ORCHARD RAIDED

DONEGAL maintained their 100-per-cent record in Division One as they claimed a four-point win over Ulster rivals Armagh at the Box-It Athletic Grounds yesterday.

- PADDY TIERNEY

The sides met in the last two Ulster finals, with Donegal winning on both occasions.

Indeed, Armagh are winless against Donegal in six outings since Jim McGuinness (left) returned as manager.

The defeat, their third in succession, leaves Kieran McGeeney's men locked in a relegation battle with just two points gained and three games remaining.

"I'm just very disappointed. We've just gifted another game.

"We had the chances," reflected McGeeney. "We'd chances to win maybe two or three games. It's just very disappointing now. After four games and three of them we should have won. That's the sport.

"Even the first five or six possessions in the second half, we only got one point out of it. We're doing most of the rounds apart for the important bit. Maybe we should stop listening to everybody else and just put them over the bar."

McGeeney's remarks were in reference to a plethora of missed goal chances as well as nine second-half wides, while Oisin Conaty's late penalty miss rounded off a frustrating afternoon for the hosts.

A deluge of rain an hour before throw-in left the playing surface, renowned as one of the best in the province, extremely heavy.

The wind also favoured Donegal in the first half and Michael Langan laid down a marker right from the off with a classy two-pointer before Oisin Gallen put Donegal three ahead.