Good afternoon and welcome to Croke Park for today’s double-header. Kevin O’Brien here and I’ll be taking you through the curtain-raiser between Tyrone and Armagh.
Here’s how the sides are named to line up:
Tyrone
1. Niall Morgan (Éadan na dTorc)
2. Aidan McCrory (Aireagal Chiaráin)
3. Ronan McNamee (Achadh Uí Aráin)
4. Cathal McCarron (An Droim Mór)
5. Tiernan McCann (Coill an Chlochair)
6. Pádraig Hampsey (Oileán a’Ghuail)
7. Peter Harte (Aireagal Chiaráin)
8. Colm Cavanagh (An Mhaigh)
9. Conall McCann (Coill an Chlochair)
10. David Mulgrew (Ard Bó)
11. Niall Sludden (An Droim Mór)
12. Kieran McGeary (Cabhán a’Chaortainn)
13. Mark Bradley (Coill an Chlochair)
14. Sean Cavanagh (An Mhaigh, capt)
15. Matthew Donnelly (Trí Leac)
Armagh
1. Blaine Hughes (Carraig an Chrupain)
2. James Morgan (Raonaithe na Croise)
3. Charlie Vernon (Cláirsigh Ard Mhacha)
4. Paul Hughes (Raonaithe na Croise)
5. Brendan Donaghy (Cluain Mhor)
6. Mark Shields (An Chrois Bhan)
7. Joe McElroy (Clarsigh Ard Mhacha)
8. Stephen Sheridan (Foirceal)
9. Niall Grimley (Na Madáin)
10. Rory Grugan (Baile Mhic an Aba)
11. Ciaran O’Hanlon (Cill Shleibhe)
12. Aidan Forker (An Machaire)
13. Jamie Clarke (Raonaithe na Croise)
14. Gavin McParland (Baile Mhic an Aba)
15. Stefan Campbell (Clan na Gael)
Tyrone 0-1 Armagh 0-0
1 min – Colm Cavanagh swings over a score inside the opening 55 seconds.
Cathal McCarron man marking Jamie Clarke as expected. Clarke is playing quite deep and looking to find pockets of space.
Tyrone 0-2 Armagh 0-0
4 mins – Mark Bradley opens his account with a fantastic score, well set-up by Mattie Donnelly.
After a long passage of play, Peter Harte breaks forward and is fouled by James Morgan.
Tyrone 0-5 Armagh 0-0
Tiernan McCann floats over a delightful effort from distance.
Penalty! James Morgan takes down Mark Bradley inside the area! He’s yellow carded.
GOAL! Peter Harte slots home a penalty for Tyrone!
Tyrone 1-5 Armagh 0-1
Finally Armagh get their first score. Clarke is fouled and Grimley converts the free.
Tyrone 1-6 Armagh 0-1
A fast Tyrone break off a long kick-out sees Harte feed McClure who scores.
Tyrone 1-6 Armagh 0-2
A good Armagh move results in Mark Shields send the ball over the bar after a good move saw the ball popped over Colm Cavanagh’s head for Shields to score.
Tyrone 1-6 Armagh 0-3
Excellent score by former All-Ireland minor winner Gavin McParland outside the boot.
Mark Shields is black-carded for pulling down Peter Harte as he broke forward.
Tyrone 1-7 Armagh 0-3
Sean Cavanagh slots over the free. Colm Cavanagh set up that move with a brilliant interception inside his own 45.
Tyrone 1-8 Armagh 0-4
Rory Grugan swings over the free but Harte immediately cancels it out at the far end.
Niall Sludden gives away the ball and Colm Cavanagh fouls Stefan Campbell. He is booked by the referee.
It’s hard to see Armagh being able to turn this around. Tyrone’s defence and transition to attack is looking very slick and well suited to Croke Park.
Sloppy start to the second-half with handling errors from both sides. Armagh have started the brighter and are dominating possession.
Tyrone 1-9 Armagh 0-4
Harte is fouled by Armagh sub Anto Duffy and Niall Morgan swings over the free from just inside the 45.
Two subs for Tyrone: Darren McCurry is on for Kieran McGeary and David Mulgrew replaces Conall McCann.
Tyrone 1-10 Armagh 0-4
Mattie Donnelly picks out Bradley who jinks and slots over.
Tyrone 1-10 Armagh 0-5
In fairness to Jamie Clarke he hasn’t stopped trying. He underlines his class with a fine score after cutting in from the right flank. That’s Armagh’s first score in the second-half.
Tyrone 1-11 Armagh 0-5
Mattie Donnelly bombs over a point from distance. He’s Tyrone’s eighth scorer today.
