Rian O’Neill man of the match: “Kerry put it up to us the whole game. Guess what? It is not done yet. We will be back again in two weeks and we go again. We had setback after setback over the years, they said we couldn’t win tight games, we won a tight game today!” he yells.
ET 90 mins: Looked like a free there to Armagh but it’s a throw ball instead. McGeeney is livid. Kerry go again. Geaney goes for point but his shot is into the keeper’s hands. Kick ball over the top and Turbitt is through on goal and he punches the ball over the bar! Will that be that?
Armagh 1-18 Kerry 1-16
A ball into the square and Rian O’Neill plucks it from the air! Heroic stuff by Armagh.
FT Armagh 1-18 Kerry 1-16.
Armagh have done it! The Hill is in pandemodium. First final since 2003, brilliant stuff.
ET 88 mins: Armagh with another wide, Donaghy not happy to see Kerry lose the ball. Burke misses for Kerry’s 14th wide of the day.
Armagh 1-17 Kerry 1-16
ET 86 mins: Great catch by Turbitt from the kickout, one two and then Campbell kicks it wide.
Armagh 1-17 Kerry 1-16
ET 84 mins: Armagh counter and Ross McQuillan uses his fresh legs to burst away and get another point! Good response though from Kerry’s Cillian Burke, who scores! Then again a kickout is penalised, ball thrown up and Kerry win it and Clifford scores. All of a sudden it’s one point again.
Armagh 1-17 Kerry 1-16
ET 82 mins: Serious battling by Armagh but Kerry hang on. Long period of possession for Kerry. But Paudie Clifford hits it into the keeper’s hands.
Armagh 1-16 Kerry 1-14
ET 82 mins: Point for Armagh ruled out! Óg Burns shot goes to Hawk Eye and it looks almost over but it’s Níl. It’s all Armagh in extra time and this time Armagh don’t miss. Turbitt puts Armagh two points in front in stoppage time in the first half of extra time!
Half-time in extra time: Armagh 1-16 Kerry 1-14
Kerry look dead on their feet. Can they come back?
ET 80 mins: The ball is in the net for Kerry... but it’s no goal. Sub Casey tries to punch the ball over the bar but it’s short and falls in the net, that won’t count.
Armagh 1-15 Kerry 1-14
ET 78 mins: David Clifford not at his vintage best today and his misses another, Kerry with three wides this half of extra time so far.
Armagh 1-15 Kerry 1-14
ET 76 mins: Kerry pour forward. O’Shea beats his man but seems to lose his balance and pulls it left and wide. Some good combination football by Armagh but just falls at the last hurdle as Kerry hold firm.
Armagh 1-15 Kerry 1-14
ET 74 mins: Great score by Jarly Óg Burns, breaks through and scores confidently. O’Sullivan is cramping up as heading off as Dylan Casey comes on.
Armagh 1-15 Kerry 1-14
ET 72 mins: Aidan Nugent wins a mark within the first minute of extra time but he kicks it wide. Kerry burst through and Jason Foley is there but he kicks it wide.
Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-14
74 mins: Kerry go forward. A minute left. Kerry thought they might have a free but keeper the ball, recycle and then Geaney goes for it but pulls it left.
Full-time: Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-14
Extra time it is!
73 mins: One last set play for Armagh? They build up patiently. Rian O’Neill loses the ball!
Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-14
71 mins: Kerry build up patiently. Four minutes of additional time and we’re level. It’s sub Dylan Geaney with a great finish.
Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-14
69 mins: Armagh go again as the crowd goes wild but a wide by Oisin O’Neill.
Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-13
67 mins: A brilliant point by Stefan Campbell! The slighest of angles, snap shot. And then Kerry are penalised for taking too quick of a kickout and Rian O’Neill scores a wonder score! They’re ahead!
Armagh 1-14 Kerry 1-13
63 mins: Great point by Stefan Campbell. Soupy gets his point from the bench and gees up the fans.
Armagh 1-12 Kerry 1-13
62 mins: Patient attack from Kerry, a minute of possession and then a brilliant kick by Paudie Clifford straight over the middle. Class.
Armagh 1-11 Kerry 1-13
58 mins: Thrilling game now. Kerry drive at the Armagh defence but McElroy collects and Armagh go again. Armagh slow it down and try for a set play but White beats Murnin in the one-on-one. Some ferocious tackles going in.
Armagh 1-11 Kerry 1-12
55 mins: Goal for Armagh! The crowd goes wild. A terrible 30 seconds for Shane Ryan. Bad kickout by Ryan and Armagh take possession. A high ball by O’Neill when going for a point and Ryan drops it. McCambridge punches into an empty net!
