ARMAGH'S hopes of securing a straightforward passage into the play off stages were dealt a blow at saturated Davitt Park, Lurgan, yesterday, when they were ambushed by a resilient, purposeful Clare side.
The home team floundered for much of the first half and Clare, always eager to exploit openings, deservedly led by 0-5 to 0-2 at the break. Michael Hynes, Aidan O'Keeffe and Ger Keane repeatedly punched holes in the Armagh defence and their ability to weave intricate patterns kept their hosts on the back foot.
Armagh's morale was given a much needed injection in the second half when a bizarre incident led to the only goal of the match. Clare, goalkeeper, James Hanrahan raced out along the end line in a bid to retrieve a situation, but Armagh full forward, Martin Toye managed to poke the ball across the face of the goal and Ger Houlahan tapped it into the empty net.
Even this gift failed to inspire the home side. The introduction of Ger Reid, Aidan O'Rourke and Barry Duffy added pace and penetration, but not in sufficient quantities to seriously trouble a Clare defence that was well marshalled by Michael Galvin and Frankie Griffin.
Clare finished on a high note with O'Keeffe and Hynes again asserting themselves up front.
