‘We know how this place plays': Crossmaglen and Oisin O'Neill happy to be back in Athletic Grounds

CROSSMAGLEN veteran Johnny Murtagh quipped afterwards that the presence of the TG4 cameras, not just the usual 'Armagh TV' coverage, inspired the Rangers to an astonishing demolition of Clan na Gael. Inside the first 15 minutes of the first half the south Armagh side had racked up an 18-point lead over their rivals from Lurgan, 2-15 to 0-3. Cross' went on to win the Armagh SFC preliminary quarter-final by an incredible 29 points , 5-27 to 0-13. Yet Oisin O'Neill reckoned that the pitch itself mattered more than what was around it. Back in 'the big house' of the county ground after the group stages at individual club venues, Cross' revelled, he said: 'When you get into the Athletic Grounds, it 'plays' bigger,' said O'Neill. 'There was that wee bit more space than what we had last week [away to champions Madden]. We're also getting boys back now, but we have a massive two weeks ahead.' Crossmaglen will next face near neighbours Culloville Blues in the quarter-finals proper, and even in advance of the draw O'Neill was sounding a note of caution: 'There's a big step-up coming: it's only [Division] 1A teams that we can draw, the top seeds, and that's going to be a challenge for us to see if we can get to that level because we haven't got to that level yet this year.' That comment may sound strange after such a convincing win, but he noted that their opponents were significantly under-strength: 'Clans are down a lot of bodies there, they're missing six, seven starters and you can probably tell. 'That's what we've been through in the rest of the league, so hopefully we can keep the bodies on the pitch.'# Backing up Oisin's point, Cross' only narrowly defeated Culloville in the last round of Division 1A, 3-12 to 2-14 in Olivert Plunkett Park, a result which kept the Rangers up while the Blues finished bottom of that eight-team table. He'll obviously be delighted that all four quarter-finals have been set for the Athletic Grounds, having speculated in advance of the draw that the match might take place in south Armagh if they were paired with the Blues: 'I'd say if we draw Culloville they could try and have us somewhere else. 'We've played a lot of games here, there's a core of that team now that have been here for maybe eight, nine, 10 years and we know how this place plays.' Interestingly, he revealed that Cross' would probably have made the same decision as Clans and played against the breeze had they won the toss: 'We probably didn't want to go with the wind in the first half, but when we did get that opportunity we knew that we had to make hay and thankfully we did that… 'Obviously when we were out here [before throw-in], we've seen that there was a pretty big wind and no matter what half we were playing with, we knew that we had to really squeeze their kick-out and go after momentum and getting the two-pointers - and thankfully they came off today.' They certainly did, with Cross' kicking seven two-pointers in those opening 15 minutes, three of those from Oisin himself, who was also involved in the second goal, palmed in by his cousin Cian McConville. No one anticipated such a stunning victory, but O'Neill did sense improvement, despite a second loss in just over a week at Madden, following the similarly last-gasp defeat at home to Dromintee: 'We probably felt like we found something last week in the second half down in Madden. 'It was the first time this year we really got into a bit of a flow and we took that into training - but it's all about taking it to training now on Tuesday night and getting back on the horse and trying to improve for a fortnight's time.' Althugh he's an older head, he's still only 29, although he said with a laugh that some team-mates are having an ageing effect on him: 'They're making me feel old. I taught Keelan [McEntee] in primary school at one stage, they're making me feel old. 'That's what this club's all about, it's always trying to find the next couple of boys and there's two other minors there that have come in along with Keelan and they're pushing really hard too. 'Hopefully the longer we stay in the Championship, the better the boys will get over the next couple of weeks.' Last weekend began knockout senior football in Armagh, with O'Neill concluding: 'It probably feels like the real start of Championship football and hopefully we'll be back here in a couple of weeks.' 'Any time you get to come to the Athletic Grounds it's always nice. His wish was granted. Culloville's probably wasn't….