Ulster Minor Championship – Semi Final
Donegal vs Armagh
Friday 6th August – Healy Park – 7.30pm
Armagh minors travel to Healy Park on Friday evening to take on Donegal in the Ulster semi-final.
It’s been five years since their last semi-final appearance and they haven’t reached the showpiece since 2014.
A win over the the 2020 Ulster and All-Ireland champions Derry sent Brendan Hughes’ side through to the last four.
Donegal already have two games under their belts, coming from the preliminary round to reach the semi-final.
They saw off Antrim in impressive fashion while sneaking past Monaghan by two points in the quarter final.
Armagh showed tremendous fighting spirit to salvage a win against Derry. Down by five at one stage, six points on the trot allowed the minors to advance to this stage of the competition.
A big compliment from their quarter final win was the impact of the bench. Bernard Cassidy (0-1) and Ethan McKenna (0-2, 1 free) both scored after being introduced.
Mullaghbawn’s Fergal O’Brien will wear the captain’s armband and lead his side from the centre half back position.
Tadgh Grimley performed well against Derry and slotted over two crucial scores from midfield.
His centre field partner Michael Burnett is a huge asset for kickouts, and no doubt will be a target from Armagh’s restarts.
Stephen McMullan performed heroically between the sticks in the first round and pulled over two incredible saves.
The Killeavy netminder has a big future ahead of him, recently making the Northern Ireland under 19 international squad.
Gareth Murphy will once again be assigned the task of manning the square with the roaming Emmett Magee for company.
Callum O’Neill was the match winner the last day out while Crossmaglen prospect Aaron O’Neill is set to start at centre half forward.
Luke McKeever and Cianan Campbell are the main attacking threats, registering two points apiece against Derry.
No matter what happens on Friday evening, you can be sure Armagh won’t give up. They are within one win of an Ulster final appearance, which would be huge for the county.
