Aidan Forker determined to end Armagh trophy drought

Michael Bolton

Armagh's Aidan Forker is determined to end Armagh's wait for silverware as they prepare for the Ulster championship this weekend.

The last couple of seasons have had a common team for Armagh. Despite promising signs and a team full of quality, their quest for an All-Ireland has ended in heartbreaking fashion.

A dramatic quarter-final defeat to Galway on penalties was followed by another penalty shoot-out to Monaghan a year later. The Ulster final was also decided on penalties, in a defeat to penalty.

While Forker admitted luck has not been on their side, he is confident Armagh can come out the right side of tight contests in the future.

"I think in the acute stages of it, it is definitely difficult to stomach for sure. When you get back in the group, you don't belong. When the dust settles, you probably have to say to yourself that we are not far away.

"We were unlucky in a lot of those games. I don't like to use the word luck too often, but you need a wee bit of luck and we weren't on the right side of it.

"It is not lost on us, it does hurt. They are great games to be part of, and we will be determined to be on the right side of them."

Forker was a key part of the Armagh side which was promoted back to Division One on the first time of asking, finishing second in Division Two.

While it was another difficult day for Armagh in Croke Park as they lost to final to Donegal, Forker admitted it would have meant a lot to win a national league title, but is looking forward to bigger games ahead.

"It would have been nice to bring a national title back to Armagh. I suppose the bigger things are coming later in the summer.

"We could have won it, we would have liked to, but it is not the b all and end all of the season in terms of what we want to do. What we were aiming to do was get out of Division Two. I suppose for both teams the league final is a bit of a bonus.

"We will take the learnings I suppose and use that as an opportunity to get better in those tighter situations we will hopefully find ourselves later on in the year."

Armagh's Ulster campaign gets underway this weekend when they face Fermanagh on Sunday, who will be determined to bounce back from relegation in Division Two.

The most competitive of the provincial competitions, Armagh could not have got closer to their first Ulster title since 2008 in the penalty shoot-out loss to Derry.

At a time when some provincial championships are being questioned, Forker says an Ulster title would still mean as much as ever to this Armagh side.

"That was probably one of the lowest I have been in my career coming home on that bus. You go through wee moments yourself on what could have been a wee bit better.

"It was definitely a knife edge, going to penalties as well. Somebody had to be on the wrong end of it, it is unfortunate that we were.

"It has meant as much as it always has. An Ulster medal is not something to be sniffed at. Whether it be us going for one in many, many years, or other counties trying to get a good run and get to a final, or Derry going for three in-a-row."