ORCHARD BLOSSOMING AGAIN AFTER WIN
Richard Bullick
Armagh bounced back from being dethroned as National League champions last month with a fifth Ulster title triumph in six seasons, secured by a comfortable 3-9 to 0-7 victory over second division Donegal.
Unlike the men’s match which followed, this wasn’t an epic encounter as Armagh were a cut above their regular rivals, but it was still a memorable occasion in Clones with Orchard captain Clodagh McCambridge lifting the trophy in front of a five-figure crowd.
Vice-captain Lauren McConville had received the Player of the Match award a few moments earlier, though it was a bitter-sweet day for the top two as their respective brothers, Barry and Cian, experienced heartbreak later in the evening.
The double bill of finals began with the orangewomen retaining their provincial crown but the Armagh men’s wait for a first Ulster Senior Championship success since 2008 continues after an agonising third consecutive decider defeat.
Two goals inside the first 13 minutes from Aoife McCoy paved the way for the Orchard’s straightforward win on a day when Armagh’s dozen scores came from no fewer than 10 different players including three subs.
That trio comprised of veteran ex-skipper Kelly Mallon and two young forwards from her old club Derrynoose, Maeve Lennon and Caoimhe McNally, who rounded things off with yet another point-scoring cameo in this her first season in the orange jersey.
This was the Orchard outfit’s fifth final in a row against Donegal, but unlike the previous four this Clones showpiece didn’t come down to the wire as Armagh were crowned Ulster champions for the eighth time in their history.
The iconic Caroline O’Hanlon has starred in all eight triumphs, stretching back to that historic first title win in 2006, playing every minute in all but one of Armagh’s 12 Ulster finals over the past two decades.
However, with the win in the bag, both O’Hanlon and McConville came off early to their own ovations from a rapidly-growing crowd in the glorious spring sunshine as Joe Feeney and Darnell Parkinson’s Orchard crew coasted to a double-digit victory.
Armagh are back on the horse after that chastening 15-point defeat by Kerry in the NFL final in Croke Park and now go into next month’s All Ireland series as top seeds in a group which includes Leinster runners-up Meath and Kildare.
Last time the women in orange played an Ulster final as a curtain-raiser to a men’s match 11 years ago, a team managed by James Daly upset the odds by beating a mighty Monaghan outfit who had been favourites to complete a fifth consecutive title triumph.
The Ulster Gazette’s John Morrison was the Farney manager on that occasion and, this time too, the Orchard’s opponents had an Armagh man at the helm, with the aforementioned Daly in his first season as Donegal gaffer.
That double whammy of first quarter green flags from his Dromintee clubmate McCoy quickly undermined Daly’s hopes of presiding over an underdog double more than a decade apart, though Armagh couldn’t really cut loose against his less experienced team.
Back in 2014, McCoy and a teenage McConville both scored in the Ulster final in what was their first senior season for Armagh and, now past the age of 30, both these tremendous stalwarts – now All Stars – continue to make a fantastic contribution to the Orchard cause.
Four Armagh women who started the final 11 years ago did so again at the weekend, with O’Hanlon, McConville and McCoy being joined by last season’s Ulster showpiece Player of the Match Niamh Henderson, while 2014 goal-scorer Mallon came off the bench here.
Two young unused subs back then, goalkeeper Anna Carr and Eve Lavery – who scored two points against Donegal – were in the run-on line-up on Saturday, while another, Catherine Marley, played the last nine minutes this time.
Louise Kenny, who started as a 17-year-old in 2014 because Catherine’s older sister Sarah Marley had broken her ankle, was sadly ruled out of this Donegal game by the injury sustained early on in last month’s National League final.
Armagh were also without their current Player of the Year Roisin Mulligan, who had picked up an injury at training on Thursday evening, but Clann Eireann clubmate Megan McCann made the most of her unexpected opportunity, playing the full hour.
Ace markswoman Aimee Mackin and 2024 Ulster All Star Dearbhla Coleman have yet to feature for Armagh this season due to injury while Kenny’s clubmate Moya Feehan was another absentee from the matchday squad for the Ulster final.
