Saturday 11 March – Darver Co. Louth – 3pm
The Armagh u20s take on Longford this weekend with a league title, the Philly McGuinness Cup, on the line for the winner.
League finals don’t come around every year for the Orchard youngsters, so this is an occasion to look forward to.
They are currently unbeaten from their three group stage outings, having beaten Monaghan and Westmeath.
They also drew with Louth, away from home, in round two, seeing them finish at the top of their section.
Longford saw off Fermanagh the last day out, 2-11 to 0-1, to top their group and reach the league decider.
That was their second win of the competition as they also beat Cavan by two-points, but lost to Leitrim in round two.
In the two games they won, Longford rattled the net twice, so Armagh will be wary of the goal threat they pose.
Armagh offer their own scoring potential of course, as they have registered two goals in each of their three games.
Barry O’Hagan’s side will be minus a couple of key players however, including Crossmaglen sharpshooter Caolan Finnegan.
‘Stringer’ raised two green flags to helped the Orchard claim a draw against Louth, but picked up a shoulder injury last weekend.
Barry O’Hagan is suspended for the game, while Odhran Carragher, James O’Hara and Thomas Og Duffy are also injured.
They still have plenty to offer however, with Darragh McMullen returning from injury to feature against Westmeath.
Gareth Murphy is a fantastic young defender, and he is the guarded of the Armagh defence. A defence that has conceded two goals in three games.
Callum O’Neill and Fergal O’Brien are scoring threats from the half back line while Sean Conlon gets back to help out.
The likes of Aaron O’Neill, Oisin Conaty and Ruairi O’Brien will carry the scoring burden in Finnegan’s absence.
It’s a great opportunity for the Orchard youngsters and hopefully they can get their hands on some silverware ahead of the their championship clash with Monaghan.
