Smyth happy to be a statistic

AS he says himself, Jimmy Smyth went from being a quiz question to a statistic on Sunday afternoon, when Armagh finally managed to lay their Croker demons to rest.

Smyth was the captain of the 1977 Armagh side, which were steamrolled by Jimmy Keavaney and Dublin in the final, but who were also the last Armagh side to win a match at headquarters.

“I went down to the Armagh dressing-room before the match, something I don’t usually do because the dressing-room is a sacrosanct place. But I just wanted to say to Kieran (McGeeney) that I didn’t want to be known as the last Armagh captain to lose in Croke Park. It is a great thing for this county that the team have made it into an All-Ireland final again, but I don’t think it has truly sunk in yet.”