Armagh pip Fermanagh in thriller to advance to league semi-final

Armagh 3-17 Fermanagh 3-16

Armagh will face Monaghan in the final four. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile

March 18 2023 09:29 PM

Three second-half goals from Tomas Galvin (two) and Danny Magee saw Armagh overcome a stiff Fermanagh test and reach the Division 3A league semi-final where they'll face Monaghan.

It was far from comfortable however, as Fermanagh claimed two late goals through Luca McCusker and John Paul McGarry, but it wasn’t enough to save them from relegation to Division 3B.

With the aid of a big breeze, the visitors powered to a six-point lead at the half-time break, thanks mostly to the accuracy of McCusker and Sean Corrigan.

The sides were fairly evenly match during the opening exchanges, and Armagh found themselves one point ahead when Fermanagh claimed the first goal of the day.

A pinpoint, defence-splitting pass from Caolan Duffy found the on-rushing Corrigan, who calmly slotted the ball into the corner of the Armagh net.

From there, Joe Baldwin's men hurled with confidence and followed it up with six of the next seven scores, with Armagh's Fionntan Donnelly briefly breaking the scoring spree.

Donnelly chipped over the final point of the first half, from a free, to reduce the half-time margin to six points.

Tomas Galvin turned on the charm after the turnaround and rattled off 2-3 inside 15 minutes to power Armagh into a commanding lead.

Magee followed it up with another three-pointer and Armagh looked home and hosed but Fermanagh’s fighting spirit led to a nervy last few minutes for the Orchard County.

Quickfire goals closed the gap, but a draw was no good to Fermanagh, they needed a win to remain in the division, but couldn’t find a game winning score.

Armagh: F Woods 7, N Lennon 6, O Curry 7, O O’Hare 7, S McParland 6, T Nevin 7, P Lappin 7, P McBride 7, C Renaghan (0-2) 6, S Harvey (0-2) 7, C Jennings (0-1) 6, S O’Keefe 6, Danny Magee (1-0) 6, T Galvin (2-3) 9, F Donnelly (0-9, 8f) 8 Subs: P Garvey 5 for D. Magee, O. McCann for P. McBride 5

Fermanagh: M Curry 6, S McKendry 7, R Porteus 7, C Duffy 6, C Breslin 6, R Bogue 7, R McGurn 7, C Duffy (0-1) 7, D Teague (0-2) 8, A Flanagan 7, L McCusker (1-9, 7f) 8, JP McGarry (1-1) 7, S Corrigan (1-2) 8, S Curran 7, D Bannon 7. Subs: U O’Reilly 7 for D. Bannon, F McBrien 6 for S McKendry, O Johnston 5 for C. Breslin, B Corrigan (0-1) 6 for A. Flanagan.