Armagh Ladies boss Parkinson disappointed with Meath loss but says there are positives to take

With their place in the NFL Division 1 league final secured, the Armagh management used the game to get minutes for some new faces, including Cailin Traynor, Laura Kavanagh, Eimear McConaghy, Sarah Quigley, Lara Marsden and Blaithnaid Hendron.

So, despite not coming away with the three points, Parkinson says that it was pleasing that those girls got a chance to wear the Armagh jersey.

“It was disappointing that we didn’t win our home game because it was something that we had set out to do at the start of the league and something that we had spoken about this week.

"At the same time, we decided as a management team to give everyone football. I don’t know how many debuts were made today, so it was disappointing in one aspect but pleasing in others to see girls who have worked hard over the last few months actually get a chance to wear the jersey for Armagh.

“Obviously the job was done, the main objective was reached last week. The main focus today was a good performance off the back of last week, we wanted to rectify that and put a few things to bed.

“There’s obviously still a lot to work on. We’d be disappointed that we didn’t see the game out but the reality is that we have a big two weeks ahead of us to really focus on. We came through unscathed and that’s the main thing.”

The Armagh team clearly have quality all over the field, but one selection headache for Parkinson and his co-manager Joe Feeney lies in who to select at goalkeeper, with both Anna Carr and Brianna Mathers impressing.

“For me and Joe, one of the first things we would have said was that we probably have the best pair of goalkeepers in the country.

“Keeping both of those goalkeepers fully invested throughout the league as well as keeping them both competitive with each other has been a big task for us. It was something that we knew we were going to have to do.

“The reality is that it’s not just the goalkeepers, there’s a lot of girls that are looking over their shoulders, they know that they need to keep producing it every night at training because there’s places up for grabs in two weeks’ time.”

The Orchard Ladies travel to Croke Park to take on Kerry in the Division 1 league final on Saturday April 12, and they will be hoping that they can retain their crown.