A victory for Armagh but manager Kieran McGeeney called it the team's worst performance of 2026 after they finally saw off Tyrone.
This Ulster first round clash needed extra time to separate the old rivals, with the Orchard County doing enough in the additional period to win the game by a point.
They looked as if they had done enough in normal time as they led by three points late on, but a Darragh McMullen red card - for a second bookable offence - was followed by the equalising goal from Ben McDonnell.
The frustration in failing to see the game out seemed to come to surface in the early moments of extra time, as Ross McQuillan hit an early point, before Tomás McCormack buried a goal to the net.
Incredibly, the Red Hands fought back again, with a brace of two-pointers helping them to flip the game once more.
But McGeeney's men dug deep and came up with the goods to move clear for a final time, a lead they wouldn't surrender.
And it was the nature of the game which left the Armagh manager with mixed emotions afterwards.
"We weren't great, to be honest I thought it was probably our worst performance of the year," he told RTÉ Sport.
"In saying that it would have been easier to put the heads down. We were down to 14 men for a big part of the game in extra time.
"The most important part is the fellas dug really deep and you have to be proud of them in that regard. They're not playing well and being able to work out a game, especially against Tyrone.
"It wasn't our best performance but definitely showed a lot of character."
Much of the build up had centred around Tyrone's failure to put up a real fight for promotion from Division 2 in the National Football League, something they had been favourites to achieve before the competition started.
Asked why the performance of his side wasn't where he wanted it to be, McGeeney suggested the "outside noise" had got into his players' heads.
"You're trying to stop it but Tyrone are a great team," he said. "You play one or two bad games, lose by a point, everybody's writing you off.
"It's a bit like Kerry last year and (they became) All-Ireland champions. So that stuff can get in, if you're not at the top of your game.
"I've never played against Tyrone where it hasn't gone down to the wire. I was telling everybody this week it'll be down to a one-point game, a two-point game.
"I suppose all the experts know better but we're delighted to come out of it, showed real composure."
Next up for Armagh is a trip to Brewster Park to play Fermanagh on 25 April.
For Malachy O'Rourke and his Tyrone side, there was the satisfaction of proving a few doubters wrong, even if ultimately they didn't get the result they wanted.
"I'm delighted with the way the boys applied themselves," O'Rourke said.
"There was a great hunger there and we got a number of blows obviously early on, losing our captain and vice-captain and going behind. We could have easily capitulated at that stage but the boys didn't, they fought for each other and so I'm really proud of the effort they put in.
"We had a few chances there near the end and even in the extra time, when we conceded the goal early on, we just bounced back straight away and showed great resilience.
"I'm just disappointed we didn't get a result out of it."
