GALWAY BRUSHED ASIDE a brief second half fightback from Armagh to take their place in round four of the All Ireland SFC qualifiers with a five-point win in Salthill today.
For the visitors Danny Cummins first half goal did the damage, but this was a game Armagh never led or even gained parity in after the scoreboard began ticking.
The second half offered hope, but they could only manage to get back within two points before Galway pulled clear again.
The Tribesmen had been placed as underdogs despite hosting this do-or-die clash third round clash, but they raced into a an early 0-03 to nil lead thanks to scores from Johnny Duane and Michael Meehan.
Tony Kernan and Caolan Rafferty would get Armagh off the mark, but the Orchard County could not find a levelling score.
After Ciaran McKeever and Sean Armstrong traded scores, Galway grasped the nettle and found the game’s decisive score as Cummins latched onto Paul Conroy’s free-kick and palmed the ball past Philip McEvoy. A four point lead for Galway.
Michael Martin tagged on two more to give the sun-baked 5,628 onlookers even more to shout about. Aaron Kernan stemmed the flow with Armagh’s first score in 11 long minutes and Stefan Campbell managed to reduced the visitors’ arrears to 1-6 to 0-5 at half time.
Stop the rot
The resumption saw Armagh up the stakes, physically, and they began to dominate midfield. Campbell made sure only a goal separated the sides and Ethan Rafferty put fingernails on the menu alongside the ice-cream in Salthill.
Campbell added another, but only after Martin had stopped the rot for Galway and signaled the end of Armagh’s revival – and, indeed, their Championship – with his third point of the day from the most acute of angles.
Meehan added another two frees as the orange-clad defence struggled to contain the maroon forwards and when Gary Sice ventured forward to land Galway’s last score of the day, they were six points clear. Home and hosed.
Ciaran McKeever reduced the arrears by one, but came nowhere close to putting a gloss on Armagh’s Championship summer.
Scorers for Galway: Michael Meehan 0-4 (4fs), Michael Martin 0-3, Danny Cummins 1-0, Johnny Duane 0-1, Paul Conroy 0-1, Gary Sice 0-1, Sean Armstrong 0-1 (f).
Scorers for Armagh: Stefan Campbell 0-3, Ciaran McKeever 0-2, Caolan Rafferty 0-1, Ethan Rafferty 0-1, Tony Kernan 0-1 (f), Aaron Kernan 0-1 (f).
Galway: Manus Breathnach; Donal O’Neill, Finian Hanley; Johnny Duane; Conor Doherty, Gary O’Donnell, Gary Sice; Paul Conroy, Tom Flynn; John O’Brien, Sean Armstrong, Sean Denvir; Michael Martin, Michael Meehan, Danny Cummins. Subs: Shane Walsh for O’Brien (57 mins), Fiontan O’Curraoin for Armstrong (62 mins), Adrian Varley for Meehan (66 mins), Michael Farragher for Martin (70 mins).
Armagh: Philip McEvoy; Paul McKeown, Brendan Donaghy, James Morgan; Aaron Kernan, Ciaran McKeever, Mark Shields; James Lavery, Stephen Harold; Caolan Rafferty, Kevin Dyas, Ethan Rafferty; Jamie Clarke, Tony Kernan, Eugene McVerry. Subs: Stefan Campbell for C Rafferty (28 mins), Kieran Toner for Harold (32 mins), Finian Moriarty for McKeown (36 mins), Aidan Forker for McVerry (55 mins), Stefan Forker for E Rafferty (62 mins).
Cummins goal helps Galway shock Armagh in Salthill
Galway 1-11
Armagh 0-9
GALWAY BRUSHED ASIDE a brief second half fightback from Armagh to take their place in round four of the All Ireland SFC qualifiers with a five-point win in Salthill today.
For the visitors Danny Cummins first half goal did the damage, but this was a game Armagh never led or even gained parity in after the scoreboard began ticking.
The second half offered hope, but they could only manage to get back within two points before Galway pulled clear again.
The Tribesmen had been placed as underdogs despite hosting this do-or-die clash third round clash, but they raced into a an early 0-03 to nil lead thanks to scores from Johnny Duane and Michael Meehan.
Tony Kernan and Caolan Rafferty would get Armagh off the mark, but the Orchard County could not find a levelling score.
After Ciaran McKeever and Sean Armstrong traded scores, Galway grasped the nettle and found the game’s decisive score as Cummins latched onto Paul Conroy’s free-kick and palmed the ball past Philip McEvoy. A four point lead for Galway.
Michael Martin tagged on two more to give the sun-baked 5,628 onlookers even more to shout about. Aaron Kernan stemmed the flow with Armagh’s first score in 11 long minutes and Stefan Campbell managed to reduced the visitors’ arrears to 1-6 to 0-5 at half time.
Stop the rot
The resumption saw Armagh up the stakes, physically, and they began to dominate midfield. Campbell made sure only a goal separated the sides and Ethan Rafferty put fingernails on the menu alongside the ice-cream in Salthill.
Campbell added another, but only after Martin had stopped the rot for Galway and signaled the end of Armagh’s revival – and, indeed, their Championship – with his third point of the day from the most acute of angles.
Meehan added another two frees as the orange-clad defence struggled to contain the maroon forwards and when Gary Sice ventured forward to land Galway’s last score of the day, they were six points clear. Home and hosed.
Ciaran McKeever reduced the arrears by one, but came nowhere close to putting a gloss on Armagh’s Championship summer.
Galway: Manus Breathnach; Donal O’Neill, Finian Hanley; Johnny Duane; Conor Doherty, Gary O’Donnell, Gary Sice; Paul Conroy, Tom Flynn; John O’Brien, Sean Armstrong, Sean Denvir; Michael Martin, Michael Meehan, Danny Cummins. Subs: Shane Walsh for O’Brien (57 mins), Fiontan O’Curraoin for Armstrong (62 mins), Adrian Varley for Meehan (66 mins), Michael Farragher for Martin (70 mins).
Armagh: Philip McEvoy; Paul McKeown, Brendan Donaghy, James Morgan; Aaron Kernan, Ciaran McKeever, Mark Shields; James Lavery, Stephen Harold; Caolan Rafferty, Kevin Dyas, Ethan Rafferty; Jamie Clarke, Tony Kernan, Eugene McVerry. Subs: Stefan Campbell for C Rafferty (28 mins), Kieran Toner for Harold (32 mins), Finian Moriarty for McKeown (36 mins), Aidan Forker for McVerry (55 mins), Stefan Forker for E Rafferty (62 mins).
Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare).
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Armagh comp:All Ireland U21 Hurling Championship (Hurling 56) All-Ireland Senior FC All-Ireland Senior HC GAA Galway SFC Qualifiers Armagh Galway