Armagh 4-10 Down 0-12: Winning Ulster SFC title would be a 'massive thing' - Greg McCabe
- Published
Greg McCabe hopes to help deliver a first Ulster title for Armagh since 2008
Armagh centre back Greg McCabe says he wants to deliver for the county "what we've been waiting for for a very long time" when they face Derry in the Ulster SFC final at Clones on 14 May.
Armagh are targeting a first Ulster title since 2008 after beating Down 4-10 to 0-12 in Sunday's semi-final.
"I think it's a massive thing," McCabe told BBC Sport NI's GAA Social Extra after the match at Clones.
"It'll be the same for Derry. They'll be looking to win it back-to-back."
The introduction of the new All-Ireland round-robin series has led some observers to believe that the significance of the provincial championships has been diluted but McCabe disagrees.
"You go out to win every cup, especially Ulster, because it's so competitive compared to the others. Ulster has four or five teams very similar. It really is tight.
"We're in no position to say it's not important to us when we haven't been in a final since 2008."
Highlights: Four-goal Armagh beat Down in semi-final
Armagh, who were relegated from Division One of the National Football League, produced a dominant but not entirely convincing victory over the Mournemen at the last-four stage.
Down led early on but Andrew Murnin's fisted goal was followed by Shane McPartlan's burst through the Down defence to put Armagh 2-3 to 0-3 ahead.
As Armagh's intensity dropped, Down cut the margin to 2-4 to 0-6 by half-time.
Armagh did lift the pace after the break and Ciaran Mackin flicked their third goal before Rian O'Neill netted.
"We knew what they were going to bring. It was a local derby so anything could happen, especially in those conditions," reflected McCabe.
"It was a tight enough first half but I thought we controlled the game well in the second half.
"At half-time we were told to keep doing what we were doing in the first half but to step it up, show more energy, get up the pitch a bit quicker and put them on the back foot.
"There was a bit of wind in the first half and we were a bit against, plus they had 15 men behind the ball. It was a bit congested and we were maybe forcing passes.
"We knew if we just kept taking our scores and built up a four or five point lead they were eventually going to have to come out.
"The Armagh support was unbelievable. Hopefully on their next day out we can give them what we've been waiting for for a very long time."