Armagh 1-15 Down 1-10:ARMAGH'S ENDURING love affair with the Ulster Championship, which they have dominated for the past decade, continues to blossom.
Paddy O’Rourke’s side may have huffed and puffed their way to survival in Division One of the National League but when Down asked major questions of them in this riveting tie their answers were very much in the affirmative.
So much so, the Orchard County now find themselves in pole position to challenge Tyrone’s ambition of making it a hat-trick of provincial accolades.
Yet Armagh remain a work in progress. A swashbuckling first-quarter preceded a 21-minute spell period during which they were held scoreless, while a succession of turnovers and a series of wrong options had threatened to undermine their entire strategy.
But their renowned qualities of resilience, character and courage – honed in the championship trenches over recent years – never deserted them. And neither did the individual skills that highlighted this significant coup – the majesty of Charlie Vernon at midfield, Jamie Clarke’s uncanny scoring touch, Aaron Kernan’s artistry both in defence and attack and Billy Joe Padden’s memorable introduction to the Ulster Championship.
Manager O’Rourke, clearly pleased with his side’s performance, nonetheless was ensuring feet remained on the ground.
“I have always believed that there was a big performance in this team and I am happy to see that it has been delivered. But the important thing is now that we must build on this – it cannot be an end in itself,” declared O’Rourke.
“We have maybe not been able to deal from a full hand since the start of the year and while there are still one or two people out, we would have to be very pleased with the efforts of all the players.”
His opposite number James McCartan was clear as to the main difference between the sides.
“Armagh showed real hunger and we were in trouble in several areas of the field. I am not going to make any excuses – Armagh showed what they are capable of and deserved their win. I had said before the game that I could not quite see where people were coming from by making us hot favourites,” said McCartan.
It was Jamie Clarke’s fifth-minute goal that proved the launch pad for a first-quarter Armagh onslaught that reaped points from Kernan (two), Kevin Dyas, Steven McDonnell and Padden that helped propel Armagh into a 1-6 to 0-3 lead as Down sought to plug gaps in their defensive mechanism.
But by half-time, James McCartan’s side had gained rather more than a toe-hold in the game at 1-8 to 1-6 after Mark Poland had ghosted in for a 21st-minute goal and Martin Clarke had exacted retribution for Armagh’s propensity for conceding frees by stroking over a brace of points and tacking on another from play to complement scores from Declan Rooney and Paul McComiskey.
And Clarke carried his accuracy over into the second-half, helping to propel his side into a 1-9 to 1-8 lead. But with Vernon wielding increasing authority in the middle third of the park, Armagh suddenly acquired a fresh demeanour.
From the 44th minute until the end of the game Down were restricted to just a solitary point – a superb effort from Danny Hughes – as the home side took a stranglehold on affairs.
Aaron and Tony Kernan helped to spark a seven-point blitz that saw Down’s morale visibly disintegrate, a rash of substitutions by manager McCartan failing to help.
A bountiful supply of midfield possession, a no-surrender policy at the back overseen by the superb Andy Mallon and Brendan Donaghy and spectacular late points from Padden, Mackin and the ubiquitous Kernan helped add a fresh dimension to what had, up until Saturday night, been a somewhat tarnished Ulster landscape.
ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, B Donaghy, K Dyas (0-1); A Kernan (0-5, four frees), C McKeever, P Duffy; K Toner, C Vernon; T Kernan (0-1), BJ Padden (0-3), M Mackin (0-2); M O’Rourke, S McDonnell (0-1, free), J Clarke (1-2). Subs: B Mallon for O’Rourke (56 mins). Yellow card: McKeever (42)
DOWN: B McVeigh; D McCartan, D Gordon, G McCartan; B McArdle, K McKernan, D Rooney (0-1); K King, P Fitzpatrick; D Hughes (0-1), M Clarke (0-5, four frees), P McComiskey (0-2); J Clarke, B Coulter, M Poland (1-1). Subs: C Maginn for J Clarke (22 mins), R Murtagh for Coulter (53 mins), C Laverty for Fitzpatrick (55 mins), A McArdle for McComiskey (56 mins), E McCartan for Poland (66 mins).
Referee: C Reilly (Meath).
Armagh will now meet Derry in in the provincial semi-final on June 19th. On the other side of the draw, Tyrone meet Monaghan next Sunday in Omagh, while Cavan host Donegal the following weekend in the final quarter-final.
