Cavan 3-9 Armagh 1-11:The teams meet again in May when the result will really matter, but Cavan were still delighted to collect their first win of the McKenna Cup campaign on Saturday night.
They led Armagh from start to finish in the Athletic Grounds, two goals from Martin Dunne and a seventh-minute strike from Tomas Corr giving them a cushion they were never to relinquish.
Armagh midfielder Kieran Toner was dismissed for a second yellow card offence in the last minute of the game.
Armagh fielded seven debutants in what was their first competitive outing of the season, but the visitors made a great start with two goals inside the first 17 minutes.
Corr burst through the middle and drilled a low long-range shot to the net. Martin Dunne then took advantage of a defensive blunder in the Armagh full-back line to curl the ball past Niall Geoghegan.