Allianz Football League Division Two, round one: Kildare v Armagh (tomorrow, Newbridge, 2pm)
ARMAGH are up from the third division, Kildare down from the first and this St Conleth’s Park clash will provide an indication of which of these new arrivals is likely to prosper in the second tier this year.
In one of the games of the weekend, two footballing outfits that made progress throughout last season go head-to-head in what could be a shoot-out from start of finish.
That’s the way it was when the sides last met in a 35-score All-Ireland Qualifier at Croke Park back in 2017. The Orchardmen deservedly came out on top in a breathless, end-to-end affair and, if the game pans out the same way tomorrow, another Armagh win is on the cards.
Orchard manager Kieran McGeeney spent four fruitful seasons in the Kildare dugout. He came within a whisker of taking the Lilywhites to the 2010 All-Ireland final and 2012 (his last season) produced promotion to Division One.
Now in his fifth season as manager of his native Armagh, McGeeney still has an attachment to the Leinster county.
“I have a real soft spot for Kildare,” he said.
“They have very talented players down there, they really have and in the past couple of years they’ve done a serious job at underage.
“Even though you have Dublin at the top (of Leinster), if you look underneath Kildare have been one of the real stories at underage football.
“I know Kerry have those five All-Irelands but in terms of Leinster, Kildare have really been pushing forward and they have quality players coming through. It’s a tough start for us.”
Bar a bit of silverware (and his side had their chances to clinch it in the final), McGeeney couldn’t have asked for much more from the Dr McKenna Cup. Armagh ran through St Mary’s and Antrim and then got past Monaghan and Donegal before pushing Tyrone all the way in last Saturday night’s final.
But that success did come at a price. Jamie Clarke and Brendan Donaghy both picked up injuries in the final and Aidan Forker (an ever-present last season), Mark Shields and Jack Kennedy weren’t fit to start it. Meanwhile, dependable corner-backs Paddy Burns and Paul Hughes didn’t feature in the McKenna Cup and neither did forward pair Ethan Rafferty (who hopes to return in before the end of February) or Andrew Murnin. Crossmaglen midfielder Oisin O’Neill could miss the entire League programme, so McGeeney’s resources are stretched.
Armagh won Division Three last year, virtually at a canter, suffered a blip in Ulster against Fermanagh, but finished 2018 on a high after an all-in joust against Roscommon.
Meanwhile, Kildare’s 2018 was the proverbial year of two halves. There was relegation from Division One, then a traumatic loss to Carlow in the Leinster Football Championship but those setbacks disguise the evidence of what was ultimately a fruitful 2019 for the Lilywhites.
Kildare turned their season around with a Qualifier run that began with a win over Derry at Owenbeg. From there the Lilywhites gathered momentum, beating Longford, then Mayo in the famous ‘Newbridge or nowhere’ game after GAA administrators attempted to switch the game to Croke Park.
After that thrilling win, an 11-point victory over Fermanagh saw O’Neill’s men claim a coveted spot in the Super 8s. There were defeats to Monaghan (by two points) and Galway (by three) before Kildare’s season ended with a one-sided loss in Kerry but progress was made and Lilywhite fans will hope there’ll be more made this year as O’Neill brings through some of the talented youngsters who won the first ever All-Ireland U20 championship – including Jimmy Hyland who scored 10 points (eight from play) in the final and was named U20 Player of the Year.
Hyland has featured in the O’Byrne Cup (Leinster’s McKenna Cup equivalent) and was among the scorers and he could well get game-time tomorrow as manager O’Neill looks to fill the void the loss of Daniel Flynn has left in his full-forward line.
The mobile full-forward targetman has opted out of the inter-county scene this year and his scores – 3-9 in six games after the Carlow loss – link-up play and physical presence will be sorely missed.
The Armagh full-back line will certainly be happy he won’t be in action tomorrow afternoon.
Against that, Armagh are missing Rafferty and Murnin, the twin spearheads of their drive to promotion last year, but they have the skilful Stefan Campbell and Clarke back in harness.
All three results are conceivable but, according to reports, Kildare’s form in recent friendlies hasn’t been impressive and for that reason Armagh get the nod to win an open game of football and start their campaign on a winning note.
