‘Wronged’ McKeever Armagh’s ace

After a nightmare week for Armagh, there was more than a touch of irony about Ciarán McKeever’s late heroics which helped the Orchard county snatch a precious league victory on Saturday night.

The Armagh captain got home at 4am on Saturday morning from a CHC hearing which quashed the two-match ban he picked up at O’Moore Park the previous week. But McKeever shrugged off the controversy to kick a late equaliser before young forward Michael Stevenson secured victory with a coolly converted injury-time free.

Paddy O’Rourke was delighted – and claimed McKeever had been ‘wronged’ by the GAA. “We felt he had been wronged and it was good that sense prevailed and he’s back. Hopefully that’s the way it will stay because he’s very important to us. He’s a superb player and a superb leader. You can’t do without the likes of him if you want to be winning these sort of games.”