McArdle keen to outfox familiar foes

DERMOT McARDLE could do no more than roll his eyes and break into a wry smile when Monaghan and Armagh were paired in the draw for the first round of the All-Ireland qualifiers a fortnight ago.

Different year, same short straw.

Twelve months earlier, Seamus McEneaney’s men were paired with Derry, Donegal and Kerry in the open draw and their reward for finishing second best in Ulster in 2007 was another tricky tie against Donegal. Same as it ever was then.

“We’ve made a habit of getting these hard draws,” said McArdle. “Whatever we’ve done in a past life is coming back to haunt us. It is a really tough draw. Number one, it is a local derby. Number two, Armagh are a good team and number three, their history in the last ten years against Monaghan has been so good.

“I just know from talking to them, I know a lot of people from Crossmaglen, that they are happy with the draw. They see it as an opportunity to nearly finish Monaghan. It’s a big, big match.”

Some would say that such a difficult draw is poetic justice for their role in the Ulster quarter-final against Derry when their three-point defeat was overshadowed by some unsavoury incidents.

McArdle accepts that it was far from edifying and not exactly a recruiting tool for young kids but he points out that winning supersedes everything else for those inside the fences on a Sunday afternoon.

“I have played in tougher club matches and there was never a word about it. If there was you would probably be told to get up and get on with it. There were a few incidents which you don’t want to see on national telly.

“Parents don’t want their kids seeing it either. They are going to be choosing what game they want to play and they don’t need to see thumps or kicks or a knee or whatever happens on the field.”

As McArdle intimated, the feeling is that this Monaghan team’s chance of silverware has come and gone. That provincial final loss two years ago was as close as they came but the qualifiers have been good to them.

They emerged from the twilight world of the back door two years ago hardened by their experiences, and could have counted themselves unlucky to fall short of Kerry by just a single point in an All-Ireland quarter-final.

Five points separated them from the Kingdom when they met again last year, but it was still a gutsy performance and one that would hardly have happened had they spent the previous weeks accounting for London or Carlow.

Though they were plucked first from the hat, ‘home’ advantage in Clones will mean little against Armagh who, as McArdle puts it, have probably played there more this decade that any other side in the country.

The sides have been paired together three times before in the championship since the start of the millennium and the most memorable was in 2003 when Monaghan defeated the then-All-Ireland champions by four points.

Armagh got their revenge 12 months later with a 15-point win but Joe Kernan’s side required a replay to shake Monaghan off in the last meeting back in 2006 on a day when the losers spurned some gilt-edged goal chances.

That was a ruthless Armagh team, one that contained McGeeney, McGrane, McConville and Bellew. None remain but others that do possess Ulster and All-Ireland medals at various club and county levels.

“They have a huge pedigree. Look at Stephen McDonnell, Ronan Clarke, Aaron Kernan. That is just three players off the top of my head that would get into any team in the country. It is going to be interesting.”

Whatever the result, Armagh’s transition is well underway. Monaghan’s may well start if they suffer defeat this weekend. McEneaney has been on board now for five years and he may well be playing his last card.

“I don’t think we are thinking like that. I suppose we need to put some silverware on the table. This is another important match in the development of the team.”