In a game that Armagh won by 11 points – and led by 16 at the interval – it needed to be an exceptional performance from any Fermanagh player to claim the player of the match award in their Ulster quarter-final defeat to the Orchard County.
Step forward Darragh McGurn, who put on a kicking masterclass at Brewster Park.
The Belnaleck man has endured a few difficult years on the injury front, but the 27-year-old was in sparkling form in a game that was over as a contest by half-time when the Erne County found themselves 0-17 to 0-4 in arrears.
McGurn, who made his Fermanagh debut in 2019 and is yet to taste an Ulster championship win, kicked 1-12 from play (all but one point coming in the second period), with his well-taken goal and five two-pointers putting greater respectability on the scoreline.
"It was outrageous," former Kerry player Mike Quirke said on The Saturday Game. "You could probably say the game was done at half-time, but he put on an exhibition in the second half. It's the performance of the weekend, no matter what happens on Sunday.
"The accuracy he showed without kicking a wide was unbelievable."
'Outrageous…he put on an exhibition, it was Roy of the Rovers stuff' – Mike Quirke hails the performance of Fermanagh’s Darragh McGurn who kicked 1-12, including five two-pointers, in defeat to Armagh pic.twitter.com/DVpyckwP5t
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) April 25, 2026
McGurn admitted after the match that their poor shooting display in the opening half was a major disappointment, registering just four points from 15 scoring opportunities.
Asked about his own personal contribution, McGurn said the fruits of accurate long-range kicking are there for all to see in the current game.
"It probably is," he told RTÉ Sport when asked if he works hard at his kicking from outside the arc.
"I just back myself because I know I have got the range to shoot from there. I felt Armagh gave me a lot of space that I might not even get in the Tailteann Cup and I was able to execute. That is one positive I can take.
"You can see the value in it when you do back yourself and have players that can kick from that range."
Having fallen through the Division 3 trapdoor, Declan Bonner’s side were always rank outsiders against a Sam Maguire contender, but 1-20 in a defiant second-half display will give them something to build on ahead of their Tailteann Cup campaign.
"They (Armagh) were at a different level to be honest, but we’d just be disappointed with that first half," he said.
"There is a noticeable difference in the level of intensity both on and off the ball from Division 3, and that was probably evident out there.
"The ambition from the outset has been to win the Tailteann Cup, that is still the ambition going forward.
"It was always going to be a massive task (against Armagh). We would have needed a lot of things to go right for us. When the execution isn’t there, you’re definitely not going to win the game."
