Armagh 1-14
Roscommon 1-8 

by Kevin Egan in Abbotstown

Armagh secured an immediate return to Division 2 of the Centra National Camogie League and cemented their status as favourites for the All-Ireland Junior Championship into the bargain with a straightforward 1-14 to 1-08 victory over Roscommon in the Division 3A final at Abbotstown on Saturday afternoon.

The Orchard County managed the elements very well in both halves, building up a nine-point lead by half-time and keeping the Rossies at arm's length while playing into the teeth of a fiercely strong breeze after the turnaround.

The only concern for manager, PJ O’Mullan was their inability to make the best out of the plethora of chances they created while wind-assisted. They accumulated seven wides and only put real distance between the teams with some outstanding points from Ciara Hill and Eimear Smyth in the closing stages of the half, just when it looked as if Roscommon might have done enough to give themselves a chance of an upset.

Gemma McCann, Méabh O’Hare and Fiadhna Loughran were all exceptional in the second half however, as Armagh kept Roscommon to 1-04 in that period. Ciarraí Devlin was also vital to the cause as she made up for her error with the Roscommon goal by coming up with some crucial stops to curtail the underdogs’ momentum.

Armagh wasted no time in getting on the front foot, opening the scoring through a Sinéad Quinn free and following up with a goal after five minutes. Quinn was the scorer, whipping he ball inside Michaela Finneran’s near post after an inviting ball through from Katie Convie.

Roscommon's attack lacked variation and they struggled to win or hold possession in wide positions, but Caitlin Egan and Rachael Fitzmaurice were a constant threat, particularly when they switched roles. Fitzmaurice moved out to centre-forward while Egan took up station on the edge of the square, from where she scored one point and earned another free.

Armagh always had more threat thoguh and there were fine scores from Niamh Forker and Convie to keep the scoreboard moving, with Rachael Trainor often opening up opportunities with her clever angles of running and intelligent distribution.

Smyth and Hill split the uprights to push the lead out to nine at the turnaround (1-10 to 0-04) but it was in the ten minutes after half-time when Armagh really cemented their win. Quinn had been their top scorer but she now was playing a role akin to a No 9 in soccer, running channels and providing an out-ball, holding up play and ensuring that even as Armagh struggled for scores, most of the play was happening in Roscommon’s half.

The Connacht girls were handed a lifeline when Shauna Fallon’s shot was partially blocked and Devlin failed the gather the sliotar, instead watching as it looped over her head when Fitzmaurice got a vital touch. Orla Connolly followed up with a close range free and Fitzmaurice had another goal chance immediately afterwards that could have reduced the margin to four points.

Devlin made no mistake this time, narrowing the angle and smothering the Roscommon dual player’s shot, and once again Armagh produced a clever display of controlled, methodical territorial hurling for the remainder, putting a bow on their win when Eimear McGeary drove through the defence and hammered the ball over from 30 metres out.

Armagh: C Devlin; M McCone, G McCann, M O’Hare; E Hayes, F Loughran, A McEntee; E McGeary (0-01), K Convie (0-02; N Forker (0-02), C Doyle, C Hill (0-01); E Smyth (0-01), S Quinn (1-04, 3f), R Trainor (0-03, 2f). Sub: T Maxwell McKeever for Smyth (56)

Roscommon: M Finneran; A Hussey, M Lohan, A O’Brien; H Murray, E McDermott, S Mannion; S Bolger, O Connolly (0-05, 4f); A Sutton, C Egan (0-02), G Geraghty; G Jones, R Fitzmaurice (1-01), O Kelly. Sub: S Fallon for Geraghty (ht)

Referee: Alan Doheny (Laois)

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