The Armagh hurlers will be hoping to bounce back from their first defeat of the league campaign as they host Mayo on Sunday.
Monaghan upset the odds to shock Karl McKeegan’s charges in round two, winning by the minimum of margins.
Armagh were missing quite a few regulars and played the majority of the game with only 14 men.
And yet, they led for most of the encounter, with the Farney men stealing the two points on offer at the end of the game.
So, Armagh have had two weeks to dust themselves down, reset and will go again as they welcome Mayo to the Box-It Athletic Grounds.
Bouncing back
They don’t have a great history with the men in green and red, but Mayo’s form will encourage the home side.
The Westerners earned a share of the spoils against Roscommon in Castlebar on the opening day, drawing 0-17 apiece.
And like Armagh, they surprisingly lost out in their second outing, with recently promoted Fermanagh putting them to the sword.
There wasn’t much in it, but the Erne men just did enough to get the victory, with two the difference in the end. 2-18 to 2-16.
If there’s one thing to take from those two games, it’s that Mayo have been putting up big scores, with 2-33 across two matches.
And Armagh have been doing the same. Despite losing to Monaghan, they still posted 0-22 and hit 3-18 in their first round win over Louth.
Captain Fionntan Donnelly has been the main scoring threat, with 0-18 in two games while Danny Magee (2) and Eoin McGuinness hit the net against Louth.
It’s a tough game for the Orchard, there’s no doubt about it. Mayo are certainly one of the big hitters in the division.
They just came down from Division 2B and will be eager to get back up there. But Armagh have similar ambitions and that should lead to a cracking game.
