Tyrone 3-17 Armagh 0-08
Tyrone cruised back into the last four with a win over neighbours Armagh in an All-Ireland quarter-final at Croke Park that barely registered as a work-out.
Having put Ulster titles back-to-back earlier in the summer, they didn’t slip up like they did at the same stage against Mayo last year and made sure they got at least one win at GAA Headquarters under their belts.
In the lead-up to this local derby the great games between these two counties from the first decade of the new Millennium were recounted, including All-Ireland semi-finals and finals.
There was none of the eye-popping intensity of those clashes here and on the evidence of this game there is only one of these counties going to be challenge for Sam Maguire in the next few years, with Tyrone streets ahead.
The result wasn’t in doubt at the break following the Red Hand County’s quick start and Armagh barely laid a glove on them throughout. Four points scored in either half tells its own story.
This was a typically well-drilled and tactically astute Mickey Harte team delivering an assured display.
It wasn’t that Armagh weren’t able to break down their compact double-sweeper system, it was that they simply didn’t get a chance to test it out because they were kept at arm's length.
Not even the sending-off on a second yellow card of corner-back Cathal McCarron nine minutes before the end of normal time could knock Tyrone off course, with substitute David Mulgrew lighting up the second half with 2-01 from play.
In his RTÉ Sport column during the week before this game Philip Jordan pointed out that Tyrone were in the top three while Armagh were Division 3 - and that gulf in class was apparent from the off.
Goalkeeper Blaine Hughes and Jamie Clarke, the corner-forward with the beautiful, languid style, were Armagh’s stand-out players in the qualifier win over Kildare at Croke Park seven days previously.
But this was a very different assignment for both and they quickly found out about it. Their struggles typified those of the Orchard County.
Hughes’ restarts against the Lilywhites gave them a brilliant platform to build from, but Tyrone pressed every time he put the ball on the tee and he simply couldn’t get his kick-outs away to his targets.
Many of those that found an orange jersey were turned over in short order. By contrast Armagh sat off the Tyrone kick-outs and Niall Morgan was free to ping them short for his team to build from.
Clarke hardly touched leather until nine minutes had passed and he gave Tyrone’s McCarron, his shadow in this game, the slip, but on the slippery pitch at the Hill 16 end of the ground he lost his own footing and the ball as well.
The Red Handers kept the ball patiently and picked holes in the ranks of Armagh defenders to build up a comfortable lead. By 13 minutes they were five points to no score ahead and on the quarter-hour they made a decisive break.
Another patient build-up saw the ball moved to the lively Mark Bradley, who sent over two points before the break. This gave him a sight of goal, but before he pulled the trigger he was wrapped up by Aidan Forker.
Referee David Gough awarded the spot-kick, which Peter Harte swept into the net, sending Hughes the wrong way.
Armagh finally got off the mark after 17 minutes thanks to a Niall Grimley dead ball, Clarke getting a rare bit of joy, if it could be called that, when he was fouled by McCarron to win the free.
Tyrone led by seven at the break, 1-08 to 0-04, and they had the job more than half done.
The game ended in miserable conditions, with the rain bucketing down over Jones’ Road and Armagh’s mood won’t have been helped when they finished with 14 men after Rory Grugan picked up a black card, their third of the afternoon, after they had used all six substitutes.
Scorers for Tyrone: David Mulgrew 2-01; Peter Harte 1-02, 1-00 pen; Sean Cavanagh 0-04, 3f; Mark Bradley 0-03; Niall Morgan 0-02, 2f; Tiernan McCann, Colm Cavanagh, Declan McClure, Matthew Donnelly, Lee Brennan 0-01 each.
Scorers for Armagh: Rory Grugan 0-03, 2f; Jamie Clarke 0-2; Mark Shields, Gavin McParland each; Niall Grimley 0-01, 1f.
Tyrone: Niall Morgan; Aidan McCrory, Ronan McNamee, Cathal McCarron; Tiernan McCann, Pádraig Hampsey, Peter Harte; Colm Cavanagh, Conall McCann; Declan McClure, Niall Sludden, Kieran McGeary; Mark Bradley, Sean Cavanagh, Matthew Donnelly.
Subs: David Mulgrew for Conall McCann 43 mins; Darren McCurry for McGeary 43 mins; Lee Brenan for McCrory 50 mins; Ronan O’Neill for Braldey 50 mins; Richard Donnelly for McClure 58 mins; Justin McMahon for Colm Cavanagh 59 mins.
Armagh: Blaine Hughes; James Morgan, Charlie Vernon, Paul Hughes; Brendan Donaghy, Mark Shields, Joe McElroy; Stephen Sheridan, Niall Grimley; Rory Grugan, Ciaran O’Hanlon, Aidan Forker; Jamie Clarke, Gavin McParland, Stefan Campbell.
Subs: Oisin O’Neill for O’Hanlon 29 mins; Anthony Duffy for Shields 33 mins (black card); Ethan Rafferty for Campbell 45 mins; Ben Crealey for McParland 50 mins; Ciaran McKeever for Grimley 55 mins; Darren McKenna for Stephen Sheridan 58 mins (black card).
Referee: David Gough (Meath).
