Important win for Crossmaglen helped get Armagh disappointment out of the system says goalscorer Cian McConville

His three-pointer came five minutes from the end of the game and helped his side to a 1-13 to 0-15 win away from home against Killeavy.

McConville conceded that it was a ‘disappointing’ week for Armagh, as they were defeated by Kerry last Sunday, but that last night’s win helped him, and fellow county star Rian O’Neill, get that loss out of their system quickly.

“I love playing for the club so I was delighted to get back in,” he said post-match.

“The boys asked me if I was happy enough to play and I said absolutely, so it has been enjoyable back in training this week.

“It was definitely disappointing with Armagh, but there's no better way to get back on the horse than with a game like that.”

With two of the top teams in the county squaring off it was always going to be a closely-fought encounter, and miserable conditions coupled with the local rivalry certainly turned it into a dogfight, but McConville feels that it was an enjoyable game to play in.

“It's tough coming down to Killeavy, especially on a night like that,” he said.

“There was a big breeze and it was dirty conditions so there was a lot of slipping and sliding, but we're happy to get the two points. It was a hard-hitting game and it was probably an enjoyable game to watch. It was definitely enjoyable to play in.”

The win pulls Cross back into the Division 1A title race with two games to go, but it remains in Killeavy’s hands, and McConville was full of praise for Steven McDonnell’s team.

“Killeavy have a young team there, they've a couple of strong runners and they got a few scores on the break, so it probably actually suited them at times (playing against the wind).

“But we just upped the ante then and tried to press them out further and win the ball high up and that created a few chances for us. Like my goal there, we won the ball on the end-line, so that just shows you get rewarded for pressing up high now too.”