Slow Start Costs Senior Footballers In Allianz League Defeat To Armagh

Image courtesy Mark McDonagh 

DUBLIN 1-12 

ARMAGH 1-20 

Dublin paid the price for a sloppy first-half performance as they eventually succumbed to Armagh by eight points in their Allianz National Football League Division 1 Round 5 encounter at the BOX-IT Athletic Grounds on Saturday evening.

The hosts dominated the first-half with a goal in the 13^th minute from Barry McCambridge propelling them to an emphatic 1-12 to 0-3 interval advantage.

A goal from Lorcan O’Dell within eight minutes of the restart offered hopes of an unlikely comeback but some poor shooting undermined those ambitions as they fell to their second defeat of the campaign.

From the first whistle, Armagh were keen to stamp their authority on proceedings and pushed two points clear by the 3^rd minute following scores from Andrew Murnin and Conor Turbitt (free).

With Dublin struggling to secure possession from their restarts, the procession towards the away goal continued as Greg McCabe and Turbitt doubled their lead before Oisín O’Neill landed a two-point score in the 11^th minute.

Matters deteriorated for Dublin two minutes later as Ethan Rafferty found Barry McCambridge in acres of space and the Armagh defender left Evan Comerford helpless with a powerful finish into the corner of the net.

Placed balls from Turbitt and Rafferty ensued and the second quarter continued in a similar vein as a Rory Grogan score left twelve points between the teams with Comerford making two fine stops as the half evolved to keep his side in a degree of contention.

Dublin finally opened their own account through Con O’Callaghan in the 20^th minute and a sporadic period of territory yielded another score courtesy of Brain Howard two minutes later.

However, these proved isolated moments of encouragement for the visitors and despite Luke Breathnach adding another point in the closing stages, a McCabe score in the 35^th minute restored Armagh’s twelve-point lead by the turnaround. 

The All-Ireland champions resumed on the front foot through points from Ross McQuillan and a Grugan brace, the second coming from a free incorrectly awarded by referee Niall Cullen against Comerford for delaying his kick-out beyond twenty seconds.

However, Dublin finally began to gain control around midfield as O’Callaghan added three points from two placed balls before he released O’Dell through on goal for a superb finish across Rafferty in the 43^rd minute.

O’Callaghan’s sublime two-point score off his left boot added to Dublin’s momentum but some errant shooting undermined their comeback hopes, despite further points by Breathnach and Kevin Lahiff.

A brilliant point from substitute Cormac Costello in the 55^th minute left just five points between the sides but that was as close as Dublin got with Armagh finishing the game strongly through insurance points by Darragh McMullen, Tomás McCormack and Turbitt.

Scorers – Dublin: C O’Callaghan 0-6 (1 2pt Free, 0-1f, 1 2pt); L O’Dell 1-0; L Breathnach 0-2; B Howard, C Kilkenny, K Lahiff, C Costello 0-1 apiece. Armagh: C Turbitt 0-6 (4f); R Grugan (1f), G McCabe 0-3 each; B McCambridge 1-0; O O’Neill (2pt), R McQuillan 0-2 each; A Murnin, E Rafferty (‘45’), D McMullen, T McCormack 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: E Comerford; C Tyrrell, T Clancy, D Byrne; C Murphy, S MacMahon, G McEneaney; B Howard, T Lahiff; N Scully, C O’Callaghan, C Kilkenny; N O’Callaghan, E O’Donnell, L Breathnach. Subs: B O’Leary for N O’Callaghan (15), L O’Dell for O’Donnell (28), A Gavin for McEneaney (half-time), K Lahiff for Clancy (Temp 49-52), C Costello for Breathnach (53), K Lahiff for Scully (62).

Armagh: E Rafferty; T McCormack, B McCambridge, P Burns; C Mackin, G McCabe, R McQuillan; J Duffy, N Grimley; P McGrane, R Grugan, D McMullen; C Turbitt, A Murnin, O Conaty. Subs: G Murphy for P Burns (half-time), S Campbell for O’Neill (47), J Óg Burns for Duffy (52), J Hall for McQuillan (60), S McPartland for Conaty (66).

Referee: Niall Cullen (Donegal).