Armagh got away from us quick - Donegal assistant manager Bernard McGeehan

Donegal assistant manager Bernard McGeehan felt the early Armagh pressure was once again what let them down in their relegation semi-final in Stewartstown.

James Daly’s side were playing against a strong breeze in the opening half an hour and found themselves five behind inside seven minutes.

And while they were wary of preventing a fast start, as the Orchard County had in the Ulster final with a couple of early goals, the weather had a big factor in that being unsuccessful.

“It definitely was a game of two halves in many respects,” McGeehan said after the game.

“In the Ulster final, the game got away from us very quick so our objective today was to try and stay in the game. We lost the toss and they took the wind, so we found ourselves under huge pressure from the first minute, and getting kick-outs out against the wind was extremely challenging.

“They got away from us quick, but saying that, we probably left 2-2 behind us in the first half.

Read Next: Paddy McGrath enjoying ‘hands-on’ approach alongside Donegal U-16 boss Karl Lacey

“We had two really good goal chances, and if even one of them goes in, then it might have made the half-time team talk a bit easier.”

Coming out 0-11 to 0-1 down after half-time, Donegal started well and hit two quick points in as many minutes, but Armagh began to be much more patient in possession and didn’t take chances unless there was a good opportunity.

It meant Donegal got a lot less of the ball than they would have liked and forced them to rush some chances.

“When they were ten points up they could afford to keep the ball for three minutes and you could see their experience.

“No more than us, they wanted to be playing an All-Ireland quarter-final and they were earmarked as one of the teams to win an All-Ireland, but they found themselves here, and unfortunately, it happened to be against us.”