Kieran Shannon: League drama whetting the appetite nicely for the summer

The games will come thick and fast this summer with most of them in packed provincial grounds. And a lot of those games will be close and even with so little between so many teams

DRAMA: Mayo players, from left, David McNrien, Conor McStay, Jordan Flynn, Matthew Ruane and Jack Coyne react as referee Fergal Kelly awards an injury time free to Armagh, which Rian O'Neill subsequently kicked to tie Sunday's Allianz Football League Division 1 match at Box-It Athletic Grounds in Armagh. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

Although a lot of (football) league games can have a taste of championship about them, it’s rare that one in early February could actually pass for mid-summer.

Watching Armagh-Mayo on the telly last Sunday though, that’s precisely what the newly-named Box-It Athletic Grounds looked and felt like – as pure box office and sheer summertime theatre as when the same two counties served up a thrilling qualifier in Castlebar back in 2019.