Crossmaglen Rangers are bidding for an incredible 19th championship title in 20 years today when they face Armagh Harps in a repeat of last year's final which they won by a comfortable 17 point margin.
Under the stewardship of former Cross' and Armagh stars Oisín McConville and John McEntee, the club have overall intentions of atoning for their disappointing end to last year's Ulster championship when they succumbed to Tyrone champions Omagh in the quarter-final.
But McConville stresses that his side are still determined to retain their championship honours which they may have to face minus the services of the injured Aaron Kiernan,
'We have been hit hard with injuries over the past few months, but something that is great for clearing up injuries is a county final. There's a lot of lads who have a lot of miles on the clock. Aaron is our biggest doubt at the minute, we're not sure if he'll make it. People realise it's a special thing. The only difference is the celebrations don't spill into the Monday and the Tuesday.'
Winning the county final is the only avenue Crossmaglen Rangers can take in their pursuit of Ulster glory, a gong which McConville and his troops have full appreciation for considering their impressive cabinet of almost 20 county championships.
But navigating a successful path through the Ulster stages, remains their ultimate challenge.
'The challenge we talk about in the changing rooms is, are we good enough to be that? And that question has been answered over the last number of years, in that we are not. We wanted to be going better earlier. But anyone who has seen us this year would realise, we are not playing well. We have had lots of injuries, we have a lot of excuses. But I think the big thing for us is that we have still been winning games.'
Throw-in between the sides is due to take place at 4pm
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