Armagh 1-11 Kerry 1-12
53 mins: Tony Brosnan went for a point but blocked out for a 45. O’Shea one of the finest kickers of the ball off the ground in the game, hits a fine 45 straight over.
Armagh 0-11 Kerry 1-12
50 mins: Point for Turbitt from a free as Armagh press forward in numbers again and again chasing the lead, but leaving gaps in defence naturally as a result. Lovely point though from O’Neill, a languid kick from the right curls in to narrow the gap to three points again.
Armagh 0-11 Kerry 1-11
47 mins: Goal for Kerry! Clifford kicked the ball into the area and it just missed the post but stayed in. It was knocked back into the square and Murphy is there to punch the ball into the net, Hughes almost saves but can’t keep it out.
Armagh 0-9 Kerry 1-11
45 mins: Grugan scores a free to reduce the gap to three points after Murphy is penalised for touch the ball on the ground. Then they win the kickout, Grealey punches forward and Forker scores another! Big roars from the Orchard county fans and some momentum with them.
Armagh 0-9 Kerry 0-11
42 mins: Another goal attempt for Kerry! Long ball to Sean O’Shea and he’s through on goal and passes across to Tom O’Sullivan who goes for goal on his own and misses the target altogether.
Armagh 0-7 Kerry 0-11
40 mins: Beautiful score from Aidan Forker. Got a run on his marker and then curled one well with his left. Then Kerry have a goal chance but they can’t manufacture a shot until Clifford gets it and sticks it safely over.
Armagh 0-7 Kerry 0-11
37 mins: Early possession for Armagh but they lose the ball in midfield. Geaney then misses a chance for a point.
Armagh 0-6 Kerry 0-10
35 mins: Free for Kerry after a nasty collision between Geaney and McGrane after a punch into a dangerous area by Murphy. Yellow card for McGrane as the ball is easily put over by O’Shea.
Half-time: Armagh 0-6 Kerry 0-10
Good game anyway, much better than Kerry’s previous game. Armagh have given it a good go and will be disappointed to be four points behind in what has been quite an even game so far. But Kerry have just been that bit classier in their forward play, and a big save by goalkeeper Shane Ryan has made the difference. Here is that save:
Worth watching this goal from the Tailteann Cup final at the break, goal of the season? Stunner by Mark Barry.
34 mins: A few bad wides from Armagh, Crealey and Conaty at fault. Armagh well in the game, but have to score those opportunities.
Armagh 0-6 Kerry 0-9
32 mins: Great score by Diarmuid O’Connor, a high kick from a decent distance out. Then a big goal chance for Armagh out of nothing! Shane Ryan makes a big save after Grugan’s smart pass to Murnin who was 10 metres out but Ryan narrows the angle and saves well.
Armagh 0-6 Kerry 0-9
28 mins: Referee David Gough has stopped the game a few times now for off-the-ball pulling the jersey. Armagh kept the ball for about two minutes and Gough blows up for a foul which Turbitt puts over.
Armagh 0-6 Kerry 0-8
25 mins: Geaney claims a mark but is fouled after it so Clifford scores the free. First Kerry score for a while and they slow things down a bit before a nice foot pass to Clifford who calls a mark and bring it back to three points after Hawk Eye was called.
Armagh 0-5 Kerry 0-8
22 mins: Clifford gives the ball away sloppily and Armagh counter with pace. Rian O’Neill gets the ball in space in the middle of the pitch and he doesn’t miss from there! A point in it.
Armagh 0-5 Kerry 0-6
20 mins: Better spell for Armagh, getting numbers forward. Turbitt has a good chance of a point but hits the post and then Kerry give the ball away sloppily, and Armagh attack again. O’Neill shoots but he’s fouled. Another point from Grimley after a quick free that Kerry weren’t expecting.
Armagh 0-4 Kerry 0-6
17 mins: Niall Grimley scores for Armagh, important score but were made to work hard for it, blocked the ball several times in the build-up as a goal might have been on.
Armagh 0-3 Kerry 0-6
15 mins: Some beautiful free-flowing football from Kerry. Slick play as David Clifford handpasses quickly to O’Shea who sticks it straight over the posts. No doubt who the better team is so far.
Armagh 0-2 Kerry 0-6
13 mins: A brilliant free from David Clifford from a tight angle at the sideline, showing his quality there.
Armagh 0-2 Kerry 0-5
10 mins: Great point from Tony Brosnan from well out after a good pass by Ó Beaglaíoch. Kerry working ferociously off the ball and have a period of possession before Moynihan scores to extend the lead to two.
