Armagh under 20s have been drawn against Monaghan in the preliminary round of the 2023 Ulster Championship.
The draw for next years Ulster Championship took place this week and will prove a tough opener for the Orchard County.
Clan na Gael and Armagh legend Barry O’Hagan is back in charge this season, along with Oisin McConville.
The pair oversaw the under 20 side last season when they crashed out of the Ulster Championship in the first round.
That was an away day trip to Donegal in early April, when Armagh simply didn’t show up and didn’t do themselves justice.
A goal eight minutes into the game gave Donegal a head start and Armagh struggled to get back into the contest.
Armagh trailed by nine-points at the half time break, 1-7 to 0-1. They battled back in the second period but the gap was too big to close and they eventually lost out 1-13 to 0-9.
2023 Ulster Championship Draw
They’ll hope to bounce back this year and give a better account of themselves. They’ve once again been draw away from home.
Monaghan didn’t fair much better last season as they also fell at the first hurdle, suffering a 1-11 to 0-3 defeat to Cavan.
The Breffni men will await the winners of Armagh and Monaghan in the next round of next years Ulster Championship.
It’s a tough path to the Ulster final for Armagh. If they can battle past Monaghan and Cavan, they’ll meet either Tyrone or Down in the semi-final.
Tyrone are the reigning Ulster and All-Ireland champions while Down claimed the Ulster title in 2021.
On the other side of the draw, Fermanagh meet Derry in the opening round while Donegal take on Antrim.
The winners of those two games will clash in the last four of the competition, which will once again have a knockout structure.
