Monaghan 0-9
Armagh 1-8
ARMAGH ARE ON track for their first Ulster title in five years as an improved second-half performance edged them past Monaghan in Clones today.
Armagh attacker Ryan Hughes opened a low scoring first-half with a sharp point after two minutes, before a tit-for-tat 25 minutes where the teams traded scores leaving them four points apiece.
A Barry McGinn free left Monaghan a point ahead at the interval, although it was the team in orange who emerged the strongest at the start of the second-half.
A goal within the opening three minutes put Armagh two points ahead, but a Barry McGinn point and two from Dermot Gleeson soon levelled the game.
A late sending off to Monaghan midfielder Michael Murnaghan proved crucial though, as Armagh scored the final two points of the game to send them into their first Ulster decider since 2011, at the expense of the reigning champions.
Monaghan
1. Shane Garland,
2. Stephen Mohan,
3. Conor Duffy,
4. Caolan McElwain,
5. Mustafa Gamal,
6. Barry Kerr,
7. Shane Treanor,
8. Michael Murnaghan,
9. John Beattie,
10. Francis Maguire,
11. Aaron Jones,
12. Michael Bannigan
13. David Garland,
14. David McAllister
15. Barry McGinn
Armagh
1. Ryan Kearney
2 Fergus Quinn
3. Aidan Rushe
4. Cathal Donnelly
5. Cathal Boylan
6. Cathair McKinney
7. Conor McNicholl
8. Jarlath Og Burns
9. Shane Conlon
10. Jack Rafferty
11. Oisin O’Neill
12. Kyle Mallon
13. Ryan Hughes
14. Conor Grimley
15. Caolan McConville
