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Irish Examiner
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Another milestone win as Armagh continue down the road
In Croke Park yesterday Armagh continued on their upward trajectory and emphasised that they have the Ulster Final defeat well and truly flushed from their system. They controlled the scoreboard, if not the match, for most of the contest. Their ability to win games even when the opposition have plenty of opportunities is fast becoming a hallmark. While not a perfect performance it is a statement result. Beating Dublin in Croke Park is a significant milestone on any team's journey and highlights the power shift away from the capital. The All-Ireland champions and All-Ireland series specialists are the first team into the quarter-finals which allows them the luxury of planning the month of June in a manner that best suits them, to set them up perfectly for the defence of their crown for knockout football. Armagh have all the signs of a team that have been on the road together for some time, and of a team that are extremely well coached. They tend to have the answers to whatever questions are being asked. They are able to shape-shift depending on what the opposition are throwing at them. Take Stefan Campbell's second-half point for example. As they set up an established attack they loaded up their full forward line to create space around the arc. Dublin were chasing the game and as Armagh probed they pushed out and went man-on-man defensively, rather than zonally protecting the arc. The All-Ireland champions immediately appreciated this and Campbell broke into the space left behind between the lines to accept a popped pass to kick a point. While it may look simple, in terms of coaching that is the point you are always trying to get to. To empower your players to make the right decisions in the moment depending on the situation they are being presented with. When that happens it is satisfying. This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in Subscribe to access all of the Irish Examiner. Annual €120€60 Best value Monthly €10€4 / month Unlimited access. Subscriber content. Daily ePaper. Additional benefits.
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Donegal beat Armagh again in titanic Ulster battle
Donegal retained the Ulster Football title by edging out All-Ireland champions Armagh in 2-23 to 0-28 after extra-time in another titanic struggle at last year, their final meeting didn't require penalties but this was another epic encounter between two well-matched the final whistle as the holders had been able to retain possession for the last minute of action before the hooter sounded, there was unsavoury scenes as a melee broke out after a track-suited member of the Armagh squad appeared to strike a Donegal took a minute or so for order to be restored before Donegal celebrations could begin following their 12th Anglo-Celt Cup Armagh, their wait for a first Ulster title since 2008 goes on although they showed last year that they were more than capable of regrouping from provincial final heartbreak for the All-Ireland series. With Oisin Gallen hitting four first-half points from play, Donegal led 0-14 to 0-11 at half-time after having been seven ahead three minutes before the continued to claw into Donegal's lead after the restart as they trimmed the margin to 0-16 to defending champions appeared to have regained control as Hugh McFadden's bundled goal was followed by three points which put them seven up once Donegal only managed a solitary Jason McGee point in the closing 21 minutes of normal time as Oisin Conaty's continuing brilliance and the introduction of Stefan Campbell helped reeled in their sixth point from play in the closing 10 seconds of normal time meant extra-time after Donegal's attempts to run down the clock had unravelled.A Jarly Og Burns point put Armagh ahead for the first time after the action had resumed but the sides were still locked together at 0-25 to 1-22 after the first 10-minute period. A Stefan Campbell score nudged Armagh ahead once more at the start of the second period of extra-time but after Rory Grugan missed a chance to extend their lead, Ciaran Moore then hammered Donegal's second goal after being set up by Michael Langan.A two-point free by Armagh keeper Ethan Rafferty levelled the contest once more but Niall O'Donnell's 88th-minute point proved the winner before tempers flared after the final to follow. Armagh: Ethan Rafferty; Paddy Burns, Barry McCambridge, Aidan Forker (capt); Ross McQuillan, Greg McCabe, Jarly Og Burns; Callum O'Neill, Ben Crealey; Darragh McMullan, Rory Grugan, Oisin Conaty; Tiernan Kelly, Andrew Murnin, Oisin O' Blaine Hughes, Peter McGrane, Tomas McCormack, Connaire Mackin, Jason Duffy, Niall Grimley, Shane McPartlan, Cian McConville, Conor Turbitt, Stefan Campbell, Jemar Shaun Patton; Finbarr Roarty, Brendan McCole, Peadar Mogan; Ryan McHugh, Caolan McGonagle, Ciaran Moore; Ciaran Thompson, Michael Langan; Daire O Baoill, Hugh McFadden, Shane O'Donnell; Patrick McBrearty, Michael Murphy, Oisin Gavin Mulreany, Mark Curran, Odhran McFadden Ferry, Odhran Doherty, Aaron Doherty, Eoin McHugh, Jason McGee, Jamie Brennan, Conor O'Donnell, Niall O'Donnell, Stephen Brendan Crawley (Kildare)
