Armagh hold all the aces

Armagh - 0-16, Fermanagh 1-5 Not the most classical of rebirths, but it will do Armagh just fine. Joe Kernan has transferred the philosophy of winning from his beloved Crossmaglen team to the county side.

He has steered a county many believed in decline through the minefields of Ulster with remarkable clarity and now Armagh are on the threshold of a third provincial triumph in four years.

In 1999, merely arriving at the glory of an Ulster final prompted unprecedented scenes of Armagh emotion around the market streets of Clones. That was then. This was just business. "We expected to win here today," said Oisin McConville flatly. "I could say lots of things, but that's the truth of it. It's good to be back in a final, but we have won nothing yet."

But their passage yesterday was easy. Although just a single point separated the sides after a puritan first half, Armagh took a remorseless grip on the match after the restart and left Fermanagh in a purgatory they must have thought they left behind.

It was a black day for Fermanagh, a throwback to the thankless times of a decade ago when the county was considered the nonentity of the Ulster game. The failure to plant a flag at provincial level is something this group of players will have to live with for another year and this loss presents the question whether the curtains are drawing upon an era that will ultimately be remembered more for promise than delivery.

It would be premature to consign Fermanagh to history's wish-list after a nightmare outing, but the manner in which Armagh strangled them must have been damaging psychologically. They managed two points from play in the first half to match Rory Gallagher's frees and hit a stonewall for almost the entire second half, remaining scoreless until Gallagher gathered titbits of injury-time consolation through a penalty and a free.

"We played quite well in the first half, but the breeze was a factor and, really, we would have needed to be or two or three points up then," said manager Dominic Corrigan. "Armagh got those few early scores and that knocked the heart out of us."

From substitute Barry O'Hagan's tidily-clipped point two minutes after the restart, Armagh strode briskly away. With Kieran McGeeney ever organised, their defence was witheringly economical in disposing of Fermanagh's increasingly fumbling attack. They responded with an economy that stung. When Ray Johnston failed to pick up a ball on 47 minutes, Armagh sped the ball downfield through Paul McGrane and O'Hagan for Diarmuid Marsden to point.

Barry Duffy blasted a goal-chance wide a minute later before Oisin McConville landed a gorgeous score from distance. At 0-9 to 0-4 to the good, Armagh began to open up and left their opponents to their own devices.

With both Rory and Raymond Gallagher carrying injuries, Fermanagh's outside hopes of a revival were further compromised. Rory's record-scoring heroics of three weeks ago must have seemed like a chimera to his fans yesterday. The Belleek man was left redundant on the edge of the square for much too long, while his cousin had a day he will want to forget.

The closeness of the first half was always likely to prove deceptive. There was always the sense that Armagh were poaching, waiting. When they pounced, Fermanagh faded quickly. Armagh just pushed their ponderous attacks until they disintegrated.

Under constant pressure, defenders like Michael Lilly and Paddy McGuinness coped well, while Paul Brewster was conspicuously honest in his endeavours long after the shouting had stopped.

Even the introduction of Stephen Maguire, a star in Fermangh's rising years, made no difference. "Well, it took us about 10 or 15 minutes to even get a ball into Stephen and that was telling," admitted Corrigan afterwards.

A bleak day was compounded by Sean Burns's dismissal for what appeared to be a cheap shot at Armagh's Enda McNulty, probably the result of frustration more than anything. McNulty, impressive again yesterday, recovered to finish his job.

Encouraging for Kernan was the liveliness of Diarmuid Marsden, the veteran attacker who appeared to peak a couple of years ago ahead of his county's rise. His sharpness and accuracy bodes well for the county. With McConville and Stephen McDonnell also on song, Armagh have the potential to wreak havoc.

As a unit, they yielded nothing to their opponents until the 73rd minute when Shane McCabe was hacked down in the square. With Armagh whistles rifling around the ground, Gallagher was typically cool with the penalty and saved his country the humbling experience of a scoreless second half. But it was hardly the conclusion they had planned upon.

For the last quarter, Armagh were content to go through the motions. Paddy McKeever returned to amend a scoreless afternoon and the introduction of Cathal O'Rourke and Philip Loughran demonstrated a reserve of both experience and size.

They have a month to prepare for either Derry or Donegal, but Kernan's vision has always extended beyond the parochial.

"Armagh supporters probably expect us to be in an Ulster final. While it is good to be there, we want to try and do what hasn't been done before and get to an All-Ireland."

A bold statement, but Kernan has never hidden his belief that his county belongs with the elite. They have seen off Tyrone, the popular tip for the province, and now set Fermanagh's fragile confidence back considerably. They are perhaps less dynamic than three years ago, but they are much less innocent also. For Armagh, the days of being part of the big parade are finished. This is their year for being counted.

ARMAGH: 1. B Tierney, 2. E McNulty, 3. J McNulty, 4. F Bellew; 17. K Hughes, 6.K McGeeney, 7. A McCann; 8. P McGrane, 9. J Toal; 10. P McKeever; 11. J McEntee, 12. O McConville; 13. S McDonnell, 14. R Clarke, 15.D Marsden. Subs: B O'Hagan for J McEntee (half-time, inj), B Duffy for R Clarke (42 mins, inj), P Loughran for J Toal (46 mins), C O'Rourke for P McKeever (55 mins), P McKeever for C O'Rourke (72 mins, inj). Yellow cards - P McGrane (7 mins), F Bellew (60 mins). Red cards: None.

FERMANAGH: 1. R Gallagher, 3. P McGuinness, 2. B Owens, 4. M Lilly; 7. N Cox, 6. J Gilheaney, 5. S Burns; 8. P Brewster, 9. M McGrath; 10. R Johnston, 11. T Brewster, 12. S McDermott; 13. R Gallagher, 14. R Gallagher, 15. C Donnelly. Subs: S Maguire for C Donnelly (39 mins), L McBarron for S McDermott ( 43 mins), C Bradley for R Gallagher (50 mins), S McCabve for T Brewster (50 mins), C Fitzpatrick for P McGuinness (57 mins, inj). Yellow cards - S Burns (28 mins). Red card - Burns (67 mins).