22-05-2025
Dubs win pumps up pressure on Armagh says Orchard legend as O'Neill nears return
Dublin's win in Galway has raised the stakes for Armagh's Group 4 clash with Derry on Saturday considerably, says former Orchard star Aaron Kernan.
Although the Dubs' victory was hardly a seismic shock, it was still unexpected in the context of their struggles against Meath, with Galway seen as frontline All-Ireland contenders having just picked up a fourth successive Connacht title.
But the result means that any suggestion that last year's All-Ireland finalists would battle it out for top spot while Dublin and Derry scrapped for third is out the window.
'You're sitting watching the game, and as exciting as it was, and it looked like Dublin was going to win, I was starting to wonder, 'Is this actually a good thing from an Armagh point of view?'' said Kernan.
'I think last weekend's result will certainly have heightened them to make sure that they're fully tuned in [to play Derry].
'I'm not even sure whether they're worried about getting a performance, they're just worried about getting off to a win. Then it just gives you that bit more breathing space and heaps that wee bit more pressure on Derry as well.
'So yeah, it's a huge game for them to make sure that they get a winning start and, like I said, worry about a performance afterwards.'
He added: 'There might have been a bit of feeling out in the first 25 minutes, first half. But Dublin have now gone to Galway and absolutely thrown a spanner in the works of what everyone had envisaged for how this group was going to play out.
'I think it just adds even more importance to this Derry-Armagh game."
Armagh have received what Kernan describes as an 'unbelievable boost' to their All-Ireland defence with the return of Rian O'Neill to the squad ahead of the Ulster final. His Crossmaglen Rangers clubmate didn't make the matchday 26 for that one-point extra time defeat to Donegal but Kernan expects him to be phased back in soon.
'The soundbites are that yeah, it is a possibility. Whether it's this weekend or not, I'm not sure, but certainly he has been back in training with the squad since the week prior to the Ulster final.
'Obviously he would have missed a lot of football since the All-Ireland last year and since his club campaign last year, but still, he's a young man. He'll not be long getting up to the speed of it.
'But yeah, like I mentioned, just whether it's this weekend and he makes an actual panel of 26, I'm not sure. The inner workings of that group, if you bump into them in the street, they ain't going to tell you anyway.'
O'Neill has yet to feature for Armagh under the new rules - but the two-point arc appears tailor made for a player of his kicking ability.
Kernan added: 'I think he showed his full array of talent with that two-point arc, even though it was only that Railway Cup competition at the end of the year to test out the new rules.
'So I would certainly see, as he's being eased back in, that will be the role or that's where you'll see him most prominent will be in those two-point zones.'
Aaron Kernan is a BoyleSports ambassador.
