By Shaun Casey

BACK-TO-BACK league victories see Armagh head to Dublin in fine fettle for their round three duel and joint-manager Joe Feeney has been delighted with how his side have started the campaign.

An opening-day away win over All-Ireland champions Kerry was added to with an 11-point victory against Tyrone in round two, and now the Orchard ladies are on the road again as they take on the Dubs.

Last year’s Division One league champions remain without a number of key players, with All-Star defender Grace Ferguson, team captain Clodagh McCambridge, Aimee Mackin and Kelly Mallon all sidelined at the minute.

And with college games taking place midway, it could be a stressful couple of days for Feeney, who manages the side along with Darnell Parkinson, but they’re looking forward to the challenge that lies ahead.

“We’ve had a tough start,” said Feeney, who played with St Vincent’s in Dublin during his club career. “We had the All-Ireland champions away in Kerry and then we had a home fixture, and we had to deal with Tyrone.

“Now we have Dublin next so it’s a tough start, we have a lot of injuries. We have an important week this week with college games taking place, so we have to manage our players properly and hopefully we have a clean bill of health going into the Dublin game.

“There is one of two returning from injury nice and steady, they’re getting there, they’re getting back to their levels.

“We’re away to Dublin and it’s going to be tough, they’re a quality team and they’re building nicely as well under new management.”

Armagh struggled in the first half of last week’s victory over Tyrone, with the sides tied at 0-5 apiece when the short whistle sounded, but a stunning second half display, where they held their opponents scoreless, saw them secure the win.

Niamh Reel put in a powerful display in the full-forward line, top scoring on the day with 0-8. Experienced head Caroline O’Hanlon chipped in with 0-2 from midfield while Emily Druse and Roisin Mulligan were other eye-catching performers.

“We were a wee bit flat in the first half, but we were very composed at half time,” added Feeney. “We put the girls in their groups, and we knew that if we were at our level and took our chances, we could push on.

“We were a wee bit sloppy in our play, but we were neat and tidier in the final third in the second half and we took our scores. It was a good start straight away from the second half, we won the throw up and scored again off their kick-out so we’re happy.

“We talked about it at half time, that we needed to get on the front foot. We pressed a wee bit higher, and we had seven or eight different scores which was great, and we had a good impact off our bench as well,” Feeney added.