Surprise table-toppers Fermanagh ready for Armagh battle

Peter McGrath’s side can thank a fortuitous draw with Armagh for their place in final

Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney: his side has more options at its disposal and also have greater recent experience of playing Croke Park. Photograph: Inpho
Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney: his side has more options at its disposal and also have greater recent experience of playing Croke Park. Photograph: Inpho

AFL Division Three final

Fermanagh v Armagh, Croke Park, 7.15

Armagh’s immediate return to Division Two was no great surprise but Fermanagh have done well to join them and in fact topped the division. That was partly due to what was from Fermanagh’s perspective, a fortuitous draw between the counties when they met during the regulation season.

Credit the fight-back from Peter McGrath's team in the second half but Armagh also took their foot off the pedal with a display of poor shooting accuracy. Similarly in the final match against Sligo, Kieran McGeeney experimented with the attack and ended up turning over possession far too easily and the team got walloped.

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Fermanagh play a running game and in the league's top scorer Seán Quigley have a reliable dispatcher of frees if opposition defence isn't disciplined. They have also tightened up at the back after last year and tend to play on the counter-attack but they could have done without losing captain Eoin Donnelly at centrefield.

Armagh have more options at their disposal and also have greater recent experience of playing Croke Park. They will mark closely at the back but need to be careful not to give Ruairí Corrigan too much space in the rush to stifle Quigley - as happened last month when the latter scored a spectacular goal.

FERMANAGH: T Treacy; M Jones, T Daly, M O'Brien; B Mulrone, R McCluskey, N Cassidy; R Jones, R O'Callaghan; P McCusker, R Corrigan, D McCusker; T Corrigan, S Quigley, C Flaherty.

ARMAGH: N Geoghegan; A Mallon, C Vernon, M Murray; JMorgan, F Moriarty, M Shields; C McKeever, A Findon; T Kernan, M McKenna, A Forker; E Rafferty, A Murnin, J Clarke.

Referee: D O'Mahoney (Tipperary).

Verdict: Armagh.

Seán Moran

Seán Moran

Seán Moran is GAA Correspondent of The Irish Times