LAST UPDATE | 3 Jun 2023
Tyrone 0-13
Armagh 0-11
IT WASN’T QUITE the levels of Roscommon in the keep-ball stakes, but as Tyrone wound down the clock in injury time here in Omagh they looked like a team that had the kitchen sink thrown at them, only to slip on some stray Fairy Liquid.
It was Niall Morgan’s slip, to be precise. The Edendork man had a spectacular evening, producing a reflex stop in the first move of the game to deny a palmed effort from Conor Turbitt after Andrew Murnin sent in a soccer-style cross.
On the quarter-hour mark, he had to produce something special to deny Jason Duffy for one of those saves when you hope the photographer had the rapid click lens.
When the fat was really in the fire on 66 minutes, Aidan Forker sent in a searching ball that hung in the air. By that stage Ethan Rafferty had gone to full forward, but it was Morgan who rose above all else and the ball stuck to his hands as if he had rubbed them in tree sap.
All of that however, would have been for nothing only for the quick-thinking of Michael McKernan in the second last play.
Tyrone had the ball for a few minutes and they were torturing the likes of Andrew Murnin by playing piggy-in-the-middle of the flailing Armagh attempts to win it back. Morgan had been prominent in that spell of play, but incredibly, he stubbed his toe on the surface.
The ball squirted out of his grasp. Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney insisted he touched it on the ground but either way, late substitution Oisin Conaty was onto it in a flash.
With the net empty, he only had to get his toe to it to make it a draw game. But McKernan sniffed the danger to get across and boot it for a ’45 that Armagh squandered.
The first points on the board for Tyrone, to leave themselves with some comfort ahead of meeting Westmeath in the final round.
Undoubtedly, the key factor in shaping the destiny of this game was the red card for Rian O’Neill on the half hour.
At that stage, Tyrone were 0-7 to 0-3 up and looked to have a better proscribed gameplan. But that rules against the moments that can happen out of nothing and Armagh had little luck there.
In the first move of the game, Andrew Murnin found himself being squeezed close to goal so sent a soccer style cross to the unmarked Conor Turbitt. His palmed effort was strong but Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan produced some aerial acrobatics to bat it out for a ‘45’ that O’Neill put wide.
Another goal chance went abegging from an Armagh kickout that went through Ciaran Mackin to Jason Duffy and again, Morgan’s anticipation was sensational.
With Darren McCurry setting fire to everything around him, he had amassed four points in the first half. They could have had a goal. Peter Harte found himself in a perfect position to thump over from just inside the ’45 metre line, but instead played a wicked give and go with Errigal Ciaran clubmate Joe Oguz.
Played in over the top, Harte measured the shot carefully across Ethan Rafferty, but it cannoned off the post instead.
Harte was having a real day of it and sent in a delivery to Conn Kilpatrick who took a mark, and crested it over.
But shortly after Harte hitting the post, Armagh’s tendency to press the big red button overwhelmed them. With play going on elsewhere, O’Neill had an altercation with Cormac Quinn and used his knees in a dangerous manner.
Referee Martin McNally was alerted to it by the linesman James Molloy and McNally instantly dismissed O’Neill.
It was a red card waiting to happen based on previous games. The Crossmaglen man has talent, but he tends to ride the donkey close to the tail.
All the full court presses and high press and middle blocks count for nothing when your main man is sent off. The moment it happened, Tyrone joint manager Brian Dooher summoned his captain Padraig Hampsey to the line to tell him he was the free man in defence.
The Coalisland man took advantage of his new freedom a minute later, ambling upfield to split the posts in the last score of the half to have the home side ahead at the break by double scores, 0-8 to 0-4.
In going up by six points with fifteen minutes left, they were halfway to a professional job done well. But then Ethan Rafferty took off for ten minutes like a man possessed. Rory Grugan nailed three points, one of them a jinking, weaving beautiful display of balance and the crowd fully committed to the game.
A Darragh Canavan special when he ran 60 metres with the ball before lifting it over with his left foot couldn’t even dampen Armagh’s fire. But ultimately, time ran out.
Scorers for Tyrone: Darren McCurry 0-5 (2f), Darragh Canavan 0-3, Michael McKernan, Padraig Hampsey, Matthew Donnelly, Conor Meyler 0-1 each, Conn Kilpatrick 0-1 mark
Scorers for Armagh: Rory Grugan 0-4, (2f), Oisin Conaty 0-2, Conor Turbitt 0-2, (1f), Jarlath Óg Burns, Andrew Murnin 0-1 each, Rian O’Neill 0-1 (1f)
Tyrone
1. Niall Morgan (Edendork)
2. Michael McKernan (Coalisland), 3. Ronan McNamee (Aghyaran), 4. Padraig Hampsey (Coalisland)
5. Cormac Quinn (Errigal Ciaran), 6. Michael O’Neill (Ardbe), 7. Peter Harte (Errigal Ciaran)
8. Brian Kennedy (Derrylaughan), 9. Conn Kilpatrick (Edendork)
10. Conor Meyler (Omagh), 11. Joe Oguz (Errigal Ciaran), 12. Niall Sludden (Dromore)
13. Darren McCurry (Edendork), 14. Matthew Donnelly (Trillick), 15. Darragh Canavan (Errigal Ciaran)
Subs
23. Kieran McGeary (Pomeroy) for Sludden (42)
17. Ruairi Canavan (Errigal Ciaran) for Oguz (53)
19. Niall Devlin (Coalisland) for Harte (65)
20. Richard Donnelly (Trillick) for McCurry (69)
Armagh
1. Ethan Rafferty (Granemore)
2. Conor O’Neill (Killeavy), 3. Aaron McKay (Dromintee), 4. Aidan Forker (Maghery)
5. Greg McCabe (Camlough), 6. Callum Cumiskey (Crossmaglen Rangers), 7. Jarlath Óg Burns (Silverbridge)
8. Ben Crealey (Maghery), 9. Ciaran Mackin (Camlough)
10. Jason Duffy (Cullyhanna), 11. Rory Grugan (Ballymacnab), 12. Stefan Campbell (Clan na Gael)
13. Conor Turbitt (Clann Eireann), 14. Rian O’Neill (Crossmaglen Rangers), 15. Andrew Murnin (St Paul’s)
Subs
20. Ross McQuillan (Cullyhanna) for Cumiskey (HT)
23. Shane McPartlan (Clan na Gael) for Crealey (43)
24. Oisin Conaty (Tir na nÓg) for Campbell (55)
25. Cian McConville (Crossmaglen Rangers) for Turbitt (65)
22. Aidan Nugent (Cullyhanna) for McKay (70)
Referee: Martin McNally (Monaghan)
