In the All-Ireland SFC quarter-final, Armagh emerged victorious over Roscommon with a score of 2-12 to 0-12. At Croke Park, Saturday afternoon’s weather conditions made the match challenging, accumulating in mistakes and leading to a match that was both unmemorable and ragged. The pivotal moment was Conor Turbitt’s 51st-minute goal for Armagh.
In a post-match interview, Armagh’s coach, Kieran McGeeney, confessed to their performance being subpar, describing it as their weakest display at Croke Park. However, he admired the resilience of his team, pointing out their growth and potential. McGeeney acknowledged their missing of numerous opportunities, analysing their weak game skills. Nevertheless, he believed the positives overshadowed the negatives for his team.
The Armagh team triumphed, breaking a losing streak of six successive All-Ireland quarter-final defeats. This was amidst the personal grief of McGeeney, who was contending with the loss of his uncle, Peter Kelly.
However, no such relief was for Davy Burke and the Roscommon team, whose track record of victories at Croke Park has been poor, their last victory dating back to the 1980 All-Ireland semi-final against Armagh. Burke ruefully discussed their unfortunate experience, with the dismissal of David Murray and Ultan Harney within the first 15 minutes and followed by Ruaidhrí Fallon receiving a red card just before half-time.
In retrospect, their performance seemed to dwindle, especially comparing their previous brilliant performance at Healy Park in Omagh, where they triumphed with 0-14 from 18 attempts. Today, their luck reversed, only managing 0-12 from 31 attempts. The first six attempts returned empty, and only four successful attempts from fourteen in the first half.
Prior to Saturday’s 2024 championship, Diarmuid Murtagh, Conor Cox, Daire Cregg, and Donie Smith of Roscommon had collectively scored 2-61 out of the 4-75 total score. In the match against Armagh, Cox and Murtagh each managed to score a point from play, with Murtagh’s point crucially coming late in the match when Roscommon were in desperate need of a breakthrough. Cregg and Smith collectively contributed a significant portion of the team’s missed opportunities.
Armagh gained the upper hand in the first half, with Barry McCambridge’s decisive finish helping them establish a 1-3 to 0-1 lead with 30 minutes on the clock. Shortly after, Roscommon suffered a setback when Fallon was sent off for a second yellow card offence. However, they managed to draw level following a streak of five points, three before half-time and two commendable scores from Eoin McCormack and Dylan Ruane post-interval.
Burke expressed his frustration at a perceived poor decision that negatively impacted his team, as Blaine Hughes was judged to have overcarried at the end line. According to Burke, Armagh’s lack of experience in winning such games should have given his team the upper hand.
Armagh, regardless of their unfamiliarity, found a way to prevail. Stefan Campbell’s offensive presence became vital after his halftime introduction, contributing two points and an assist. Oisín Conaty also had an impressive performance, scoring four from play.
Armagh’s decisive moment came 51 minutes into the game when Conor Turbitt stripped Niall Higgins of the ball, setting up Tiernan Kelly to assist Turbitt for the goal. Despite Brian Stack’s heroic defensive efforts, Roscommon’s attack faltered, unable to overcome Armagh’s lead.
Burke acknowledged that Roscommon was physically outmatched by Armagh and conceded that his side needed to find alternative strategies to bypass Armagh’s defensive strength.
Reflecting on their performance, Diarmuid Murtagh and Daire Cregg believe they could have scored six to seven points if they could replay the same game. However, they failed to do so this time around. Being a player down for 40 minutes for the third consecutive week clearly had an impact on the team’s physical condition.
McGeeney, disagreed not about the significant mental challenge his team had to break through in order to ultimately pull off a win. The Armagh squad has had limited experience competing in the All-Ireland semi-finals, having only made five appearances in the last 130 years, so this victory is a huge leap forward for the team. It demonstrates their ability to step up their game.
In previous years, despite losing on penalty kicks, McGeeney’s team has demonstrated its strength and ability to compete with top tier football teams. Relief radiated through the team following their recent victory.
In the Armagh squad, we had B Hughes, P McGrane, P Burns, A McKay, T Kelly, B McCambridge (1-2, 0-1m), A Forker (0-1), R O’Neill, B Crealey, O Conaty (0-4), N Grimley (0-1), J McElroy, R Grugan, A Murnin, C Turbitt. Substitute players included S Campbell (0-2) for Murnin and O O’Neill for R O’Neill, R McQuillan for Forker and A Nugent for Grugan, C Mackin for Crealey and J Duffy for Forker.
The Roscommon squad had C Carroll, N Higgins (0-1), R Fallon, R Dolan, D Murray, B Stack (0-1), E McCormack (0-1), E Smith, S Cunnane, R Daly, D Murtagh (0-1), D Cregg, U Harney, C Cox (0-5, 0-4f) and D Smith.
Substitutes involved in the game included D Ruane, who scored 0-2, taking the place of Murray 7 minutes in. After 15 minutes, C Lennon replaced Harney. On the 55th minute, A McDermott, who ended up scoring 0-1, was substituted for D Smith. Then C Heneghan came in for Daly at the 61st-minute mark; and A Glennon took over from Cunnane after 67 minutes. The referee for the match was M McNally from Monaghan.