O'Neill played 'quite well' after 'brave' McGeeney call
Rian O'Neill played 60 minutes of Armagh's win over Derry on Saturday in his first inter-county appearance in 10 months
- Published
Armagh legend Oisin McConville said Rian O'Neill played "quite well" in the county's All-Ireland round-robin win over Derry on Saturday after manager Kieran McGeeney's "brave" decision to start him.
Having initially not been named in the matchday squad, O'Neill was a late replacement for Aidan Forker at the Athletic Grounds, marking the Crossmaglen club-man's first competitive appearance since last year's All-Ireland final.
O'Neill stepped away from the panel for personal reasons earlier, and while McGeeney previously said he did not expect him back this year, the All-Star returned to help the team begin their Sam Maguire defence with a 2-21 to 2-17 win.
"It was great to see him back," McConville said on The GAA Social of his nephew.
"He got a great reception and for a lad that's missed so much football, he actually played quite well, was on the ball a good bit, got a score.
"It was a brave decision from Geezer to throw him straight back in there. Most people would have thought 'yeah, he'll be on the bench, he'll get 20 or 30 minutes' but he actually got 50-plus minutes under his belt, which is a massive help going into the Dublin game."
McConville, an All-Ireland winner with the Orchardmen in 2002, added that while Armagh were "disjointed" in the second half against Derry, it was a "fairly perfect" precursor to Sunday's game against Dublin in Croke Park.
The Wicklow boss also said Derry can take positives from the game, having kept Armagh within reach despite trailing by 13 points with 20 minutes left, but argued that Oak Leaf boss Paddy Tally must address his side's kick-outs.
"They need to sort out their own kick-outs," McConville said of Derry, who are yet to win under Tally.
"That's an area that needs sorted quickly and that'll give them much more of a platform.
"Armagh went to town on it at times in the first half and especially the first 15 minutes of the second half.
"I turned to the lad beside me and said 'this could be anything'. Armagh were 2-19 and I was thinking it could be 2-30.
"For Derry to avoid that and do what they did at the other end should give them enough without trying to patronise anybody."