Ulster SFC Quarter-final Armagh 0-12 Donegal 0-12: Another coup for Brian McEniff's voluminous scrapbook.

How many times has he bused into St Tiernach's Park through the madding streets of Clones with an unfancied team of footballers on board only to depart some hours later with the world of Ulster football tilting on a different axis?

Yesterday's result, in front of 25,586 spectators, won't rate that highly in such a collection given that the job is only half finished and there's something of the oxymoron about a half-finished coup.

But his Donegal side shook up hot-favourites Armagh and rode out their reduction to 14, after Kevin Cassidy got a straight red with less than half an hour gone. This is, of course, another McEniff speciality.

Last year, Donegal upended All-Ireland champions Tyrone and in their annus mirabilis 1992 did the same to All-Ireland favourites Derry, in both cases missing the full complement.

Maybe Armagh muddied the waters by themselves losing a man, replacement Paddy McKeever, for the last 10 minutes and certainly both teams immediately raised their game.

It was a familiar frustration for Armagh manager Joe Kernan, who had difficulty turning the spare man into a decisive advantage in last year's Ulster semi-final against Cavan. But yesterday saw more worrying developments for the defending champions.

They never went up the gears and although at times they were impressive for short phases there were no sustained periods of pressure and Donegal coped well, confidence building as their traditional short-ball game encountered comparatively little resistance.

The younger players drafted in for the impressive league triumph last month ended up yesterday more notable for their inexperience at senior championship level than the greater pace and mobility they bring to the team.

Paul McCormack was tried as the extra man after Cassidy's dismissal for a clash with Martin O'Rourke, but the strategy never clicked and the young corner back was replaced in the second half together with Ciarán McKeever - necessitating the return of the All-Ireland winning wing backs Aidan O'Rourke and Andrew McCann.

An early yellow card might eventually have prompted McKeever's withdrawal and that consideration seemed also to be a factor in the substitution of Martin O'Rourke, who had been carded by the referee for baiting Cassidy as he left the field.

The most effective replacement was Philip Loughran at centrefield, whose introduction coincided with his team's drive for survival.

So it was a much changed team that watched with relief as OisíMcConville's injury-time shuffle and shot conjured up an equaliser.

Just before that, Donegal's teenage goalkeeper Michael Boyle had made a brave save under a dropping ball from Aidan O'Rourke and under pressure from McConville.

McEniff and some of his players were disappointed that the team hadn't completed the surprise by holding out to win. The critical phase for Donegal came in the last 15 minutes or so.

A typically defiant second-half response climaxed with Adrian Sweeney's 57th-minute point - the mix-up between McConville and Aaron Kernan presenting the ball to Brian Roper who made the scoring pass - to put the outsiders three points ahead, 0-11 to 0-8, with their opponents continuing to misfire.

There was one glorious chance to extend the lead when debutant Karl Lacy came from deep through the middle - tellingly with no one laying a hand on him as he pirouetted out of potential challenges. But his finish wasn't on a par with the build-up and the shot was well wide.

Maybe subconsciously Donegal tried to hold out from there, but the match twisted with the arrival of Loughran and the dismissal of Paddy McKeever - after all of 16 minutes on the field for a foul on Barry Monaghan - and Armagh found the scores.

Brian Mallon finished well for the first, McCann drove over the second from the throw-up immediately after McKeever's departure and Kernan's calmly executed point off the break from a dropping kick by McDonnell, levelled the match.

Hope briefly flickered again for Donegal when Christy Toye pointed after what felt like an interminable sequence of hand passes, but they had lost the initiative and few in the crowdwere that surprised when Armagh squared it before the whistle.

Still, for McEniff's team to have taken the match to the threshold of victory was good going considering their plight towards the end of the first half. A very slow start to the match saw only one score for the first 10 minutes.

Both teams made errors with goalkeepers putting kick-outs over the sideline and passes astray, but as the half progressed Armagh began to win good possession through Paul McGrane and hit the rhythm of their quick transfer through the middle, complemented by crossfield and diagonal kicked passes.

Only Ronan Clarke was firing on all cylinders up front and hardly lost a ball all day. His three points were supplemented by two scored frees for fouls on him and Kernan must regret that more ball didn't go to the full forward.

Otherwise the attack was subdued. Kernan pushed up to good effect in both halves, but was more in control defensively during the first half.

Although Colm McFadden showed well, particularly in the second half, he wasn't always accurate and seemed prone to being blocked.

Adrian Sweeney as ever was the most potent threat, but as a unit Donegal played more to their strengths with the runs of Roper and Toye causing problems.

It took a little while to sort out the centrefield situation after Cassidy's red card but the second-half alignment with Monaghan in the middle and Michael Hegarty in the half backs worked well, with Shane Carr doing excellent defensive work and Hegarty punching holes in Armagh's flank with a number of big runs down the left wing.

But the third-quarter surge that took Donegal from two points in arrears at half-time to three points clear faltered and they'll have to try again next Saturday in Clones.

ARMAGH: 1. P Hearty; 2. A Mallon, 3. F Bellew, 4. P McCormack; 5. A Kernan (0-2, one free), 6. K McGeeney, 7. C McKeever; 8. J Toal, 9. P McGrane (0-1); 10. M O'Rourke, 11. J McEntee, 12. O McConville (0-2, one free); 13. S McDonnell (0-2), 14. R Clarke (0-3), 15. B Mallon (0-2). Subs: 19. A McCann for McCormack (42 mins), 21. A O'Rourke for McKeever (42 mins), 23. P McKeever for O'Rourke (46 mins), 22. P Loughran for McEntee (59 mins).

DONEGAL: 1. M Boyle; 4. K Lacy, 3. R Sweeney, 2. E McGee; 5. D Diver, 6. B Monaghan, 7. S Carr; 8. N Gallagher, 9. K Cassidy; 10. C Toye (0-1), 12. B Roper (0-1), 11. M Hegarty; 13. C McFadden (0-5, four frees), 15. A Sweeney (0-4, one free), 14. B Devenney (0-1, free). Subs: 22. R Kavanagh for Devenney (60 mins).

Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).