Never say die attitude
After conceding two early goals against the best team in the country, many teams would have folded and raised the white flag.
Not Armagh. They kept chipping away and had enough confidence in their own ability to keep in the game.
They did so through two superb first half goals from an Aimee Mackin penalty and an Aoife McCoy rocket.
Even when a player down and Dublin had all the momentum, Mackin worked wonders with her second goal and Armagh continued to fight to the very end.
Deserve to dine at the top table
Armagh went into Saturday afternoons encounter as big underdogs, just as they had done two weeks previous against Mayo.
In both games, Ronan Murphy’s side showed that they deserve to be amongst the top teams in the country and they can compete at this level.
Dublin are the top side in Ireland, heading for four All-Ireland titles in-a-row and reaching their seventh final in succession, yet Armagh really put it up to them.
The Orchard County have real quality throughout their ranks and with youth on their side, they should continue to compete at the top level for the next few years.
Goals Galore
Across their three championship games, Armagh finished with an outstanding tally of 13-36.
13 goals in three games! Five of the three-pointers game from the boot of Aimee Mackin while Aoife McCoy hit four, including a hat-trick against Tyrone.
That’s an unbelievable return from the Armagh attacking unit, with eight different names getting on the scoresheet.
Kelly Mallon hit the net twice while Catherine Marley and Caroline O’Hanlon also chipped in with goals.
Promotion push for 2021
Armagh will want to push on next season and break into the top division and play the best teams on a regular basis.
Armagh currently operate in the second division and although Covid-19 put an end to league action this season, Armagh dropped too many points to trouble the top end of the table.
Division Two has been Armagh’s home for three years now, although they have threatened promotion several times in the past few seasons.
It just hasn’t worked out, but you can be sure Ronan Murphy will be targeting a promotion spot when action commences next season.
Ulster Glory still on track
Before entering the All-Ireland Championship group stages, Armagh faced off against Tyrone in the Ulster semi-final.
A brilliant, dominating performance against their old rivals sent Armagh through to the 2020 Ulster Final.
This will be Armagh’s third final appearance in a row.
The date of the decider has yet to be fixed but it’s sure that Armagh’s attention will now turn to finishing their successful year with some silverware.
