Armagh have the final word

Ulster SFC Final replay: Armagh 0-13, Tyrone 0-11 If they didn't hate each other before this, they do now. On a memorable Saturday in Croke Park, the landlords of the Ulster game played for local bragging rights as if loaded on amphetamines and, as expected, it went down to the wire.

There will not be a more riveting or darker game of football all summer and once again Armagh showed they are princely and unbeatable in that kind of atmosphere.

Croke Park was no place for the faint-hearted on Saturday, though only 31,954 made the journey to Dublin for the replay. But those who did witnessed a brutal and possibly decisive chapter in the struggle for supremacy that these Border counties have waged since coming to pre-eminence in the last five years.

When they ran out onto the field, Croke Park seemed vast and empty but, by the final minute, it was as if the drama and controversy and the sheer personality of the players had shrunk the stadium.

It was a huge day for the Orchard County and many of us felt as if we had watched their death and resurrection take place on the same afternoon.

Make no mistake, the losing team played most of the football on Saturday and with 20 minutes remaining Tyrone were flowing and irresistible and four points clear. Stephen O'Neill had clipped two stunning points, one off each foot, dissecting the bar from acute angles.

Martin Penrose raced unchecked through the heart of the Armagh defence and, with Paul Hearty off his line, fired a point with a goal on. All the signs were that Tyrone could shake off and lose Armagh whenever they wanted, and with Peter Canavan and Eoin Mulligan poised on the wings to make a grandstand entry, the omens could not have been better.

But we forgot that Armagh were on the field. Tyrone would not score again. Canavan's entrance was followed by a general rumble just 30 seconds later, an ugly, messy thing that originated from nothing.

And although the grand old man of the Northern game suffered the indignity of being dragged around the field with his shirt over his head by the Armagh defenders, Canavan's nightmare was only just beginning. Referee Michael Collins, to general disbelief, flashed a straight red at Canavan. Armagh's Ciarán McKeever also walked on a second yellow, but the result was a disaster for Tyrone.

Stephen O'Neill followed him just five minutes later, crashing into Andy Mallon with a late shoulder. The hit was square but late and heavy, yet it was rough justice to see the game's most creative player getting punished for body checking given that Armagh gave a master class in that dark art all afternoon. Donegal football man Brian McEniff's controversial call for Ulster officials for Ulster games began to seem eminently sensible.

Suddenly, Tyrone were in a bleak position. Down Canavan and O'Neill, they had also mysteriously elected to replace the splendid Brian McGuigan and now had no forward left to take the game to Armagh. Sensing that weakness, Armagh went to work.

Stephen McDonnell floated a 50 through the wintry light. Then he calmly landed a free after Tyrone defenders, giving into their frustrations, hit him late. 0-11 to 0-09.

Ronan Clarke, dangerous all day, pilfered a high ball from the gallant Chris Lawn and fisted another point. Then substitute Paddy McKeever finished a beautiful move involving McConville and McDonnell. He celebrated by busting Philip Jordan and drew a yellow, but Armagh were in model citizen mode now and reminded the world of how spellbinding their football can be.

The decisive passage of this game confirmed a miserable afternoon for referee Collins and heightened the argument that often in Gaelic football the foul pays. Tyrone were haunted by the 70th minute yet they still tried. Ryan Mellon made a great attempt to restore their lead with a distance shot despite Francie Bellew hanging out of his jersey.

Collins saw that foul yet waved play on. The shot cannoned off the post and when Armagh broke away John McEntee went to ground after expertly drawing the foul from Ryan McMenamin. The sticky Tyrone defender then ruined an excellent day's work by sinking his knees into McEntee. The self-destructiveness summed up the day. Collins moved the ball on and after the madness Armagh had a clear, dead-ball chance to take the lead in injury time.

McConville scored the free and then finished the game with a superb solo effort. It was tough not to feel sorry for Tyrone. In Chris Lawn, Ryan McMenamin, McGuigan, Brian Dooher and O'Neill, they gave some outstanding performances. As Armagh's Kieran McGeeney sportingly noted in his victory speech, they will take a lot of stopping.

But what does that say of Armagh? They mixed the class with the ugly here - Paul McGrane particularly fortunate to stay on the field after sneaking a punch on Philip Jordan on 41 minutes. They play it right on the edge, are masters of it and yet have the courage and skill and poise - the stuff of champions - to work their way out of near-hopeless situations time and again. Love or hate them, they are clearly one of the most remarkable forces to emerge in Gaelic games in modern times.

ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, F Bellew, E McNulty; A Kernan (0-2, 1 free), K McGeeney, A O'Rourke; P Loughran, P McGrane; K McKeever, J McEntee, O McConville (0-3, 2 frees); S McDonnell (0-3, 2 frees, 45), R Clarke (0-3), B Mallon (0-1). Subs: P McKeever (0-1) for B Mallon (57 mins), A McCann for A O'Rourke (57 mins). Yellow card: S McDonnell (7 mins), A Mallon (39), P McGrane (57), K McKeever (46, 53), P McKeever (68). Red cards: K McKeever (53 mins).

TYRONE: P McConnell; R McMenamin (0-1), C Lawn, S Sweeney; D Harte (0-1), G Devlin, P Jordan; C Gormley, S Cavanagh; B Dooher (0-1), B McGuigan (0-1), M Penrose (0-1); R Mellon (0-1), S O'Neill (0-5, 2 frees), E McGinley. Subs: P Canavan for M Penrose (53 mins), E Mulligan for B McGuigan (53 mins). Yellow cards: B McGuigan (46 mins), S O'Neill (62). Red cards: P Canavan (53 mins), S O'Neill (62).

Referee: M Collins (Cork).