Rian O'Neill returns as Armagh survive late Derry blitz in nervy All-Ireland opener

The Irish Sun

24-05-2025

RIAN O'NEILL'S confirmed return before throw-in drew as many cheers from Armagh fans as the hooter at the end did as their All-Ireland defence kicked off with a nervous win.
But Orchard captain for the night Rory Grugan insisted that the victory was all that mattered — as his side stumbled over the line to take two points in the group of death from a game they should have cruised home in.
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Rian O'Neill returned for All-Ireland champions Armagh on Saturday at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds
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Armagh's defence kicked off with a nervous win against a tough Derry outfit
Second-half goals from Barry McCambridge and Conor Turbitt saw Kieran McGeeney's men take a commanding 13-point lead with just over ten minutes left.
But Derry rallied, scoring two late goals from Conor Glass and Tommy Rogers to make the hosts sweat at the Athletic Grounds.
Armagh hung on to banish the memories of another drama-filled Ulster final defeat to Donegal.
Grugan said: 'The first few days are tough, getting the corner turned in terms of mentally and that, but we managed to do that and we put in a good ten days of training.
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'We treated this like a final, basically, because if you lose this first game, you're scrambling away to Dublin, neutral to Galway, you don't know where it'll take you and suddenly you're fighting for your life.
'We want to push on now, see where this week takes us and I look forward to Croke Park.'
Grugan admitted he was glad to hear the final whistle.
He added: 'I went off just after we'd conceded the first goal and it went back to a ten-point deficit, and you're hoping that's still enough of a buffer.
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'But in the modern game we've seen those disappear really quickly. There was a significant wind there, Derry took advantage of it.
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'You could tell they were really going for goal and they never stopped fighting. They came at us hard, kicked a couple of two-pointers and it was more nervy than it needed to be there.
'It would have been a travesty if we threw it away.'
Armagh came flying out of the blocks in the second half having only led by three points at the break despite dominating the opening period.
The return of talisman O'Neill for his first game of the year came in the No 6 jersey after he had initially not been named in the matchday squad.
That all changed on the day and he was among the scorers as his side led 0-9 to 0-2 after 19 minutes. Grugan, Andrew Murnin, Oisín Conaty with a two-pointer, Ross McQuillan and Turbitt all contributed.
But Derry hit back with Conor Glass, Paul Cassidy, Ruairí Forbes and Shane McGuigan on target to cut Armagh's half-time lead to 0-12 to 0-9.
Murnin, Jarly Óg Burns, Jason Duffy and McQuillan all helped extend the Orchard lead again before McCambridge steered Murnin's optimistic delivery into the net and then Turbitt displayed class to slip his shot past keeper Ben McKinless.
However, Derry chipped away with a big two-pointer from McGuigan and then with ten minutes to play, Glass' low effort gave Armagh keeper Ethan Rafferty no chance.
And Paddy Tally's men really started to believe when substitute Rogers rattled in another goal.
Indeed, they came close to turning it around with Rafferty required to make saves from Rogers and his namesake Brendan.
But Joe McElroy stemmed the tide with a vital insurance point as Armagh hung on and they now head to Croke Park to face Dublin next weekend with both sides having won their group openers.
Derry will welcome Galway to Celtic Park as both teams look to get off the mark.
Ahead of facing the Dubs, Grugan warned: 'The amount of goal chances Derry created and scored would be concerning.'
ARMAGH: E Rafferty; P Burns, B McCambridge 1-0, P McGrane; R McQuillan 0-4, R O'Neill 0-1, J Óg Burns 0-1; J Duffy 0-1, B Crealy; D McMullan 0-1, R Grugan 0-3, 2f, O Conaty 0-4, 1tp; T Kelly, A Murnin 0-3, O O'Neill. Subs: C Turbitt 1-2, 1tp for O O'Neill 12mins; S Campbell for Duffy 51; N Grimley for R O'Neill 55; J McElroy 0-1 for Grugan 60; G McCabe for McQuillan 62.
DERRY: B McKinless; P McGurk, E McEvoy, D Baker; R Forbes 0-1, B Rogers, P McGrogan 0-1'45; C Glass 1-3, C Doherty; C McFaul, P Cassidy 0-5, 1tp, E Doherty 0-1; A Tohill, S McGuigan 0-5, 1tp, 1tpf, N Toner 0-1f. Subs: D Higgins 1-0 for Tohill 38mins; R Mulholland for McGurk 54; C Devlin for McFaul 59; T Rogers for Toner 62; D McDermott for McGrogan 65.
REFEREE: S Hurson (Tyrone).