Armagh get their All-Ireland campaign up and running on Sunday when they take on last year’s winners Meath.
The Royals surprised a lot of teams last season, including the Orchard County. They went the whole way and were crowed All-Ireland champions by the end of the year.
They disposed of Ronan Murphy’s side at the quarter final stage before seeing off Cork and Dublin.
It was a disappointing end to an otherwise promising campaign for Armagh, but they have bounced back this season.
They reached the Division Two National League final and although they lost to Kerry, the experience of lining out in Croke Park for a national decider will stand to them.
They went on to lift the Ulster title, achieving a historic three-in-a-row, battling past Donegal in the final.
Not once but twice the Orchard came back from the death to steal the victory. Their never say die attitude is admirable.
Scoring power
Kelly Mallon was the hero. The Armagh Harps player levelled the game in normal time before rattling the net in extra time.
In Mallon Armagh have an incredible leader and a star forward, and Armagh are bursting with attacking quality.
Aimee Mackin and Aoife McCoy are scoring threats while Blaithin Mackin and Caroline O’Hanlon form an attack minded midfield partnership.
News broke this week that Blaithin Mackin is set for a professional career down under, but she’s vowed to see out the rest of the season before shipping off.
Armagh will need all the help they can get this weekend as they face as tough a challenge as you could expect for an opening round.
Meath dismissed Monaghan in their first outing with the minimum of fuss. 1-13 to 0-1 was the final score.
Armagh know all about the Royals at this stage. The Ulster champions will be out for revenge after what happened last season and will want to prove a point and lay down a marker.
