Post by bigmac on May 28, 2007 16:30:45 GMT
The game at a glance
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Go Monday May 28 2007
Man of the match
Paul McGrane (Armagh): Eclipsed by Neil Gallagher early on, McGrane's influence in the second half was profound as he engineered a firm hold for Armagh in the middle. He fielded kick-outs brilliantly and brought a calming presence to the congestion.
Turning point
Donegal never looked like winning until that freak goal a minute from the end of normal time as Brendan Devenney's point attempt hung and deceived Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty as Kevin Cassidy challenged. They were energised afterwards - clinical and cynical in protecting their one-point lead.
Talking point
As always in Ulster championship matches of a fractious nature, there were a few. John Bannon's refereeing was too liberal at times. Armagh were physically imposing to the point of intimidating the Donegal forwards. Though they will both claim success for different reasons, Armagh will feel like a force again.
They said
Kevin Cassidy (Donegal midfielder): "If Armagh had beaten us we'd have gone into that dressing-room and said to ourselves, where do we go from here? We were lucky to beat them but we beat them, we're into the next round and they are out of the way."
Joe Kernan (Armagh manager): "We're very disappointed, we were caught by a sucker punch. I suppose if any team deserved to beat us it is probably Donegal. I've just been in there wishing them luck. I hope they win the Ulster title. But the year is still open for us, we're not gone. We'll regroup after this. I thought we played some good football and we controlled the game for a long, long time."
Match statistics
Wides: Donegal 9 (3) Armagh 11 (6).
Frees: Donegal 31 (16) Armagh 24 (10).
Yellow cards: Donegal 6 (K Cassidy 6, R Kavanagh 26, B Roper 44, P McConigley 66, K McMenamin 70, N Gallagher 73) Armagh 3 (M O'Rourke 6, K Toner 55, B Donaghy 65).
Red cards: 0.
Attendance: 19,870.
Tools
Print Email Search
Search
Go Monday May 28 2007
Man of the match
Paul McGrane (Armagh): Eclipsed by Neil Gallagher early on, McGrane's influence in the second half was profound as he engineered a firm hold for Armagh in the middle. He fielded kick-outs brilliantly and brought a calming presence to the congestion.
Turning point
Donegal never looked like winning until that freak goal a minute from the end of normal time as Brendan Devenney's point attempt hung and deceived Armagh goalkeeper Paul Hearty as Kevin Cassidy challenged. They were energised afterwards - clinical and cynical in protecting their one-point lead.
Talking point
As always in Ulster championship matches of a fractious nature, there were a few. John Bannon's refereeing was too liberal at times. Armagh were physically imposing to the point of intimidating the Donegal forwards. Though they will both claim success for different reasons, Armagh will feel like a force again.
They said
Kevin Cassidy (Donegal midfielder): "If Armagh had beaten us we'd have gone into that dressing-room and said to ourselves, where do we go from here? We were lucky to beat them but we beat them, we're into the next round and they are out of the way."
Joe Kernan (Armagh manager): "We're very disappointed, we were caught by a sucker punch. I suppose if any team deserved to beat us it is probably Donegal. I've just been in there wishing them luck. I hope they win the Ulster title. But the year is still open for us, we're not gone. We'll regroup after this. I thought we played some good football and we controlled the game for a long, long time."
Match statistics
Wides: Donegal 9 (3) Armagh 11 (6).
Frees: Donegal 31 (16) Armagh 24 (10).
Yellow cards: Donegal 6 (K Cassidy 6, R Kavanagh 26, B Roper 44, P McConigley 66, K McMenamin 70, N Gallagher 73) Armagh 3 (M O'Rourke 6, K Toner 55, B Donaghy 65).
Red cards: 0.
Attendance: 19,870.