed to sway the GAA’s Central Hearings Committee (CHC) on Wednesday night.
Morgan will miss tomorrow’s clash with Fermanagh at his home ground St Oliver Plunkett Park after the CHC upheld referee Martin McNally’s decision to send him and Donegal forward Jason McGee off for their parts in a first half fracas in Ballybofey on March 2.
Armagh are already without suspended midfielder Stephen Sheridan for the Ulster derby and victory will see Rory Gallagher’s Ernemen move to the verge of promotion to the top flight and, depending on other results, it could mean Armagh drop to the bottom of Division Two.
The Orchardmen will have manager Kieran McGeeney back in the dugout tomorrow but they are sweating on the fitness of experienced quartet Mark Shields, Aidan Forker, Niall Grimley and Brendan Donaghy.
“They have been unable to do full training with us for the last week but the physios have been working very hard with all of them but as of our last training session all of them remain extremely doubtful,” said assistant-manager Jim McCorry this week.
