PwC GPA Player of the Month for April in ladies’ football, Lauren McConville of Armagh, with her award at PwC’s offices in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile
By Cian O’Connell
Progress is being made by Armagh so Lauren McConville remains optimistic.
Securing silverware along the way helps, but these are particularly encouraging times for a developing Armagh outfit.
An Ulster Final triumph over Donegal was the latest good sign, while last month’s Division One League success matters deeply according to McConville. “There is a great buzz at the minute, we've taken a lot from winning the Division One league,” McConville remarks.
“I was saying earlier, you're coming into Division One, you're not sure how you're going to match up with some of those top teams.
“We obviously struggled to get out of Division Two for a long time, so we knew it was going to be a big step up for us. We had a good league campaign, and we improved throughout it. We learned a lot, that stood to us then in the final, and hopefully it will stand to us coming into the championship.”
Generating momentum is crucial. “Absolutely,” McConville responds instantly. “There has been a bit of a gap between the league final and coming into the Ulster championship. All of those games have really stood to us.
“We won most of them, except for the Dublin game. It is good momentum, it was a good chance, the whole league campaign, to see what sort of panel depth we have too, giving different players a run out. So, that should stand to us, too.”
The highly regarded Greg McGonigle is making an impact alongside a new management team. “It is a fresh insight into things, it has been going really well,” McConville says.
“We have obviously been trying new things, we have got more players into the panel, who have really just added to the strength of the panel as a whole. It has been great.”
Several counties are beginning to believe that they can deliver on the national stage in the All-Ireland championship. Ultimately, it means that the coming months will be sprinkled with interesting matches. “It goes to show how competitive the All-Ireland series is going to be,” McConville says.
“You have a lot of top teams, who are going to be looking at making an All-Ireland final this year and winning an All-Ireland.”