Belfast Telegraph
28-04-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Tyrone boss Malachy O'Rourke hails Red Hands' fighting spirit in slender Armagh defeat: ‘We wanted the boys to go for it'
The Red Hand County pushed Armagh right to the very brink and were winning the game with just a couple of minutes to go only for Stefan Campbell and Rory Grugan to score in quick succession and book the Orchard men their spot in the provincial Final. Not that any of the players will want to hear it right now, but Tyrone's performance in the Semi-Final is the first concrete indication that things are back on the right track in the O'Neill County. Since lifting the All-Ireland in 2021, the side have struggled to get any form of consistency and couldn't even string more than two wins together before capitulating again. They would have games where flashes of brilliance and potential raise your hopes and make you dare to believe in them once more only to then watch them falter at the next hurdle. Under new management, things initially didn't look like they were getting better – consecutive defeats to Mayo, Armagh and Kerry in the League dampened the mood around this team and fans started to think that 2025 will be the same old story once again. What followed was an impressive draw against last year's All-Ireland Finalists Galway and then three brilliant wins against Donegal, Dublin and Cavan in quick succession. With the All-Ireland champions waiting for them in Ulster, now was the time to show if they really were contenders or not – and they proved that they were. Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke couldn't hide his disappointment after the match, but he also couldn't hide his satisfaction after watching his team leave everything on the pitch. 'Yeah, that's what we wanted. We wanted the boys to go for it, not to be passive and not to be sort of afraid to lose,' explained the Ballygawley man. 'We wanted to go and attack the game. Probably in the first-half, we were a wee bit passive. I thought in the second-half, at that period when we went behind, we did start to really go at Armagh. 'In fairness to them, they showed their quality, they showed why they're All-Ireland champions over the way they finished the game. We may be a wee bit disappointed in that. But, you know, at least that's the good thing – we live to fight another day. 'That's the Ulster Championship gone, but we have a go at the All-Ireland series and we look forward to that.' There are a lot of reasons for O'Rourke to be positive, even just with the amount of talent that is returning to the squad. Darragh Canavan was only back from a hamstring injury and clearly struggling but still managed to score four points, while Darren McCurry was exceptional, kicking an unbelievable 10 points, including some individual pieces of magic. Eoin McElholm caught everybody's eye on Wednesday when he starred for the Under-20 team against Derry, scoring a solo goal that saw him beat some defenders twice before hammering it home. His introduction as a substitute immediately lit a fire in the Red Hand attack, and when you consider that Mattie Donnelly didn't even feature on Saturday because of a bug, you can see how this team can be even better. Former county captain Padraig Hampsey made his long-awaited return to the team, coming off the bench to make his first appearance in 2025, and the white and red defence instantly looked more formidable with his presence behind them. None of this will make defeat any easier to take, but it will turn the dimmer light up for the future because if they can continue to reach that level of performance and get all of their star men back in action, then nobody will want to face Tyrone.
BBC News
12-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Armagh will have too much for Antrim in Corrigan contest'
As I touched on last week, Armagh will be putting a lot of energy into the Ulster Championship this have lost the last two Ulster finals on penalties and I have no doubt they will throw everything at this championship to try and lift the Anglo-Celt for the first time since of their panel - the likes of Stefan Campbell, Rory Grugan and Aidan Forker - have been knocking on the door of Ulster for a long time and their desire to add a provincial title to their CV is part of what makes Armagh dangerous in this McGeeney is obviously without the services of Rian O'Neill at the moment. His absence could hurt Armagh later in the summer, but they should have enough depth and scoring power to see off Antrim on Ulster wins over Antrim in 2021 and 2023 had 13 and nine-point margins. If Armagh click into gear early on Saturday, it could be a similar story.