GOAL! David Mulgrew hits the net for Tyrone!
Tyrone 2-12 Armagh 0-6
Armagh’s Stephen Sheridan is black-carded for a hit on Colm Cavanagh after a poor pass from Harte. Sean Cavanagh nails the free.
Red card! Cathal McCarron picks up two yellows in the space of a couple of minutes and is dismissed.
GOAL! David Mulgrew bags his second goal for Tyrone!
Tyrone 3-15 Armagh 0-8
Clarke taps it onto corner-back Paul Hughes who finds the range.
Tyrone 3-16 Armagh 0-8
Charlie Vernon is booked for a foul on Sean Cavanagh. Morgan does the business from the free.
Tyrone 3-17 Armagh 0-8 – FT
A masterclass by Tyrone.
This Tyrone team could win an AI, and that’s from a Dublin supporter. If we get over Monaghan today (It’s gonna be tougher than people think,) this Tyrone team are capable of dethroning us. We will have to be at 110% to beat them. They are a dangerous, dangerous outfit. Big, strong, athletic, competitive all over the field and tactically very astute. If I’m being honest I’d have rather had Kerry in the semi.
@Stephen Duggan: Yep, Tyrone have freshened up their squad into a serious outfit. It will be a humdinger between Tyrone & Dublin.
@KerryBlueMike: Provided we get past the Farney, it’s not as easy a game as a lot of people think. I think we’ll win, but I’ll not count the chickens until they’ve hatched.
@Stephen Duggan: they only caveat I’d have is they haven’t actually played a decent division 1 side yet
@Stephen Duggan: they’re the best team I’ve seen this year so far. The scary thing about them if they are absolute brutes defensively but they don’t give frees away.
Made Armagh look rubbish there
Come on Armagh. As an Antrim man (sigh) they are the lesser of two evils.
@Ciaran Rice: I used to like You!!! TIR EOGHAIN ABU!!!!!!!!
@Michael Bullock: sorry mate, I wanted Armagh to win but I know that only Tyrone can beat Dublin. It’s a catch 22. Il be cheering Tyrone all the way against the Dubs now.
Armagh haven’t a prayer.
Game over after 20 odd mins. Prob not the test Tyrone wanted…but their puke football proving effective
@Brendan Farrell: It’s a tactical masterclass from Harte, soak it up and hit on the break. If Armagh haven’t the tactical awareness or astuteness to break them down, that’s says more about the Armagh management than anything else. Winning doesn’t have to be pretty, you cut your cloth to measure. It may not be ‘total football’ from Tyrone, but my God it’s effective. I agree it’s not pretty to watch, but I’ll not knock them for being who they are. They play a style that suits them, it’s up to others to counteract it. It’s way too easy to blame Tyrone, but Armagh have to take a lot of flak for having no real game plan going into this, or at least that how it seems to me.
@Stephen Duggan: never said it wasn’t effective …15 men behind the ball just makes for a poor spectator sport.
@Brendan Farrell: Yeah Stephen, just the 3-16, mostly from play outside the 35m. You still just think whatever Spillane told u to think 15 years ago yeah?
Armagh 3 points in 30 minutes – football is In serious decline. Cork scored 1 point in 35 earlier this year too & got to a Munster final after.
@Willie the kid: hard to score when up against Mickey Harte puke football to be fair. GAA could sort this in morn easily by limiting numbers that can be inside own half
@Willie the Kid:Teams have to play what is put up against them, and in fairness Waterford had fiftheen players behind the ball that eveining against Cork. And in contrast with a bit of luck Cork should have taken Mayo in the Gaelic grounds to make a quarter final spot in what was a great open game of football.
@Brendan Farrell: maybe they should think about letting the game go & stop blowing for every little touch & slowing the game down. Also handpass is ruining the game & black card is just a shambles. You simply can not get the ball off a player now without fouling him. Refs spending 2/3 minutes booking players for absolutely nothing.
@Brendan Farrell: Bollox. Say what you effing want… only one province strongly featured in these finals.
@Titus Groan: Sweet God Almighty. Tyrone hit 3-16 today and still we have muppets who can’t think for themselves coming out and blindly repeating the now 15 year old ‘puke football’ catchphrase. The mind boggles.
@Tír Eoghain Gael: I know aye. Pathetic man. Sour grapes if ever I’ve seen it. There is no question who the most competitive footballing county is.
Overall this is a poor quality game with Tyrone just doing enough to keep distance between themselves and Armagh at HT.If they go on to win this it will simply not do against Dublin in the Semi provided Dublin make it:-).