Steven McDonnell bemoaned Armagh's lack of 'heart' in their 12-point drubbing by Monaghan last Sunday.

While stressing that fellow attacker Brian Mallon's controversial sending off just before half-time was a huge blow to his side's chances, McDonnell was disappointed by the manner of Armagh's collapse.

"After 10, 15 minutes we were well in the game, though, I suppose the sending off had a big bearing on the match," the Orchard County captain reflected.

"But the most disappointing thing for me was that we didn't show any heart when Brian did get sent off. That's just the way championship matches go sometimes. We were fortunate the last day (against Derry) that the sending off (of Eoin Bradley) went our way. It just wasn't to be."

McDonnell remains hopeful that Armagh will be able to regroup in the All-Ireland qualifiers.

"We certainly felt coming there that we were going to win the match. Sometimes, for a team to drive on, they have to take a few knocks," he said.

"That was certainly a knock. But, if you look at our season so far, we have taken knocks and bounced back pretty well. The thing we'd be looking for now is a good draw in the qualifiers and hopefully we can build up a bit of momentum again." Tweet

Most Read Stories