By Niall McCoy

National Hurling League Division 3A

Monaghan v Armagh

Sunday, Inniskeen, 2pm

IT’S SOS time for the Armagh hurlers and unfortunately for them, their destiny is no longer in their own hands.

That’s the cut-throat nature of this division, and last weekend’s comprehensive 2-24 to 1-18 loss to Sligo means that two wins over Monaghan and Tyrone still may not be enough to secure promotion.

All Padraig O’Connor’s side can do is win those two matches though and hope Sligo slip up a couple of times. The fact that the Yeatsmen have the head-to-head advantage over them is another potential issue down the line.

There can be no complaints about their current predicament though as they failed to take advantage of the wind in the first half at Markievicz Park. Mark McClatchey did claim a goal in the opening 35 minutes but they still trailed 1-9 to 1-10.

In the second half they were outscored 1-14 to 0-9 with Gerard O’Kelly-Lynch, who finished with 1-11 to his name, doing most of the damage for Sligo.

For Armagh, Keady’s Fionntán Donnelly did again show his scoring prowess as he knocked over 14 points with 13 coming from frees. That is 25 points in two games for the player. Aaron Fox, Peter McKearney, Danny Magee and Eoin McGuinness all raised one white flag each, but it was nowhere near enough.

Will Monaghan smell blood? Manager Paul Hughes has told Gaelic Life that he expects to have a full squad to select from for the Grattan Park clash anyway.

Armagh won last year’s league encounter by 21 points, but the Oriel county did look better in their round one loss to Tyrone. It was the concession of the last 1-7 of the game that prevented them from leaving Omagh with anything.

The 2-13 they hit was more than they managed in five of their six games last year – the exception coming in the National League last round game against Louth – and Stephen Lambe (2-2) and Fergal Rafter (0-6) both looked sharp in front of the posts.

A win is probably beyond Hughes’s side, but they should end up a lot closer than they did last year against Armagh.

Whether the Orchard county’s Save Our Season call will be answered remains to be seen in the coming weeks, but it’s unlikely to be decided in Inniskeen.

Verdict: Monaghan

MON TO THE NEXT ONE…Danny Magee, left, will be hoping to help Armagh bounce back against the Oriel county