Armagh claimed the Ulster football championship by beating Donegal 1-14 to 1-10 in Clones this afternoon.
The throngs at St. Tiernan's Park saw the favourties get off to the perfect start after Donegal gifted them a goal within the first two minutes. The Donegal goalkeeper Tony Blake let a long punt bounce right in front of him and up onto the crossbar, and as he stood in motionless confusion, John McEntee dived into the square to punch the ball into the back of net for a faintly ridiculous opener.
Adrian Sweeney replied almost immediately with a terrific long range point from wide on the left, but Armagh kept their opponents at arms length by regularly taking their points. The efficiency of Armagh’s frontline meant their Donegal counterparts could ill-afford to squander chances, but that’s precisely what they did, wasting several promising free-kicks.
Jim McGuiness re-ignited Donegal hopes on the hour-mark, after barging past two Armagh defenders and rifling a low left-footer into the bottom corner of the net. Armagh, however, refused to buckle, and ran out deserved four-point winners.