JOE- WE DID IT FOR GEEZER

KERRY stand in Armagh’s way of reaching the All-Ireland Final and while the Orchard men will be underdogs, they’ll rightly fancy their chances on Saturday (July 13) at 5.30pm, preceded by Down v Laois in the Tailteann Cup Final at 3pm.

Armagh left plenty of room for improvement following their convincing win over Roscommon but they are worthy of their place in the last four and having been at the wrong end of many last eight clashes, which made Saturday’s even sweeter according to Joe McElroy.

“It feels class. It feels good now I must say,” said McElroy.

“I've played in three All-Ireland quarter-finals and haven't got over any of them. So, we're in the next level and we'll definitely not be favourites whoever we play [Kerry]. We’ll be coming in as underdogs. Look, we're in a good place at the minute and we didn't play overly well today to be honest, we're just happy that we're into the next round.

“I think it was Roscommon we got beat by in 2018 and it was meant to be game of the year. We got beat by Galway two years ago with penalties and it was meant to be one of the games of the year.

“So, we're just happy that we didn't do overly well and we got the win. I suppose that's a wee bit of growth over the last couple of years, being able to win. We didn't really hit the full throttle today. We missed a lot of easy shots. Our marks and frees were a bit off as well, so we're just hoping we can work on that the next day and those points will go over the bar.

“There were stats going around, one saying that Armagh haven't been beaten so many years in the championship in 70 minutes, but at the end of the day we need to look at ourselves and say, we weren't good enough to beat the team in 70 minutes. You have to take that on board. We had to fix things to try and close out games. The likes of the Galway game, we were able to pull it back. The Derry game we pulled off at the start. That game [today] was a wee bit different because they had a man down but we were still in total control.

“And even when they had their man sent off, we were six up I think, we missed two goal chances and four frees, so it's a lot to work on. A lot of positives but I suppose also a lot of evaluation needs to be done.”

It was a heartbreaking post press conference with manager Kieran McGeeney, who only found out that morning of the tragic passing of his uncle Peter [Kelly].

“Mum and dad didn’t tell me last night. It was only this morning there – it was tragic circumstances,” said McGeeney.

“Peter was a good man – his son would be one of my best mates. So, this morning was a bit rough to be honest. They were supposed to have a surprise party for his sister tonight. He was a great man, a great character. He would have been roaring and shouting at the TV. It’s one of those days. There were four brothers on my mum’s side – they all played. Raymond would have played for Armagh. Peter and Pat would have hit you harder than the other two, but they always followed us over the years, especially myself. We’d great support from all the Kelly household. A close family. It’s a tough day.”

Joe McElroy said that they won Saturday’s game for their manager.

“We only found out this morning. Usually, Kieran [McGeeney] is always the one pulling us along and getting us ready and we just said today before we left, we're making sure that man gets into the semi-final,” said McElroy

“We're doing it for him because there's no better man for this job. I know the media and the press and everyone, when we've had defeats in previous years, were looking about. - but that's not the players.

“We are fully behind Kieran all the way and always have been. He's the best man for the job and we did it for him today and did it for his family. Losing your uncle is always going to be tough and the warrior that he is he just got on, professional as normal, game face on and got us ready for the match.”

Semi-final fever is going heat up over the next few weeks and the level of support for the team and management has not been lost on the players.

“We actually would be quite a close-knit group so we sort of go away to training camps at weekends and stay away from all that but I have friends who are not involved in Gaelic and they think it's an amateur sport and they wouldn't expect crowds like this to be at games and if you see the Armagh crowds, at the Athletic Grounds as well, the place is pumping,” McElroy said.

“This is a county that is completely mad for football, which is so nice to see, after a big game when the children are running out looking for signatures.

“Family members there and friends and family are sending pictures of them all. My sister is actually in Glastonbury at the minute with a big, massive Armagh flag walking about the place.

“I’ve had texts from Australia and phone calls, it's just unreal. The fans are second to none. The Armagh fans are the best in the country and they travel in huge numbers. For a county that's relatively small and a county that over the years hasn't had much success – I think Kieran was saying there was only five All-Ireland semi-finals that Armagh have.

“I think we build ourselves up a wee bit as well. We are a very proud county but we haven't been in this position that much, so we're trying to make the most of the situation and we'll over the next two weeks really knuckle down and see where it takes us.”