McDonnell: Armagh have the talent for a long All-Ireland run
THE promise of Newry today is that the Ulster Championship should feel real again, reverting back to its default competitive setting on which it has forged its name.
They have prided themselves for an age in the north of possessing the only truly competitive provincial championship, but that claim gets diluted with every passing game.
It is just that the average winning margin for the opening three matches in Ulster this summer is running at 12 points a game, but the fact is no one is surprised.
Since 2012, Donegal, Tyrone and Monaghan have played 24 games against the other six and are not only unbeaten but their average winning margin is running at seven points.
It could be argued that Ulster, instead of being the antidote to a lop-sided provincial system, has suddenly become another telltale symptom.
You could argue that, but just not with Stevie McDonnell, Armagh’s former footballer of the year and the proud holder of seven Ulster medals.
‘You can look at it another way, there are six leading teams in the game and half of them are in Ulster,’ counters McDonnell.
‘What we have seen in the first few games is the three best teams in Ulster playing. Donegal, Monaghan and Tyrone are a step above the rest and when they play the others, the chances are they will beat them convincingly.
‘But I see this game as being very close and after that Monaghan/Cavan and Donegal/ Tyrone are going to be tight games so it is only really starting now,’ he argues.
The market backs up his assessment, eventually settling for Armagh as the slightest of favourites.
If history is with the Orchard men — it is 25 years since they last lost a Championship game to Down — momentum is with the home team.
Going into the final minute of this year’s League, they looked set to pass each other in the night until Michael Quinlivan’s injury time goal denied Armagh promotion to Division 2 and Jerome Johnston’s late free ensured Down didn’t drop down into Division 3.
That has muddied the water a little, while Armagh’s misery was compounded by the 12week ban dished out to their manager Kieran McGeeney, who will watch from the stands.
‘All that has gone on since (the League), including Kieran’s suspension, will only reenergise the players and the feedback from the camp is that they are going really well in training,’ suggests McDonnell.
And it is not just in training. If you park the unexpected twist at the end of the League, these two teams are coming from very different places.
A last-minute penalty that saw Armagh share the points against Sligo and one-point defeats to Laois and Tipperary cost them but not enough to skew the upward gradient of their form.
‘I would be encouraged by how they have played this season, particularly with regards to their attacking play. Yes, there would be reason for concern about our defending. We have to tighten up at the back but going forward Armagh can cause problems for any defence out there,’ insists McDonnell.
They proved that in the League; where they were the second top scorers and topped the goal-scoring charts with 15. Down, meanwhile, hit the net just three times this spring.
And it is the spread of those Armagh scores which impresses; 21 different players finding the target with 11 different goal-scorers.
Sure, the return of Jamie Clarke and the continued presence of Stefan Campbell ensure that Armagh possess marquee attackers, but this is all about the collective.
And while they need to get tighter at the back, they still conceded less than the 10 goals which Down shed this spring.
And if those figures translate into a seventh straight Championship win over Down, McDonnell believes that his county will have enough to push hard for a place in the Ulster final.
‘If Armagh can get across the line this weekend and take that energy into a game against even a team like Monaghan, they are capable of causing them problems.
‘If the Armagh forwards get enough supply of ball I do believe that they could cause havoc.
‘They are capable of getting to the All-Ireland quarter-finals; I really believe that.’