Armagh 0-2 Kerry 0-4
7 mins: Good pace to this game, both teams going for it. Seanie O’Shea turns the ball over and they break with Paudie Clifford in a lot space and he scores nicely over the bar. Kerry then give away a sloppy free and Turbitt sticks it over from in front of the posts.
Armagh 0-2 Kerry 0-2
4 mins: Armagh turn the ball over well and then drop the ball into Rian O’Neill but he takes a pot shot and misses. A wide then from David Clifford.
Armagh 0-1 Kerry 0-1
1 min: Started like a hurling match! A point after only 20 seconds, Seanie O’Shea with a fine score. McGrane returns the favour after 45 seconds. A point each.
Armagh 0-1 Kerry 0-1
Time for the national anthem as the teams are ready for the game. Here are the starting line-ups again:
ARMAGH: Blaine Hughes; Paddy Burns, Aaron McKay, Peter McGrane; Barry McCambridge, Tiernan Kelly, Aidan Forker; Niall Grimley, Ben Crealey; Oisin Conaty, Rian O’Neill, Joe McElroy; Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin, Conor Turbitt.
KERRY: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan; Brian Ó Beaglaíoch, Tadhg Morley, Gavin White; Diarmuid O’Connor, Joe O’Connor; Tony Brosnan, Paudie Clifford, Dara Moynihan; David Clifford, Sean O’Shea, Paul Geaney.
Darragh O’Sé expects his own county Kerry to make the final and beat Armagh but points out the battle of the managers will be crucial, saying “it’s hard to remember a time when the semi-final teams were managed by such big characters as these four.
“In Kerry all week, most of the chat has been around this being a kind of a rerun of the Derry game. I don’t see it like that. We have an awful tendency down here to lump the northern teams in together but I see Armagh as a team that carries a different sort of threat.”
Let’s hope not, that Derry game was a poor spectacle.
A profile of Kieran Donaghy, the Kerry great who is now an Armagh coach under McGeeney by Malachy Clerkin. He writes Kieran Donaghy’s four years with Armagh have been the making of him - and vice versa. “When the former Kerry full-forward joined Kieran McGeeney’s backroom team, it felt like an unlikely marriage. But his worth as a forwards coach and dressingroom presence has been huge.”
A great moment for Down football:
Full-time: Down have won the Tailteann Cup and are finally back in the All-Ireland championship next year. Final score Down 0-14 Laois 2-6.
Down are back ahead in the Tailteann Cup final after three straight points. Down 0-11 Laois 1-6 now.
A great start to the second half by Laois! They lead 1-6 to 0-8 now against Down in the Tailteann Cup final.
Malachy Clerkin sets the scene well as he always does. He writes all four teams know there is an All-Ireland on offer, if they can reach out and grab it. “Everybody was wrong about the football championship being a three-horse race. The upshot is that each of the semi-finalists are legitimate contenders for Sam Maguire.”
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the All-Ireland football semi-final between Armagh and Kerry, throw-in at 5.30pm in Croke Park. It promises to be an interesting encounter with Armagh in fine form this year in the championship, while Kerry are favourites to win outright following the departure of Dublin. Plenty of thoughts will go back to the 2002 All-Ireland final between this pair, and Oisín McConville’s famous goal. It was the only All-Ireland that Armagh have ever won, with manager Kieran McGeeney involved in that one and they will have eyes on a second one now.
ARMAGH: Blaine Hughes; Paddy Burns, Aaron McKay, Peter McGrane; Barry McCambridge, Tiernan Kelly, Aidan Forker; Niall Grimley, Ben Crealey; Oisin Conaty, Rian O’Neill, Joe McElroy; Rory Grugan, Andrew Murnin, Conor Turbitt. Subs: Ethan Rafferty, Connaire Mackin, Jason Duffy, Greg McCabe, Aidan Nugent, Oisin O’Neill, Stefan Campbell, Shane McPartlan, Ross McQuillan, Jarly Óg Burns, Darragh McMullan
KERRY: Shane Ryan; Paul Murphy, Jason Foley, Tom O’Sullivan; Brian Ó Beaglaíoch, Tadhg Morley, Gavin White; Diarmuid O’Connor, Joe O’Connor; Tony Brosnan, Paudie Clifford, Dara Moynihan; David Clifford, Sean O’Shea, Paul Geaney. Subs: Shane Murphy, Dylan Casey, Cillian Burke, Mike Breen, Sean O’Brien, Adrian Spillane, Barry Dan O’Sullivan, Killian Spillane, Stephen O’Brien, Dylan Geaney, Graham O’Sullivan.
In the Tailteann Cup final, the score is Down 0-8 Laois 1-3 at half-time, Down ahead by two points.
