Allianz NFL Division 1 | Round 7| Armagh 1-21 vs Kerry 0-24
Armagh have secured Division One football for another year, after playing out a dramatic draw with Kerry in the Box-It Athletic Grounds.
It was an opening 20 minutes to forget for Kieran McGeeney’s men who found themselves trailing 10 points to no-score and seemingly without any answer to Kerry’s many attacking threats.
Scores from David Clifford, Dylan Geaney and Joe O’Connor had the All Ireland Champions in pole position, as they looked to book their place in the League Final.
It was a passage of play similar to what we saw playing out in Croke Park last summer during the All Ireland Quater Final when the Kingdom dismantled Armagh’s bid for back-to-back Sam Maguire’s.
However unlike last year, Armagh were able to make the adjustments and slowly started to steady what felt like a sinking ship.
With two eyes on the action and an ear loaned to the radio, Armagh knew that a win would save them from the drop, while Dublin were aiming to better our result away to Galway. Updates and whispers of the Dubs progress filtered like a wave through the Athletic Grounds terraces as Armagh began their fight back.
Cian McConville got the first of Armagh’s scores, followed quickly by a Darragh McMullen two-pointer, then Maghery’s Ben Crealey knocked over another score to bring the gap back to six points.
Kerry responded through David Clifford before scores from Jarly Óg Burns and Oisin O’Neill had Armagh back within five points.
Oisin Conaty was removed from play for a blood substitution towards the end of the half, which paved the way for Conor Turbitt’s introduction.
And the Clann Eireann man wasted no time in opening his account, hitting a two pointer and a one pointer in quick succession.
Another score from Darragh McMullen had Armagh back to within just one point, but a Joe O’Connor score at the other end just before the hooter sounded saw Kerry take a two point lead into the half.
A stronger start to the second half was paramount if Armagh were to rescue anything from the game and they were first off the mark through Greg McCabe before Tom O’Sullivan replied, knocking over his first two pointer of the day.
Armagh enjoyed a run of three unanswered points to level the game, two from Ross McQuillan and one from Tomás McCormack.
Clifford punched back for Kerry as the two heavyweights were now going firmly toe-to-toe with each other in what was an enthralling game of football.
Armagh took their first lead of the day when Oisin O’Neill scrambled home a goal after Darragh McMullen’s initial chance had been cleared off the Kerry line twice. O’Neill was in the right place at the right time and was able to pounce on the ball and knock it into an open net and raise the only green flag of the day.
The sides continued to trade scores, with momentum, which has become vital in Gaelic Football in the last two years, not particularly swaying to either side like it had done earlier in the match.
Kerry sandwiched an Oisin O’Neill point with two two-pointers from Clifford and O’Sullivan to retake a one point lead.
Armagh responded with scores from McMullen and two from Cian McConville, before Joe O’Connor raised an orange flag to leave the sides level heading into the final period of the game.
Kerry moved two ahead, again through Clifford and O’Sullivan, but once again Armagh fought back.
Three scores on the bounce from Conaty and McQuillan had Armagh ahead by one before Sean O’Shea hit his first and only score of the day to level the game up with about two minutes to play.
The situation in Galway wasn’t clear at this stage either, with all three of Armagh, Galway and Dublin sitting in the relegation zone at one point or another throughout the second half.
With the clock ticking towards the hooter, Armagh held possession for the final two minutes trying to find a way to break the Kerry defence and kick a winner – but to no avail.
A last ditch hail mary from Ross McQuillan hung in the air for what felt like an eternity before being bundled wide as the hooter sounded and called time on another classic encounter between these two Counties.
Armagh survive in Division One for another year, while Jack O’Connor’s men have a League Final to look forward to next week.
Up next for Armagh is Tyrone in the preliminary round of the Ulster Championship on Sunday April 12th.
by Michael Lavery