Armagh aiming to reclaim the Ulster Championship crown

​Bitter rivals Armagh and Donegal will contest the ladies Ulster final for the sixth time in seven seasons when they clash in this Sunday’s decider in Clones.

​​This is Armagh’s seventh consecutive Ulster Senior Championship showpiece and, if the Orchard crew can reclaim the provincial crown from Donegal, it will be the seventh time in history that they have won the trophy.

Armagh defeated Donegal on a wet August afternoon in the 2021 Ulster final at Omagh’s Healy Park and the Orchard retained their crown after a thrilling game in Clones the following May.

That completed a hat-trick of Ulster title triumphs for the women in orange but Donegal turned the tables in the following season’s showpiece at Owenbeg when they won narrowly to stop Armagh making it four in a row.

Arguably Armagh’s biggest problem was that they went into that Owenbeg game not sufficiently battle-hardened after cruising through their NFL Division 2 campaign with eight wins from eight matches culminating in victory over Laois in the final in Croke Park, whereas Donegal had faced all of the country’s top teams over the previous few months albeit being relegated from Division 1 in the process.

With the teams swapping places for this season’s National League, the boot is totally on the other foot this time with the Orchard outfit famously winning Division 1 last month and Donegal not even making the second division decider.

However, being a league level below their opponents didn’t stop the orangewomen winning at Healy Park in 2021 or this weekend’s venue a year later so Armagh won’t be taking anything for granted as they target a second trophy of the current campaign.

Familiarity has arguably bred contempt more than mutual respect between these teams over recent years, though both have new managers now with Curran finally leaving the Donegal job and Greg McGonigle at the Orchard helm.

Having steered Clann Eireann to Ulster Senior Championship success at club level last autumn, McGonigle will want to repeat the feat with another team in orange featuring a significant contingent of the same players.

If McGonigle’s women win it will mean a second trophy lift as Orchard captain for Clodagh McCambridge, who actually made her 100th start for Armagh in the National League final, a milestone which went unnoticed at the time.

The skipper’s sister Meabh McCambridge made her first Orchard appearance in the closing stages against Kerry in Croke Park and, judging by McGonigle’s remarks afterwards, she is someone who will be pushing for a starting spot moving forward.

It remains to be seen whether Blaithin Mackin is able to feature for the first time this season, having been sidelined up until now by injury, but even if she isn’t ready yet, McGonigle should be selecting from a position of strength.

Experienced pair Shauna Grey and Louise Kenny were back in action in time to feature as subs in the NFL final while previous regular Eve Lavery and Clonmore’s Sarah Quigley just came off the bench that day too along with Meabh McCambridge.

As on that occasion, there will be fierce competition within the Orchard’s largest ever panel but these are positive selection headaches.

Armagh’s regular goalkeeper Anna Carr sadly lost her dad last week so it remains to be seen whether she will line out in Clones but Brianna Mathers is a capable understudy in required behind an Orchard defence anchored by McCambridge and Lauren McConville.

McConville was a worthy winner of the Player of the Match award in the National League final but her attacking capacity was significantly curtailed in last May’s Ulster showpiece by having to mark Hegarty and Armagh missed those hugely effective forays forward.

The versatile 29-year-old showed her cutting edge by scoring an astonishing 5-11 in Crossmaglen’s Division One League game against Grange last week before being taken off in the final quarter.

Donegal will look to captain Niamh McLaughlin, the 2022 All-Ireland Player of the Year and Player of the Match in last season’s Ulster final, while forward Susanne White and young defender Abigail Temple-Asokuh also made the NFL Team of Division 2 last month.

Captain McCambridge headed an Orchard contingent of seven in the Team of Division 2, with corner back Grace Ferguson, McConville, O’Hanlon, Dromintee stalwart Aoife McCoy, Aimee Mackin and Mallon also honoured on the back of Armagh’s historic success.

​The winners of Sunday’s Ulster Final will join Meath and Tipperary in Group 1 of the All- Ireland series, with the runners-up facing the Munster champions, Kerry or Cork, and Waterford in Group 2.

Armagh: A Carr; G Ferguson, C McCambridge (capt.), R Mulligan; C Towe, L McConville, D Coleman; N Coleman, C O’Hanlon; E Druse, A McCoy, L Kenny; A Mackin, N Henderson, K Mallon

Donegal: C Friel; S McLaughlin, A Temple Asokuh, E McGinley; K Dowds, N Boyle, T Hegarty; R Rodgers, J McGettigan; C Keon, N McLaughlin (capt.), A Boyle Carr; S White, K Herron, K Long.