Wexford defeat woke us up, says Kernan

JOE KERNAN believes losing to Wexford on the opening day of the NFL was “a wake-up call of sorts” for Armagh.

Since that day in early February, his side haven’t lost and now have a chance to exact revenge on the Model County in Sunday’s League decider.

“That day was a wake-up call of sorts,” Kernan admits. “We were six points up at half-time and ended up losing by seven points, but the six-point lead mightn’t have been a fair reflection of the game, we were very fortunate to get one of our goals.

“But a result like that does force a team to take a look at themselves and see what went wrong. Having said that, Wexford have proven themselves to be a force to be reckoned with and it is going to be a tough game.”

Kernan is still uncertain about the extent of Ronan Clarke’s ankle injury after he went off in the final few minutes against Mayo.

Armagh’s demolition of Mayo in the final ten minutes, while awakening dormant concerns for the westerners, also quashed the feeling that they are not bothered about the league.

“Well, this is something that has been thrown at us every year,” Kernan said. “There are two national titles and the league is one of them, it has to be a target every year. In the past couple of years, when we have got into the play-offs, we have had a few injuries. We had almost a clean bill of health going in against Mayo and that helped.”

Much has been made of the fact that 16 of Armagh’s 19 points on Sunday were scored from play, and all three members of the full-forward line won almost every ball that came into them. Yet Kernan, ever the perfectionist, was focusing on some of the more disappointing aspects.

“Certainly, sixteen points from play was a good return. But, there were a lot of times when we didn’t use the ball properly. I would say we played to our potential in the final 10 minutes and that was about it.”

Armagh do seem a different side when they play in Croke Park, though, with their ability to use the whole surface with both direct and cross-field passing. “It doesn’t matter what pitch you play on, it is about doing the right things and taking the right options.”

Of course, making the league final has taken La Manga off the agenda, but if Armagh go into the championship as league champions, that might not matter. The past two league champions -Tyrone and Kerry-have done the double.

“Well La Manga was plan A, but this is plan B. And we are in a final.”

Meanwhile Mayo manager John Maughan was pragmatic after last weekend’s defeat, concentrating instead on the Connacht SFC meeting with Roscommon on June 19.

“From now on it will be pedal to the metal, we’re going to work really hard,” he admitted. “In a high-tempo game, on a hard surface like Croke Park, it highlighted the guys who are lacking in the fitness department.

“We had a number of guys out there who really struggled with the pace and intensity of the game.

“We have time to rectify the problems that we have. There’s a lot of work to be done between now and June 19; if not that will be the last time we’ll see Croke Park this year.”

Mayo started last Sunday with eleven of the team that lined out against Kerry in last September’s All-Ireland Final, and question marks remain over the full-back line and the make-up of the midfield partnership.

“The way we just caved in during the last ten minutes when the game was in the balance was disappointing,” added Maughan. “There was a couple of critical things; had Conor Mortimer even kicked a point when there was a goal chance...that let them off the hook big-time.

“We didn’t convert chances when we were dominant. We opened them up at will at times but we didn’t take our goal chances. When we went at them we showed that their defence can be exposed. Armagh are a fine team going forward but when you turn them around they are vulnerable.”