Armagh ace compounds Donegal’s sending off misery

SO, this footballing season will end predictably for a change. The footballing folk of Armagh and Tyrone bringing their mutual antipathy to Dublin for an afternoon in late September.

All summer, there has been a feeling up North that this would come to pass. People felt that an Armagh-Tyrone All-Ireland final was somehow set in stone, since perhaps last winter when Mickey Harte began to insert the spine of steel Tyrone football lacks; or last May when the Paul Finlay show re-awakened Orchard desire; or maybe just since the 54th minute of yesterday’s game when StevenMcDonnell’s clinical finish heralded another Armagh come-back.

Whether by fate or circumstance, the cold fact remains. Armagh and Tyrone will contest the All-Ireland final on September 28, a situation that is certain to spawn many jokes outside Ulster such as it being the first All-Ireland final with crowd segregation; the first time the championship will be decided by Rugby League; or RTE will have to carry a parental guidance warning on their broadcast. There will be plenty more punch-lines between now and then, but there can be little argument that the two best sides in the country meet in this year’s final.