ORCHARD DEPTH ENCOURAGES O’HANLON
Richard Bullick
Caroline O’Hanlon has been on the field for every minute of Armagh’s first three matches in her record-breaking 24th season of inter-county football but the evergreen veteran has hailed the bench’s contribution to the Orchard’s successful start to the new campaign.
Armagh have begun their National League title defence with three consecutive victories, achieving notable away wins against All Ireland champions Kerry and Dublin – who have dominated the sport for the past decade – either side of beating neighbours Tyrone.
With three of their four remaining matches at home, starting with this Saturday night’s visit from Mayo (7.30pm, TG4) as part of a double-header with the Armagh men, Joe Feeney and Darnell Parkinson’s side are on track to qualify for the NFL final on April 12.
They will start as favourites against a Mayo team who are propping up the table after losing their first three matches and likewise the following weekend when welcoming newly-promoted Kildare to Crossmaglen.
If Armagh get the job done in both those matches, an away win over Waterford would probably be enough to secure their ticket to Croke Park before hosting former Orchard manager Shane McCormack’s Meath in the final round of regular league games.
With former All Ireland Player of the Year Vikki Wall back in their ranks after a failed attempt to make it in professional rugby and an AFLW title win with North Melbourne Kangaroos, the Royals currently top the table on scoring difference from Armagh after three straight wins.
Nobody in the Orchard camp is counting chickens at this stage but Parkinson did boldly declare ahead of that tough opening game against Kerry that Armagh’s ambition was to retain the National League title won for the first time last spring.
Compared to most cagey pronouncements by managers, that was a real statement of intent from Parkinson, especially considering Armagh were away to the All Ireland champions in their first fixture and going to Tralee with a depleted team missing a number of frontliners.
But that understrength side justified the gaffer’s faith in them by coming from seven points down to win 3-11 to 1-13 with one of the three late goals being scored by teenage sub Rebecca Cunningham with her first touch for Armagh.
Armagh actually trailed for most of the opening period against Tyrone at St Paul’s in Lurgan but went in level at the interval and then added 11 points without reply in the second half to win comfortably by a double-digits margin.
Their clash with Dublin at Parnell Park followed somewhat of an opposite pattern to the Kingdom game in that Armagh spent most of the match ahead but, unlike Kerry two weeks earlier, they were able to withstand a late comeback by the opposition.
There was just one point in it at the end of a low-scoring game but this was a deserved victory for Armagh, with Niamh Reel topping the charts for the third time in three matches and six others chipping in with a point apiece.
One of the best of those was a confident strike on the run by young Derrynoose forward Caoimhe McNally, who has joined two other teenage newcomers in getting on the scoreboard for Armagh this season.
Towering Wolfe Tones forward Eimear McGeown got the first of her two points against Kerry just 26 seconds into her debut after being drafted into the starting team in Tralee, Cunningham grabbed that goal later and McNally has pointed against Tyrone and Dublin.
Cunningham was brought in to train with the senior squad last summer but McGeown and McNally are completely fresh faces along with Clann Eireann forward Eimear McConaghy, Lara Marsden – daughter of Armagh great Diarmaid – and young goalkeeper Cailin Traynor.
The other player listed by Armagh in this new campaign who wasn’t involved last season is experienced campaigner Catherine Marley, making a welcome return to the panel after injury though she hasn’t been ready to take the field just yet.
Armagh have also been without captain Clodagh McCambridge, her predecessor Kelly Mallon and ace markswoman Aimee Mackin so far this season along with Ulster All Star Dearbhla Coleman and the versatile Sarah Quigley.
Eve Lavery came off injured against Kerry and sat out the action against Tyrone, Louise Kenny hasn’t featured since that opening game, Blaithin Mackin didn’t start in Tralee and Clann Eireann captain Niamh Henderson only came off the bench in the first two matches.
A dozen players have been in the run-on line-up for all three matches so far, with a total of 18 getting at least one start while McNally and Cunningham have each featured off the bench three times and, in all, 24 individuals have seen some action at this stage.
Of the Orchard’s core contingent of 20 players last year, all but Meabh McCambridge remains on board, while the youngest of the Marley sisters to have worn the orange jersey was also a regular in previous seasons.
But the silver lining of the early season absenteeism is that Armagh have still won anyway while several less established players have got opportunities – Maeve Ferguson, Moya Feehan and Maeve Lennon have started all three matches.
Carrickcruppen’s Ciara Garvey has had two starts as has McGeown, whose fellow young guns McNally and Cunningham have delivered eye-catching cameos off the bench. Back-up goalkeeper Brianna Mathers would be first choice for most counties.
If and when everyone in the wider panel is available, a couple of those who got game-time against Tyrone – Millie Lavery and Laura Kavanagh – will likely have a real fight on their hands just to make the matchday squad of 30.
