On Sunday Monaghan face a difficult, tricky away assignment when they travel to the Athletic Grounds in Armagh to take on the Orchard County in a game that is probably about a little more than just the two points on offer. Ulster pairings in the league tend to assume a greater significance in that counties can never depend on when they will meet again in the championship so psychological advantage is always to the forefront. Monaghan also face into something of a lion's den in that Armagh's return to the Athletic Grounds as their headquarters following a lengthy absence when it was initially closed for safety reasons and then during a lengthy redevelopment programme, was turned into something of a bittersweet experience when they were defeated by Laois in their first game back in their traditional stronghold. That was quite a blow to the Armagh psyche in that they always believed the Athletic Grounds was something of a fortress and gave them an advantage. They had hoped that their opening game there in the National League in their redeveloped headquarters would reaffirm the strong psychological position that the venue had held in the past. That didn't happen and that will be further motivation for them as they seek vital points in a section that is going to go right down to the last round. Armagh opened their campaign with a great away victory over Wexford where four goals from Ryan Henderson helped get them off to a flying start but their hopes and aspirations were derailed somewhat by Laois in an attritional type contest that saw Peadar Toal and JP Donnelly both red carded as were two players from leash, Brian McCormick and Brendan Quigley. The absence of Toal and Donnelly as each got a four weeks suspension will mean something of a reshuffle but Peter McDonnell, the Armagh manager was always going to make changes as he seeks out his most reliable combination. On the positive side that game saw the return of Andy Mallon and he is likely to figure on Sunday as his Ronan Clarke at full forward but it is in defence where he may apply the greater degree of surgery in that this was the area where Armagh struggled most. His cause wasn't helped on that occasion as Kieran McKeever, his regular centre back, was yellow carded as was his a replacement Aidan O'Rourke but both are available for Sunday and will man their usual defensive positions. When these sides met a couple of seasons back in the league in Clones Monaghan snatched victory with a late injury time point from Paul Finlay and it could take a similar smash and grab act to take anything out of the Athletic Grounds on Sunday. Tweet

Most Read Stories