ARMAGH have been refused permission to train on the Inniskeen pitch ahead of this weekend’s All-Ireland Championship clash with Louth, the Irish News understands.
According to reports, Louth have denied Kieran McGeeney’s men the opportunity to hold a session at Pairc Grattan, the Monaghan venue which will stage Sunday’s round 2A derby.
Louth have home advantage for the eagerly-awaited battle but with their new stadium in Dundalk still under construction and Ardee deemed unsuitable for the game they have chosen to play across the border in the Farney county.
Páirc Grattan hosted its first ever championship game in May 2024 when Louth recorded victories over Meath and Cork and progressed to an All-Ireland quarter-final against Donegal.
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Allowing Armagh to use the pitch for a training session would have given the Orchardmen the chance to familiarise themselves with the dimensions of the playing surface and the facilities at the ground.
In the cut-throat world of the championship, counties will make the most of every possible advantage so it’s not particularly unusual for an away team to be denied access to a pitch to prepare for a game.
The Armagh management are understood to be unhappy with Louth’s decision but Louth’s stance may not impact Armagh too much.
Early in Kieran McGeeney’s time as Armagh manager the Orchard county used Inniskeen for training sessions when their Callanbridge facility was unavailable so he will know the venue reasonably well.
Craig Lennon shoots to score Louth’s fourth and winning goal against Dublin at Croke Park. PICTURE: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile (David Fitzgerald / SPORTSFILE/SPORTSFILE)
The lack of Armagh support in the ground may have more of an impact. With the Páirc Grattan capacity limited to around 6,000 spectators, droves of supporters will not get the chance to go to the game.
In the region of 80,000 fans have watched Armagh’s last three games meaning that thousands of their supporters have been denied the opportunity to cheer on their team and there is even speculation that a field near the ground could be turned into an unofficial ‘fan zone’ while the match is taking place.
Both counties are going into the game in good form. After breaking championship scoring records against Fermanagh (2-32) and then Down (3-33), Armagh won their first Ulster title in 18 years when they saw off dogged Monaghan in Clones and since then they outplayed Derry in the first round of All-Ireland championship.
The Orchardmen go into this game as favourites but it’s unlikely that they will underestimate the challenge Louth pose. Last year the ‘Wee County’ won their first Leinster title since 1957 and they’ve continued to build on that success.
A 10-point loss to Dublin meant they lost their grip on their hard-won provincial crown but Gavin Devlin’s side regrouped and avenged the loss in the first round of the All-Ireland championship, coming back from six points down at half-time to beat the Dubs by three at Croke Park.
“They’ll take a lot of momentum from that, a lot of confidence,” said Armagh’s Aidan Forker.
“They’re a very physical team with a lot of firepower to hurt teams and they don’t miss too much in front of the goals.
“We’re under no illusions that if we’re not on it we’ll be on the wrong side of the result.”