So the new Armagh management are likely to have positive selection headaches this season but will welcome the fierce competition for places, increasing sense of squad depth, scope to choose horses for courses and ability to turn to match-changers on the bench.
Armagh had a very successful season last year, winning the first National League final in Orchard history before reclaiming the provincial crown from Donegal by beating them in the Ulster Senior Championship showpiece in Clones.
They topped their All Ireland group and overcame Mayo to reach the last four but were a little threadbare when beaten in the semi-final by Kerry with Aimee Mackin absent, Mallon not fit to start and O’Hanlon hampered by a calf muscle tear.
Kerry, who went on to record a convincing victory against Galway in the final, scored the only goal of the game when Orchard captain McCambridge – making her 70th consecutive start for Armagh – was temporarily off the field getting stitches after an accidental clash of heads.
But Armagh have had to find a way of managing without their magnificent full back so far this season, while All Star corner back Grace Ferguson’s first action came as a second half sub against Dublin, meaning others have had to step up.
All Star nominee Cait Towe won Player of the Match at Parnell Park on the back of good displays against Kerry and Tyrone while Maeve Ferguson has deputised superbly for her older sister in the Orchard defence.
Reel has often found herself surplus to requirements when all the big guns are available but, having scored the winning free late in extra-time in last season’s Ulster final, she has revelled in extra responsibility in the current campaign.
The doctor from Silverbridge led the way with four points from play down in Kerry, had five frees in her eight-point haul against Tyrone and then raised five white flags as Armagh defeated Dublin, giving her an aggregate tally of 0-17.
Beyond that nobody has registered more than O’Hanlon’s 0-4 and the 1-1 by both Mulligan and Blaithin Mackin. but it is encouraging that no fewer than 13 different players have got on the scoreboard at least once.
Crossmaglen legend Lauren McConville has yet to score but has chalked up three wins from three matches as acting captain, while there has been significant focus on the 40-year-old O’Hanlon having broken Cora Staunton’s record of 23 inter-county campaigns.
The former All Ireland Player of the Year is savouring being back to full fitness after last summer’s miseries and, when interviewed live by TG4 after the victory over Dublin, O’Hanlon was understandably upbeat about Armagh’s strong start to the season.
“Dublin have been setting the benchmark for the last 10 years so we always knew this was going to be an intense match. It was physical and it was high-speed, but we expected that. We wanted to come down here, put in a good performance and get points on the board.
“We’ve a nice mix in the panel, not only of experience and youth but also different skillsets which means that, when we play different opponents, different players will step up and be particularly influential.
“The bench has made such a difference against Kerry and Dublin, and we’re getting scores from players who’ve come on as well as across the team. All of that’s encouraging when we’re looking to develop depth in the panel.
“We still have players to come back from injury so they’ll have to fight for their place, and that’s what we want – a good competitive environment where everyone is pushing each other hard,” she enthused.
“We’ve had good players down through the years but there has always been a couple missing or different things happening to set us back. You really do need to have a serious squad to compete throughout the season.
“There’s a great group of girls this season. You’ve seen some of the new crop coming off the bench and others are chomping at the bit to get their chance as well as those more established players working hard to get back on the field.
“We just have to keep that intensity in training. Every player will have a part to play. Injuries will happen through the year, there’ll be setbacks, but we just have to deal with that by having a squad which can cope with those upsets.
“It has been a heavy few weeks with these three matches in a fortnight including trips to Kerry and Dublin, plus our college girls had big games during this week. So we’ll be glad of the brief break to recover and then build up to the Mayo match.”
Asked about how her fellow doctor Reel and Ferguson junior have stepped up for Armagh this season, O’Hanlon praised the pair, saying: “They probably feel they should’ve been getting in sooner because they have the quality, but they’ve got their chance now and taken it, so the injured players coming back will have to fight for their spots and that’s healthy.”
Player of the Match Towe was also interviewed in Parnell Park and she too highlighted the bench contribution as well as expressing relief that Armagh held on for the win in a frenetic final few minutes.
“We’d a good first half but knew Dublin would come back. Thankfully we held out for the win and there was real relief when the final whistle went. Our bench has been unbelievable though and the players who came on really helped us get over the line,” she said.
Joint manager Parkinson was pleased that Armagh had come out the right side of the result while acknowledging that a few wides had left the visitors vulnerable to a late ambush by Dublin in a fast-paced game where both teams notably pushed up on each other.
“It was nail-biting stuff, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves, but having to navigate through a tight finish should stand to us. There’ll be a lot of learnings to take when we watch the game back, and we left a few chances behind, but the main thing is that we got the win.
“We’re just trying to tell the players to back themselves, that we have a lot of faith in them. We’ve got really good defenders and the more players we can keep high up the pitch, then the better chance we have of getting scores on the board,” he said.
