‘We have a lot of work to do, but there are a lot of green shoots there as well,’ says Armagh boss Kieran McGeeney ahead of Fermanagh game

Armagh meet Fermanagh this evening in a dress rehearsal for their Ulster Championship meeting next month.

However, the importance of this game won’t be lost on either side, as the hosts look to keep their heads above water in Division 2, whilst Armagh go in search of continuing their push for promotion.

Things have been going to plan for the Orchard County to date, as they sit joint-top with Donegal, having claimed seven points from four games.

For Fermanagh, their campaign started off well with a draw away to Meath and a victory over Kildare, but defeats against Donegal and Cork – the latter following a stoppage time winning goal – leave them in a perilous position in the table.

For Armagh, this fixture is the second of three straight games against Ulster opposition, and despite the gap between the two teams in the table and what the bookmakers’ odds say, manager Kieran McGeeney is expecting a tight game tonight.

“We know there is not going to be much asked or given in any of those games,” he told Armagh TV.

“All the games are extremely tight, there is not much in them, especially when the Ulster teams are concerned.

“Fermanagh were a wee bit unlucky, they got caught with two goals against Donegal, but up until that point they were well in the game. And they will be disappointed with the second half, where they probably missed 1-5 or 1-6.

“So, we know that we’re going to have a big job ahead of us, but we’ll look at the video to see where we can improve, and see what we did well and try and repeat that.”

In terms of what’s going well, Armagh have been boosted by plentiful options across the pitch, but none more so than in the forward line.

Conor Turbitt, Oisin Conaty, Rory Grugan and Stefan Campbell have all had stellar campaigns to date, whilst the returns from injury of Andrew Murnin (against Kildare) and Rian O’Neill (against Donegal) means that McGeeney will have a selection headache going forward.

“Rian scored an unbelievable point when he came on,” said McGeeney“But he knows that he wants more minutes in the legs, and he wants to push on. That’s what we want from him too.

“Andrew has got two games, and I thought he was outstanding. He worked his socks off as normal.

“I thought Turbo [Conor Turbitt] was excellent. Donegal have a tight defence, so you’re not going to get much space in there, but he never stopped working for us – the same goes for young Oisin Conaty.

“We have different people putting their hands up, Soupy [Stefan Campbell] came off the bench and was unlucky not to get a couple of scores.

“So, we have a lot of work to do, but there are a lot of green shoots there as well.”