Saturday 13 May – Ballymacnab – 3pm
Reigning Ulster Intermediate champions Armagh get their title defence underway this weekend against Cavan.
The Orchard County are chasing three Ulster titles on the trot and will have home advantage on Saturday afternoon.
It’s a three-team competition, with Antrim, the side Armagh beat in last years decider, awaiting the winners of Saturday’s showdown.
It’s Armagh’s first competitive outings since their narrow one-point defeat to Carlow in the Division Three league final.
Armagh held the lead late in the game but a final flurry from Carlow saw the Orchard leave empty handed.
And so, all attention has swiftly turned towards the championship and the chance of another Ulster title.
Recent history
The sides didn’t meet during the league this season, as Cavan featured in a higher grade and plied their trade at Division 2A.
The last time these two teams crossed paths was last summer in the All-Ireland Junior semi-final.
Armagh eventually won the game, 1-13 to 2-3 in the end, but it wasn’t as comfortable as the scoreline may suggest.
The Breffni Blues held a slender three-point lead at the halfway stage, but Armagh took control after the turnaround.
Jennifer Curry, top scorer on the day with 1-3 to her name, rattled the net and it was all one-way traffic from there on in.
Armagh showed their firepower that day, with Michelle McGuigan and Ciara Donnelly both chipping in with 0-3.
Sinead Quinn, Eimear Smyth and substitute Ciara Hill also got on the scoresheet as Armagh ran out seven-point winners.
McGuigan and Curry remain two shinning lights for Sean Hughes’ team, and they are the joint captains.
Donnelly, Armagh’s top scorer over the last few years, didn’t see any game time throughout the league.
If she’s available this weekend she’s sure to get some minutes into the legs and her presence could help Armagh over the line.
