All-Ireland Final: Armagh reach the promised land once again

Armagh produced an immense performance to lift the Sam Maguire for only the second time in their history and the first time since 2002 with vicctory over Galway by a single point at Croke Park.

Aaron McKay's second half goal proved the difference between the sides, but this was an all-round team performance and vidincation for Manager Kieran McGeeney, who was the All-Ireland winning captain 22 years ago.

He faced a vote from the Armagh clubs for his job earlier this year and although he remained in position, it left a sour taste. That taste will now be all the sweeter for McGeeney and his players who backed him to the hilt and ended up in the promised land.

While Armagh had made one change from their starting line-up that beat Kerry in the semi-final, with Connaire Mackin coming in to replace Peter McGrane, there was one late change from their opponents on the day. Galway captain Sean Kelly wasn’t deemed fit enough to start, with Cein D’Arcy taking his place.

Galway began and remained in possession in the first few minutes before Paul Conroy opened the scoring for the Tribesmen, only to see Oisin Conaty replied with a fisted effort almost immediately.

Liam Silke and Rob Finnerty, from a free, put Galway 0-3 to 0-1 ahead, but once more Conaty hit back for the men in orange. However, in the build up to that Galway free, Finnerty, Galway’s top scorer this year, had to come off to be replaced by Johnny Heaney after suffering an injury.

After Armagh’s Conor Turbitt missed a relatively simple free, Galway put themselves in the ascendancy once again when Johnny Heaney finished off a sweeping move started and assisted by John Maher. However, Shane Walsh them missed an easy free of his own shortly afterwards.

That allowed Armagh to seize the chance to get back on terms and captain Aidan Forker took it, curling over a pinpoint effort off his left boot from 35 metres out.

Maher and Barry McCambridge then traded scores to make it five points apiece and following that, Shane Walsh, one of the best forwards in Ireland, missed two normally scoreable frees for a man of his ability. Incidentally, McCambridge was his marker and had gone and done what Walsh couldn’t do at the other end.

Conroy and Crealey both got their second points of the half before the break and in between times, Armagh’s Joe McElroy missed the posts from a mark after he had been excellently found by the Rian O’Neill.

Woth the sides locked at 0-6 each at the interval – and neither playing to their full potential, it opened things up to an intriguing second period.

It took Galway less than two minutes after the restart for Galway to get their noses in front again, with Conroy notching his third of the match. Then, after Conor Turbitt turned the ball over as Armagh attacked, Galway took full advantage as Cillian McDaid put the men in maroon two in front. However, Oisin Conaty got Armagh back on terms as the tie began to open up.

Rian O’Neill got his name on the scoresheet 10 minutes into the second period with a huge point from the right before Walsh got his maiden score shortly afterwards, before the same player grabbed a free to make it 0-10 to 0-9 for Galway.

The tie then sprang into life on 47 minutes when, mere seconds after being introduced off the bench, Stefan Campbell burst down the left and fisted across goal for Aaron McKay, who had burst forward from the full-back line to palm past Conor Gleeson to make it 1-9 to 0-10 to Armagh.

Walsh, who by his own high standards, was having a horrible time in front of goal, then dropped a mark attempt from just inside the ’45 short and that led to Niall Grimley showing him how it was done from play to put Armagh 1-10 to 0-11 in front with less than ten minutes remaining.

Oisin O’Neill then hooked over a wonderful score from the left flank and while D’Arcy and Cillian McDaid did pull scores back for Galway, it wasn’t enough as Armagh defended superbly to keep Paraic Joyce’s out and claim the deserved win.

MATCH STATS

Armagh: B Hughes; P Burns, A McKay (1-0), B McCambridge (0-1); Connaire Mackin, T Kelly (0-1), A Forker (C) (0-1); N Grimley (0-1), B Crealey (0-2); J McElroy, R O’Neill (0-1), O Conaty (0-3); R Grugan, A Murnin, C Turbitt

Subs: E Rafferty, G McCabe, P McGrane, C Higgins, R McQuillan for Kelly (46mins), S McPartlan, J Duffy, O O’Neill (0-1) for Grugan (51mins), S Campbell for Turbitt (46mins), A Nugent, J Og Burns for Mackin (60mins)

Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, L Silke (0-1), S O Maoilchiarain; P Conroy (0-3), C D’Arcy (0-3); M Tierney, J Maher (0-1), C McDaid (0-2); R Finnerty (0-1, free), D Comer, S Walsh (0-2, 1f)

Subs: C Flaherty, J Daly, E Kelly, D O’Flaherty for Tierney (66mins), K Molloy for Heaney (70+6mins), C Sweeney, S Kelly for Glynn (45mins), J Heaney (0-1) for Finnerty (11 mins), L O Conghaile, T Culhane for Comer (66mins), N Daly

Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)