Crossmaglen Rangers claimed their fourth AIB All-Ireland club football title this afternoon but their 0-13 to 1-05 replay victory over Dr. Crokes could be in question.
Crokes could launch a protest after Cross attacker John McEntee was allowed to stay on the field after receiving his second yellow card during the second half.
Helped by Stephen Kernan's early introduction, the Armagh side led 0-07 to 0-05 at half-time in Portlaoise.
Colm Cooper teed up David Maloney for Crokes' goal but 'Gooch' then had a penalty saved by Paul Hearty.
John Donaldson and Ambrose O'Donovan both saw red before the talismanic Oisin McConville (0-06) kicked Cross to victory.
Crossmaglen were fortunate not to have just 13 players on the field by the time Donaldson was sent off for fouling Eoin Brosnan.
McEntee received two yellow cards, but stayed on the field and was subsequently substituted as a precaution in the 49th minute. The half-forward himself confirmed afterwards that referee Eugene Murtagh had meant to tick him for his second offence but produced his yellow card by mistake.
The Rangers made an excellent start to the game with points from John Murtagh, McConville, the hero from the drawn game, and Martin Aherne in the opening four minutes.
Crokes then came storming into the game with the next five points, after Rangers lost key forward Mickey McNamee with a hamstring injury after just seven minutes.
Crokes were on fire at this juncture with Cooper (0-03) and Kieran O’Leary (0-02) on target with some excellent scores.
The yellow cards flowed freely also from referee Murtagh and among those cautioned in the opening half were McEntee for Crossmaglen and Maloney for Crokes.
Both sides held dominance in the opening half with Crossmaglen strongest before the interval as points from brothers Aaron and Stephen Kernan and two from McConville ensured a 0-07 to 0-05 half-time lead for the Ulster men.
Stephen Kernan, who was introduced as McNamee's replacement, was influential throughout with his brother Aaron just pipping him to the man-of-the-match award.
Pat O'Shea's side came back strongly on the restart with a 37th-minute goal from Maloney, who profited from a lovely ball in from Cooper, squaring up the game.
Maloney's volleyed finish delighted the Crokes' faithful at a packed O'Moore Park. However, it proved to be the Kerry side's final score as Hearty saved Cooper's subsequent penalty and the Cross defence shored up the gaps for the remaining 12 minutes.
Crossmaglen had a stirring finish with points from McConville (0-03) and Stephen and Aaron Kernan ensuring that the Andy Merrigan Cup will reside in Ulster for the next twelve months.
Afterwards, Cross captain McConville said: "It is an unbelievable feeling. We thought we might not get back here and a lot of hard work has gone into doing it.
"We played well in that we were tough in the tackle and were a bit tighter on them and we took our chances when they came our way.
"Big Hearty pulled off a save, which he does, and the rest is history. We left Croke Park after the first match feeling we were better than Dr. Crokes. We knew if we performed we would get there."
Crossmaglen: P Hearty; B McKeown, F Bellew, S McNamee; A Kernan (0-03, 2f), T McEntee, J Donaldson; D McKenna, P Kernan; M Aherne (0-01), J McEntee, J Murtagh (0-01); M McNamee, J Hanratty, O McConville (0-06, 4f).
Subs used: S Kernan (0-02) for M McNamee (inj) (7 mins), S Clarke for J McEntee (49), C Short for Aherne (53), S Finnegan for S McNamee (57).
Dr Crokes: K Cremin; K McMahon, L Quinn, M Moloney; B Moriarty, B McMahon, E Kavanagh; A O’Donovan, E Brosnan; B Looney, S Doolin, J Fleming; C Cooper (0-03, 2f), D Maloney (1-00), K O’Leary (0-02).
Subs used: J Cahillane for McMahon (28 mins), K Brosnan for Doolin, B McMahon for Looney (both 54).
Referee: Eugene Murtagh (Longford)
