Kieran McGeeney has already masterminded one of the upsets of the Championship season to date. Yet, beating the All-Ireland champions Tyrone will soon be forgotten if the Orchardmen don’t back it up with another sterling performance against Donegal on Sunday.
In April, an Armagh team who’d been touted in many quarters as being genuine contenders for Ulster, fell at the first hurdle in Ballybofey.
A seven-point winning-margin didn’t flatter the hosts either, even if Armagh seemed to be denied a legitimate goal by Rian O’Neill in the early stages of the second half.
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Armagh’s starting full-forward line of O’Neill, Conor Turbitt and Jason Duffy scored just one point from play against Donegal in the Ulster Championship.
The addition of Aidan Nugent and Stefan Campbell to their starting 15 will add another dimension to their attack in Clones.
However, Connaire Mackin won’t feature after suffering concussion following a heavy challenge from Tyrone’s Michael McKernan last Sunday. Paddy Burns is also a doubt after picking up a hamstring strain.
Donegal lost out to Derry after extra-time on their last visit to St Tiernach's Park and, with a place in the last eight at stake, there's likely to be little between the side at the full-time whistle. These key battles could swing the outcome one way or the other on Sunday. . .
Possible line-outs:
Armagh:
1. Ethan Rafferty
2. James Morgan 3. Aidan Forker 4. Paddy Burns
5. Aaron McKay 6. Greg McCabe 7. Jarly Óg Burns
8. Stephen Sheridan 9. Ben Crealey
10. Rory Grugan 11. Stefan Campbell 12. Jemar Hall
13 Aidan Nugent 14. Rian O’Neill 15. Jason Duffy
Donegal:
1. Shaun Patton
2. Caolan Ward 3. Brendan McCole 4. Stephen McMenamin
5. Ryan McHugh 6. Eoghan Ban Gallagher 7. Peader Mogan
8. Hugh McFadden 9. Jason McGee
10. Ciaran Thompson 11. Shane O’Donnell 12. Michael Langan
13. Paddy McBrearty 14. Michael Murphy 15. Jamie Brennan.
Key battles
Ethan Rafferty (Armagh) v Shaun Patton (Donegal)
After being named as the GAA’s Footballer of the Week, it is fair to say that Ethan Rafferty’s transition from an outfield player to goalkeeper for Armagh is complete.
His heroics against Tyrone will not have gone unnoticed by the Donegal management. The Grange clubman had ample space to get his shots away to score two points against the Red Hands - Donegal are unlikely to be as naïve.
Shaun Patton’s restarts are among the best in the business and Donegal won the midfield battle comfortably in the Ulster SFC quarter-final in Ballybofey.
Patton’s shot-shopping has also been first-class this season.
Brendan McCole (Donegal) v Rian O’Neill (Armagh)
It would be a huge surprise if Donegal opted to put anyone other than Brendan McCole on Rian O’Neill on Sunday.
The St Naul’s full-back held O’Neill scoreless when they locked horns in Ballybofey. A similar outcome in their duel would surely result in another win for Donegal.
Yet, O’Neill didn’t operate as an out-and-out full-forward against Tyrone. Instead, he roamed out to midfield and the half-back area to drag his marker out of position. Aidan Nugent and Stefan Campbell enjoyed more space to operate as a result.
Caolan Ward (Donegal) v Aidan Nugent (Armagh)
Against Tyrone, Aidan Nugent caused untold damage in the first quarter, including plundering Armagh’s vital goal.
The wisdom of putting Championship debutant Peter Teague on Nugent will be queried in Tyrone during the long summer months. Donegal cannot afford to get their match-ups wrong on Sunday.
Stephen McMenamin’s form has been patchy at best this season and Caolan Ward has been much steadier. He also held Jason Duffy scoreless in Ballybofey and may switch corners to pick up the in-form Nugent on Sunday.
Ben Crealey (Armagh) v Jason McGee (Donegal)
One of the unsung heroes of Armagh’s stunning victory over Tyrone last Sunday was Ben Crealey.
The Maghery ace delivered one of his finest performances in an Armagh jersey as the Orchardmen dominated the midfield exchanges against the Red Hands.
Crealey also worked his socks off and made a couple of excellent turnovers. He’ll need to be at his best again on Sunday as Jason McGee has been one of Donegal’s most consistent players all season.
The Cloughaneely ace was also a contender for Man-of-the-Match in the Ulster SFC clash between the counties.
Aidan Forker (Armagh) v Michael Murphy (Donegal)
This match-up has the potential to tip the scales in either team’s favour and both Kieran McGeeney and Declan Bonner will have cause for concern regarding its outcome.
Forker probably edged their duel for the first half in Ballybofey, but Murphy was the winner in the end as he posted 0-5 including two exceptional points from play.
The Maghery defender will need to do better on Sunday, but he’ll take great heart from watching Brendan Rogers in action against Murphy in the Ulster Final.
Forker began his inter-county career as an attacking half-forward so he’ll be at ease pushing up the pitch in an attempt to put Murphy on the backfoot.
If Donegal have learned the lessons of their Ulster Final loss to Derry, they’ll deploy their skipper at full-forward.
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