Louth snatch victory from jaws of defeat to send Armagh into backdoor battle

Sam Mulroy, in the very last seconds of the game, stole a remarkable All-Ireland SFC win for Louth with a quite incredible goal, securing their quarter-final place and leaving the Ulster champions facing an unexpected backdoor battle.

With just five seconds remaining, and trailing by two points, the Wee County looked to have run out of time to rescue a result.

But captain Mulroy released his kick from around 50 metres out just in the nick of time, the ball dropping on the goal line and, crucially, evading Armagh goalkeeper Ethan Rafferty and squirming in.

It was a packed goalmouth and the most high-pressure of situations but Rafferty will have nightmares about that one as Louth won the very first Championship encounter between the teams.

It was also another win for Louth at their adopted Inniskeen base having previously taken down neighbours Meath and Cork there in 2024.

Mulroy finished with 1-4 but Dara McDonnell was their main man on a landmark day for the Wee County, finishing with 1-3 from play in front of around 6,000.

Ciarán Downey and young midfielder James Maguire were terrific too as yet another giant shock in this year's Championship was registered.

Armagh must have thought they'd done enough to advance to the quarter-finals, having previously taken care of Derry.

Oisín Conaty's 1-1 haul, a Gareth Murphy goal and four points from Ross McQuillan were highlights of their display which, until Mulroy intervened at the death, had looked like being enough to get them through.

The late additions of Rafferty, in goals, and McQuillan to the Armagh team were significant.

Rafferty, starting just his second game of this season's Championship, was given a licence to roam again and consistently joined the attack, waiting at midfield at stages for the opportunity to dart forward.

McQuillan's hard running through the centre was an early feature too and the pair linked up in the seventh minute, Rafferty assisting McQuillan for a point.

It was all going swimmingly for Armagh at that stage with defender Murphy pinching a second-minute goal, one of a number of occasions they sliced through the Louth back line.

Darragh McMullan and Jarlath Óg Burns combined initially before finding Murphy, whose low finish to the bottom corner was more akin to a seasoned poacher.

With 13 minutes on the clock, Armagh led 1-5 to 0-3 and, truth be told, it was going just about as most expected.

The second quarter, however, belonged to Louth and as they tightened up at the back, and began to dominate in the middle, where rookies Seán Callaghan and James Maguire were stationed, they got the vocal home support behind them.

The points started to come too and they outscored Armagh by 0-11 to 0-4 between the 14th minute and half-time.

Louth captain Sam Mulroy nailed three points, including a two-pointer, and later in the half he cleared a palmed effort by Cian McConville off his own goal line.

Dara McDonnell, Maguire and Conor Grimes swung over a series of eye-catching scores too.

But the point of the half was delivered by Ciarán Downey, the two-footed Louth number 14 selling sumptuous solo dummies to both Oisín Conaty and Murphy before splitting the posts with a measured finish.

Rafferty drilled a two-pointer from a free in the middle of it all for Armagh but Louth were good value for their 0-14 to 1-9 half-time lead.

The second half was a cracker. Conaty's goal three minutes after the restart, when he followed up on his initial shot that was blocked by Emmet Carolan, tied the game, 2-9 to 0-15.

Armagh looked to have wrestled control their way as they kicked on with scores from McQuillan, a Burns two-pointer and Darragh McMullan to open up a three-point lead on a couple of occasions.

But you write this Louth side off at your peril. Mulroy sniped a 67th-minute point from a free won by Downey and then, with two between them, came up that dramatic late kick which sent shockwaves spreading out all around the country.

Louth scorers: Sam Mulroy 1-4 (1 tpf, 0-1f), Dara McDonnell 1-3, Ciarán Downey 0-4, James Maguire 0-3, Craig Lennon 0-3, Ryan Burns 0-1, Conor Grimes 0-1, Conor Early 0-1.

Armagh scorers: Oisín Conaty 1-1, Ross McQuillan 0-4, Gareth Murphy 1-0, Cian McConville 0-3 (0-1f), Jarlath Óg Burns 0-3 (1 tp), Ethan Rafferty 0-2 (1 tpf), Conor Turbitt 0-2 (0-1f), Jason Duffy 0-2, Oisín O'Neill 0-1 (0-1f), Darragh McMullan 0-1.

Louth: N McDonnell; E Carolan, D McKenny, D Nally; C McKeever, D McDonnell, C Lennon; S Callaghan, J Maguire; P Matthews, S Mulroy, C Grimes; K McArdle, C Downey, R Burns.

Subs: C Byrne for Grimes (50); T Durnin for Matthews (52); T McDonnell for McKeever (53); C Early for Callaghan (57); C McCaul for Burns (66).

Armagh: E Rafferty; P McGrane, A McKay, G Murphy; G McCabe, T Kelly, J Óg Burns; R McQuillan, J McElroy; C McConville, D McMullan, T McCormack; C Turbitt, J Duffy, O Conaty.

Subs: O O'Neill for McCabe (34-42); McCabe for Kelly (42); D Magee for McCormack (59); R Grugan for McQuillan (64); A Forker for McConville (67).

Ref: C Lane (Cork).