Tribe defy odds

Galway 1-11 Armagh 0-09

Galway upset the formbook in emphatic fashion at Pearse Stadium on Saturday, producing a performance as surprising as it was devastating, and Armagh just had no answer on the day.

Ultimately, Armagh’s easy passage to this stage served them poorly and while Galway were unconvincing in their victories over Tipperary and Waterford, those escapes honed a survival instinct.

“Bookies get it wrong sometimes,” admitted Mulholland afterwards. “On that note I think of the eight teams that played in the qualifiers we were the highest price to win so it’s very sweet to pull that off. We got a little bit of stick in the last few weeks so it is great to put in the performance that we feel we are capable of.”

Mulholland said they put in a big effort over the past few weeks and were stung by the criticism levelled at them this summer.

“Having Armagh taking care of Leitrim by such a big margin and Wicklow as well, this really was set up for us. Them coming down here, maybe lulled into a false sense of security after those two victories.

“We knew we had a big performance in us. We knew Armagh were a formidable team, they beat us by six in the league, but we felt that we didn’t perform up there then.”

He will have little time to get his men focused for next Saturday’s trip to Croke Park and a crack at Cork but for Armagh manager Paul Grimley it is a matter of looking to next year. He said he hopes to be given the chance to stay in charge next year because he feels progress has been made this season.

“This is the job I always wanted and I still want it. I want to hold on to it. But I’ll do what’s best for Armagh.

“I took the job for 12 months, the county board were good enough to offer it to me. It was my decision to take it for 12 months. It is up again so it will have to go to the clubs of the county,” he said.

Grimley dismissed the theory that Armagh underestimated Galway on Saturday evening following their facile qualifier wins over Wicklow and Leitrim.

“All week and right up to a half an hour before the game we were warning the players. We were very cautious although we had come into the game with reasonable enough victories in our previous two matches, we also realised there was a sting in Galway’s tail,” said Grimley. Galway’s tactics were excellent. They got on top in midfield through Paul Conroy and U21 Tom Flynn and sprayed superb low ball into their attack.

Armagh operated a two-man full-forward line but never won enough possession out the field to utilise the extra space. Galway kept three in their full-back line and with Donal O’Neill superb in marking Jamie Clarke — with Johnny Duane regularly going back to help — Armagh’s biggest threat was neutralised.

Galway got on top from the outset and slipped 0-3 to no score in front after 10 minutes before Armagh got moving. There was just a point between the sides when the key score of the game came when Paul Conroy lofted in a free from 50m and Danny Cummins rose highest, possibly with a foot inside the square, to fist the ball across goal and into the bottom left corner.

Michael Martin quickly added a brace of points and Galway led by 1-6 to 0-3.

Grimley responded with a couple of substitutions and one of them. Stefan Campbell, pointed along with Aaron Kernan to leave it 1-6 to 0-5 at the break.

Armagh needed a big start to the second half and they got it through points from Campbell and Ethan Rafferty but they couldn’t break Galway’s dominance in midfield and Michael Martin produced a moment of class to turn the game back in Galway’s favour.

He gained possession in the right corner, stepped back inside and had the confidence and the accuracy to go for the score with his left foot from a tight angle and push Galway 1-7 to 0-7 in front.

They never looked back after that. Campbell responded with his third point from play after 49 minutes but they only managed one more point after that — a late effort from Ciaran McKeever — as Michael Meehan tacked on a couple of frees.

Galway were full of running to the end and the watching Cork manager Conor Counihan was given plenty to think about.

Conroy burst through for a fine point and wing-back Gary Sice had a goal effort deflected over as the Tribesmen finished with style to give their summer some substance and leave a Galway bookmaker delighted to be paying out cash this morning.

Scorers for Galway: M Meehan (0-4f), M Martin (0-3), D Cummins (1-0), P Conroy, S Armstrong (f), J Duane, G Sice (0-1 each).

Scorers for Armagh: S Campbell (0-3), C McKeever (0-2), T Kernan (f), A Kernan (f), E Rafferty, C Rafferty (0-1 each).

GALWAY: M Breathnach; J Duane, F Hanley, D O’Neill; S Denvir, G O’Donnell, G Sice; P Conroy, T Flynn; J O’Brien, S Armstrong, C Doherty; M Martin, M Meehan, D Cummins. Subs for Galway: C Forde for O’Neill (43-45 blood), S Walsh for O’Brien (57), F O Curraoin for Armstrong (62), M Farragher for Sice (63-65 blood), A Varley for Meehan (67), M Farragher for Martin (68), M Martin for Conroy (68 blood).

ARMAGH: P McEvoy; J Morgan, B Donaghy, P McKeown; M Shields, C McKeever, A Kernan; J Lavery, S Harold; E Rafferty, K Dyas, C Rafferty; T Kernan, E McVerry, J Clarke. Subs for Armagh: S Campbell for C Rafferty (28), K Toner for Harold (33), F Moriarty for McKeown (ht), A Forker for McVerry (55), S Forker for E Rafferty (62).

Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare).