Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ARMED AND DANGEROUS
Orchard wary of Donegal backlash as a few big guns return
JIM MCCORRY is expecting a backlash from Donegal when Armagh land in Ballybofey tomorrow night.
Last weekend saw Declan Bonner’s side fall to a shock home defeat against Fermanagh.
But assistant Armagh manager Mccorry – who will again be patrolling the sidelines as boss Kieran Mcgeeney sees out his four-week suspension – isn’t surprised at how tight Division Two has become.
Only three points separate teams in the promotion and relegation places, with Armagh and Donegal both on four points.
“We said at the start of the year that this is going to go right down to the wire for relegation and promotion,” stated Mccorry (inset).
“It would be a brave person who would call that or put some money on it – I certainly wouldn’t.
“We knew we left a point behind in Newry
(against Clare), we knew we left a point behind in Kildare, so getting a first home win on the board against Tipperary was great for the players and for our supporters.
“Now instead of sitting second from bottom, we’re fourth from top. It’s so close.
“There are a lot of teams who are one win away from being top and Fermanagh are sitting up there now, so it’s interesting.”
Fermanagh beat 14-man Donegal by 0-13 to 0-10 last week to join Meath in the promotion places, with Kildare, Armagh and Donegal breathing down their necks after four rounds of the league.
Donegal will have most of their Gweedore contingent back after their All-ireland club semi-final defeat by Corofin two weeks ago.
Talisman Michael Murphy, who warmed up against Fermanagh but didn’t come on, is also primed for his first appearance of 2019.
Donegal were favourites for promotion and after back-toback defeats by Tipperary and Fermanagh, Mccorry expects to meet a wounded animal.
“The natural thought process would be yes, that there’s going to be a bit of a backlash from Donegal.
“They’re going to bring their Gweedore players back so we’ll probably see a different Donegal, a team that might be smarting a bit after that (Fermanagh) result.
“Before that game we already knew that Ballybofey is a bit of a fortress for them but we look forward to going there.”