Galway 2-22; Armagh 0-27
They say that few things concentrate the mind like a hanging, and the gallows were being built for Galway at half-time in this pulsating clash at Breffni Park on Saturday when Armagh held an eight-point interval lead.
Suddenly there was no hiding place for Pádraic Joyce or any of his much vaunted team - it was a case of do or die at this early stage of the competition.
What was demanded from the Tribesmen was a tour de force showing in the second half, and fair play to them, they raised their game from the throw-in to emerge victorious thanks to the sang froid of Shane Walsh in kicking a 45m two-pointer to edge his side home.
Joyce and his selectors - not to mention the players - had to make this a journey of knowledge as much as a physical game in order to find something like the early season form that had brought them so majestically through Connacht.
With talisman Damian Comer not even fit enough to be on the bench, Joyce took the bull by the horns and dropped footballer of the year Paul Conroy and ever present keeper Connor Gleeson to be replaced by Peter Cooke and Conor Flaherty respectively.
If he was expecting an immediate response to those changes, it didn’t happen as his side failed to click and in fact struggled against an Armagh side which had rested Young Player of the Year Oisin Conaty while Cian McConville got in for a rare start, with Soupy Campbell held back on the subs bench once more.
It meant that these two All Ireland finalists from last year were missing 12 of the personnel who lined out with Armagh down seven of that Sam winning outfit.
In the first half Armagh were more clinical while Galway’s wastefulness saw them score just one point from two penalty kicks.
The excellent Nathan Rafferty, who scored seven points himself, denied Matthew Tierney with a diving save and then when Rob Finnerty stepped up for the second spot kick, the Galway man clipped his effort over the bar.
Without threatening goals, Armagh have found a new avenue of racking up scores with Rafferty and Darragh McMullan finding two-pointers to add to two singles from McConville to give them a handsome lead of 0-15 to 0-07 at half-time.
Changes were made with Conroy back in and when John Maher palmed home a goal within three minutes of the resumption, it was indeed game on. Walsh landed his fourth point of the day and with Cooke and Cillian McDaid also raising white flags, it was a three-point game and half an hour still to play.
With the bit between their teeth, Galway dominated the game and the scoring as with Finnerty and Walsh leveling on the scoreboard before the clever Cian McDaid edged Galway to the fore.
Armagh are not champions for nothing and they met fire with fire as McQuillan and McConville drew them level before Tiernan Kelly and the once again impressive Jarly Óg Burns nudged the orchard in front.
We waited for one side or the other to show a white feather. Neither did. However Finnerty’s right footed finish low past Rafferty gave Galway a big head of steam and having already qualified, maybe that was as much as Armagh were prepared to offer on the day.
Poppycock. They went looking for scores and Andrew Murnin nudged them ahead once more but the brilliant Walsh, Matthew Tierney and Cein Darcy upped the ante like raising the stakes at a poker game. Cool Hand Campbell saw their stake and Rafferty pointed a two-pointer free to level once more.
It was getting ridiculous as Walsh answered that and then Shane McParland leveled for the sixth time. It would take something great or foolish to prise these two great teams apart - the deciding moment came with a reckless foul by sub Tom McCormack. With the stakes high, Walsh had still to kick the free - which he duly did to give his side the lift they needed to the next level.
A game of first among equals - who knows, we may see them again jousting for supremacy further down the line.
Galway: C Flaherty; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, S Kelly, L Silke; P Cook (0-3, 1tp), J Maher (1-0); C McDaid (0-2), R Finnerty (1-4, 0-1 penalty), C Darcy (0-1); M Tierney (0-1), S Walsh (0-10, 0-1f, 2tpf), M Thompson Subs: D Flaherty for Silke (ht), P Conroy (0-1) for Cook (ht), C Sweeney (0-1) for McHugh (54), J Heaney for McDaid (67).
Armagh: E Rafferty (0-7, 1tp, 2tpf); P Burns, B McCambridge, P McGrane (0-1); R McQuillan (0-3), T Kelly (0-1), J Óg Burns (0-1); J Duffy (0-1), N Grimley (0-3, 1tp); D McMullan (0-2, 1tp), R O’Neill (0-1), J McElroy; C McConville (0-3), A Murnin (0-1), C Turbitt (0-1) Subs: T McCormack for McCambridge (19), GMcCabe for Burns (ht), S Campbell (0-1) for Duffy (53), C Mackin for Grimley (58), O Conaty for McMullan (62), S McPartlan (0-1) for McConville (64).
Ref: N Mooney.
GAA RESULTS & FIXTURES
All-Ireland SFC Round 3
Tyrone 0-31 Cavan 0-18
Donegal 0-19 Mayo 1-15
Monaghan 2-27 Down 1-26
Louth 2-17 Clare 2-14
Galway 2-22 Armagh 0-27
Dublin 0-22 Derry 0-20
Cork 0-19 Roscommon 0-17
Meath 1-22 Kerry 0-16
Tailteann Cup quarter-finals
Limerick 4-21 Wexford 2-19
Wicklow 2-18 Westmeath 2-17
Kildare 1-17 Offaly 0-19
Fermanagh 0-21 Sligo 1-16
All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-finals
Dublin 3-25 Kildare 0-13
Tipperary 3-32 Laois 0-18
All-Ireland JFC quarter-final
New York 2-8 US GAA 2-7
FIXTURES
Saturday 21 June
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-finals
Down v Galway, Pairc Esler
Kerry v Cavan, Fitzgerald Stadium
Dublin v Cork Croke Park
Donegal v Louth, Ballybofey
The four winners of above will go into quarter finals proper alongside Meath, Tyrone, Armagh and Monaghan, who finished top of their respective groups
All-Ireland SHC quarter-finals
Galway v Tipperary
Limerick v Dublin
Sunday 22 June
Tailteann Cup semi-finals
Fermanagh v Kildare, Croke Park
Wicklow v Limerick Croke Park
