Allianz Football League: Armagh beat Donegal in tense Division One contest
- Published
Armagh deservedly led 0-7 to 0-3 at half-time at the Athletic Grounds
Armagh boosted their hopes of staying in Division One of the Allianz Football League with a 0-13 to 0-10 home win over relegation-threatened Donegal.
The Orchard men move up to third in the table on five points while Paddy Carr's Donegal remain second from bottom.
Armagh were full value for their 0-7 to 0-3 lead at half-time.
Donegal fought back to trail 0-8 to 0-7 after 50 minutes and were again one behind as the game entered injury-time before Armagh hit the last two scores.
Jarlath Og Burns produced a crucial injury-time run to secure a 20-metre free after Donegal had hit three straight scores to cut Armagh's lead to 0-11 to 0-10.
Rian O'Neill popped over the resultant placed ball to double Armagh's advantage and the Crossmaglen star then made a sensational catch in his own square as Donegal desperately chased a match-winning goal, with the home side subsequently working the ball downfield for Burns to notch the game's concluding score.
The pace lifted considerably in the second period after a turgid opening half.
Donegal had 56% of the first-half possession but struggled to do anything positive with it as Armagh produced any enterprise that was on show.
Respective goalkeepers Shaun Patton and Ethan Rafferty kicked the opening scores before a fine Aidan Forker point was followed by Andrew Murnin and O'Neill frees as Armagh moved 0-4 to 0-1 ahead after 20 minutes.
Carndonagh man Conor O'Donnell ended a 20-minute scoring drought for Donegal but Armagh hit three of the remaining four scores before half-time - including Murnin's 37th-minute point as he fisted over a long-range free from keeper Rafferty.
After their insipid first-half efforts, Donegal could only improve and Hugh McFadden's introduction helped produce their revival as his 'mark' point in the 39th minute was followed by an Oisin Gallen free.
Donegal threatened to produce a comeback at the Athletic Grounds before Armagh closed out the match in injury-time
An O'Neill free put Armagh three ahead again in the 43rd minute after Caolan McColgan was yellow carded for blatantly hauling down Murnin as he seemed set to go for goal.
Points from Patton and an increasingly influential McFadden had Donegal only one behind after 50 minutes but Murnin fisted over another high ball to double Armagh's lead, before frees from substitute Rory Grugan and O'Neill appeared to have the home side in control with seven minutes left.
But Donegal suddenly found a scoring fluency as they desperately chased the match with substitute Ciaran Thompson's long-range effort followed by further Jamie Brennan and Jason McGee points from play.
At that stage, a comeback similar to the one produced by Armagh last month when they fought back to draw with Mayo at the Athletic Grounds seemed a possibility but thanks to the late heroics from Burns and O'Neill, the home side responded to close out the match.
It was a big night for the Burns family with the new GAA president-elect Jarlath senior congratulated by the home faithful in a ceremony at half-time.
Donegal may need wins over both Mayo and Roscommon in their concluding games to escape the drop while Armagh will hope to almost certainly ensure safety by beating Galway at home in two weeks before they face Tyrone away in their final match.