All-Ireland SFC Qualifiers/Round Three: Armagh 0-15 Dublin 0-11 And so, depending on your faith, Saturday in Croke Park was either an ending or a rebirth, writes Tom Humphries.
Dublin faced their own frailties, and their championship adventure, which had stretched into September last year, was terminated in early July. Armagh, unfairly ballyragged and heckled as weak All-Ireland champions, were ignited by the occasion. They won well and they rejoice now in the afterlife of the qualifiers.
This game was all muscle and man. Not a thing of obvious beauty. There were periods where Pat McEnaney lost control of what was going on and players responded by losing control of themselves. Yet there was something starkly impressive about it all.
Armagh had to ask themselves what sort of team they were. The answer they found should sustain them a while longer in this deeply unimpressive footballing summer.
And the losers? The game was a metaphor for Dublin's progress over the past couple of years. In the first half they played some beautiful, confident football, the intelligence of the recently restored Na Fianna contingent distinguishing the forward play. They led by four points at half-time and yet you could sense there was a fissure waiting to be exploited.
The amount of ball being lost around the middle third was alarming, the sense of panic any time the ball floated towards Armagh's two-man full-forward line. Dublin were either walking on air or their momentum had carried them like cartoon characters out over the cliff edge and they were about to plummet as soon as they realised where they were. Soon after the break we heard the distinctive whistling sound of a team falling into the canyon.
It was a day when experience was the measure of the difference between the sides. Experience and the ability to tolerate raw physicality. Players slammed into each other like dodgems and from the apparent chaos the older hands thrived.
From the start it was that way. Oisín McConville, limited by hamstring trouble, opened the scoring for Armagh. Dessie Farrell and Jason Sherlock replied for Dublin. The scoring continued at that ratio till half-time, when Dublin had eight points to Armagh's four. By then the game had become so ragged that Tommy Lyons kept his players out of the tunnel until Armagh had been digested into it.
The mood of lawlessness carried over into the second half. Before there had been a score Paddy Christie was stretched by a dig to the abdomen and a small mêlée ensued. McEnaney summoned the wrong man and wagged a finger at him. No booking. Much howling from the 63, 143 in the stands.
One minute later Darren Homan was found crumpled on the grass beneath the Hogan Stand. Paddy McKeever was seen leaving the area, called back and given a straight red card. Afterwards Armagh claimed McKeever hadn't touched Homan. Any investigation will surely include the previous incident, with Christie part of its remit.
With an extra man and a viable lead Dublin should have steered this game to safety. There were little portents of trouble though. Ray Cosgrove, who had missed a 21-yard free in the first half, floated a slightly longer effort massively short of the sticks. Alan Brogan had begun the half with a wide. Everything in the middle third was falling into Armagh hands.
Then seven minutes into the half Stephen Cluxton intercepted a ball, beat two players and was about to clear when he opted to first draw a kick on Steven McDonnell. No finesse, no cutery, just a petulant kick. Nothing for it but the red card.
It continued to be chaotic. Dublin sent on Brian Murphy, their reserve goalkeeper,and play continued before they had taken anybody off. Finally, and bafflingly, Jonny Magee was withdrawn. Even Magee's many detractors would concede that on Saturday the centre back was having his best game of the season.
The quirkiness of the decision was fully punished. John McEntee was suddenly animated, scoring four points before the finish.
Dublin's lead, and their season, vapourised within 15 minutes. Homan, the target of many borderline challenges, left the field and when he went so too did Dublin's physical presence in midfield. Paul McGrane's dominance was complete. Experience paid dividends everywhere. Tony McEntee moved back to help in defence, drawing Shane Ryan with him. Ryan had been mopping up ball in the first half. Kieran McGeeney was suddenly freed up to go distributing ball as only he can. Marsden and McDonnell constituted the inside line now and young Paul Griffin began to appreciate just how thin the air gets at the summit.
In the end Dublin were steamrollered. Outscored in the second half by 11 points to three and out-thought on the sideline to a commensurate ratio. Armagh, playing with such ennui against Waterford and Antrim, discovered all they needed was the pick-me-up of a big occasion. They are back and they are contenders and those who declined to take them last week at 10 to one for the All-Ireland must live with the regret. For Dublin the regret is more immediate. Lyons was inclined to the view that the city just hasn't got the players at the moment. But there was more wrong on Saturday than the players. Nothing more than a couple of missed frees cost them against Kerry in 2001 and Armagh last year. On Saturday they wanted for much more than a place-kicker.
ARMAGH: P Hearty; A Mallon, E McNulty, F Bellew; A O'Rourke, K McGeeney, A McCann; P Loughran, P McGrane (0-1); P McKeever (0-1), J McEntee (0-4, one free), O McConville (0-1); S McDonnell (0-5, four frees), D Marsden (0-2), T McEntee. Subs: R Clarke (0-1) for McConville (27 mins).
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; S Ryan, P Christie, P Griffin; D Henry, J Magee, C Moran; C Whelan, D Homan (0-1); S Connell (0-1), B Cullen, J Sherlock (0-2); A Brogan , R Cosgrove (0-5, four frees), D Farrell (0-2). Subs: D Magee for Homan (42 mins), B Murphy for J Magee (44 mins), D O' Callaghan for Brogan (56 mins), T Mulligan for Connell (65 mins).
Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan).
