The Armagh Ladies begin their All-Ireland championship campaign this weekend with a long trip to Portlaoise.
They face familiar foes in Laois and Saturday evening’s showdown will be the third meeting of the year between the two teams.
Armagh came out on top in both their league encounters, including the Division Two league final in Croke Park.
That day, Aimee Mackin stole the show as she claimed a hattrick and finished the game with a personal haul of 3-3.
Aoife McCoy also rattled the net as the Orchard County gained promotion to the top tier with a 4-9 to 2-10 victory.
That was a much more open game than their first league meeting, which Armagh again won, 0-10 to 0-5.
Laois were the only team that kept a clean sheet against Shane McCormack’s ladies but couldn’t didn’t do enough scoring themselves.
While they’d have been happier with their scoring in the league final, it’s all about striking the balance for Laois.
Ulster heartache
Although they may not have to deal with Mackin this weekend as the Armagh star forward is still recovering from an injury.
Mackin made way in the final quarter of Armagh’s Ulster final clash with Donegal, which they lost by four points.
Donegal got on top in the first half, but Armagh battled back brilliantly after the turnaround to get back on level terms.
But without their inspirational leader Mackin, Armagh’s challenge faltered, and Donegal powered over the line.
They’ve had a bit of time to lick their wounds since and all eyes will now be on the All-Ireland series.
They have Laois to contend with this weekend while Mayo is the other side in the three-team group.
Armagh have good history against both sides, so they will be confident of getting back to winning ways and topping the group.
