“Every setback is a setup for a comeback”
On Saturday night, Armagh’s Aimee Mackin was deservingly named the 2020 Senior Player of the Year, following her awesome displays in last year’s championship.
Across Armagh’s three games in the All-Ireland series, Mackin mounted an incredible personal tally of 5-17.
Throw in the 1-10 she hit in the two Ulster Championship matches Armagh played and you begin to understand the unbelievable year Mackin had.
What makes it all the more outstanding, is the fact that the Shane O’Neill’s sharpshooter had worked her way back from that dreaded ACL injury.
We take a look at Aimee Mackin’s comeback trail, which began with her horrible injury back in 2019.
Saturday 27th July 2019
Armagh claimed a famous victory over Cork with four second half goals, after being behind 1-5 to 0-4 at the short whistle.
To make matters worse, Armagh were forced to replace their star forward Aimee Mackin through injury. Mackin had claimed three of her sides four scores in the opening half.
While Armagh completed a brilliant comeback, Mackin’s was just beginning as the news broke that the attacker had torn her ACL.
Saturday 15th August 2020
After spending over a year on the sideline, Mackin made her much anticipated return in the green and white of Shane O’Neill’s.
While she played against Grange the week previous, it was her thirty-minute performance against Crossmaglen that caught the eye.
Incredibly, Mackin hit eight goals during that time and it seemed she had returned better than ever!
Saturday 17th October 2020
It was a further two months before she appeared in the orange and white and Mackin was a late introduction into the starting line-up.
Armagh welcomed Tyrone to Crossmaglen for the Ulster semi-final and had the game over at half time with an exhibition of attacking play.
Mackin was of course in sensational form and racked up 1-5 over the sixty minutes to signal her return on the national stage.
Friday 30th October 2020
Tyrone were once again on the receiving end of an incredible Armagh performance two weeks later, winning 6-16 to 3-13, this time in round one of the All-Ireland series.
Aimee Mackin went one better this time around, as she finished with a personal tally of 1-6.
She picked up the Player of the Match award!
Saturday 14th November 2020
Perhaps her best performance of the whole campaign, Armagh’s attacking ace was in jaw-dropping form, getting her side through to the All-Ireland semi-final.
Mayo provided stiff opposition but Mackin was not to be denied and record 2-7 of her sides 4-12 total.
Her shot selection that day was incredible, and we witnessed some of the best scores hit throughout the entire year.
Once again she was named Player of the Match!
Saturday 27th November 2020
While the end result went against Armagh, the Orchard County stood up and showed their worth against an awesome Dublin outfit.
Mackin was at the forefront of Armagh’s challenge and once again proved to be in unmarkable form.
She slotted home a penalty to keep her side in the game while claiming the Goal of the Year in the second half with an astonishing mixture of class and composure.
Saturday 12th December 2020
Despite losing to the mighty Dubs, Armagh bounced back to defeat Monaghan and capture the Ulster title for the first time since 2014.
Mackin chipped in with 0-5, amazingly the only game in the entire season where the Shane O’Neill’s star didn’t rattle the net.
Saturday 27th February 2021
All-Star. Player of the Year. Goal of the Year.
Exactly 20 months on from tearing her cruciate ligament, the 23-year-old picked up all three awards for her extraordinary season.
