Westmeath restored battered pride, but it was 14-man Armagh who took the spoils in a bruising Round 2B Qualifier at Cusack Park.

He would have been entitled to feel smug or wag a finger in the general direction of his detractors after a torrid 18 months, but Eamonn Burns instead used his winning platform to heap praise on his unfancied Down team after they pulled off the county’s first Ulster championship win over Armagh in 25 years.

Down scored a first Championship win over Armagh in 25 years, but they won’t be making any bold forecasts of a major breakthrough following this unconvincing success against a misfiring opponent.

Tipperary 3-8 Armagh 0-16

Cavan 2-8 Armagh 0-11: Any lingering notion that the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup is nothing more than a gentle preamble into the more serious business of the GAA season was emphatically kicked into touch in this turbulent, fractious encounter at Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen yesterday.

Armagh 2-17 Wicklow 2-7: Shooting practice will be taking centre stage at Armagh training sessions over the next two weeks, with Kieran McGeeney labelling some of their misses in the Athletic Grounds on Saturday as "criminal".

Armagh 0-16 Fermanagh 0-11: It may ‘only’ have been the Division Three Allianz league final, but Armagh showed enough in Croke Park on Saturday night to suggest they have the tools to become a team worth fearing again.

Armagh continued the impression that they are moving in the right direction under Kieran McGeeney’s stewardship, overcoming a slow start and the first-half sending off of centre-back, Finnian Moriarty to bag the Allianz Football League Division 3 crown.

Allianz FL Division 3

Armagh 1-10, Fermanagh 1-10:

Limerick 1-6 Armagh 2-16

IT was a match where they were strongly challenged, but during the critical closing phase Armagh produced the goods to swing yesterday’s ESB All-Ireland MFC final at Croke Park in their direction.