ORCHARD'S DUBLE VISION..

Kernan: Trip to the capital will be a massive test for the champions so it's only natural that they'll have had one eye on it

- BY PAT NOLAN

AARON KERNAN reckons that Armagh minds may have been drifting towards Dublin even before they played Derry last weekend.

Despite Armagh leading by 13 points at one stage on Saturday, a couple of Derry goals made for an uncomfortable finish at the Athletic Grounds, though the All-Ireland champions held out for a four-point win in the end.

The nature of the round robin stage is that upcoming games are in the diary and Armagh's second round trip to Croke Park had an allure about it as soon as the groups were finalised.

It gets the juices flowing for all sorts of reasons, not least because it's a meeting of the last two All-Ireland winners but the rival managers, Kieran McGeeney and Dessie Farrell, have a shared history having played club football together in the capital for Na Fianna.