Derry chalk up second win

Armagh 1-8 Derry 1-13, Crossmaglen

In a game of bizarre goals, Derry emerged as five-point victors as some excellent shooting from centre forward Conleth Gilligan propelled them past Armagh.

The Oak Leafers secured a vital win, only their second of the Division 1B campaign, with Gilligan leading the scoring with 0-6.

Armagh, who were without their Crossmaglen players and injured duo Ronan Clarke and Brian Mallon, never hit top gear, nor were they allowed to as they slumped to their second straight league defeat.

The game marked the return of veteran Armagh forward Diarmuid Marsden to the inter-county scene. He came on as a first-half substitute. The 33-year-old's last game for Armagh was at the tail end of the 2004 All-Ireland championship.

Derry got off to a flying start when Ruairí Murray picked off a second-minute goal after Armagh keeper Ciarán McKinney had failed to collect a high ball.

Seven minutes later, Armagh had a goal of their own and it involved another error from a goalkeeper.

Derry stopper Barry Gillis momentarily lost his bearings as he grabbed a dropping point attempt from Paul McGrane and he stepped over his goal line, giving an alert umpire just enough time to spot the mistake and reach for his green flag.

Stephen McDonnell, who finished with 0-4 as Armagh's leading scorer, briefly levelled the match at 1-2 apiece before Derry hit overdrive and their short hand-passing style paved the way for a series of excellent points. Enda Muldoon, Paul Bradley (0-2) and Mark Lynch were among the scorers.

Gilligan hit three points in the opening half as Derry, who are still without talisman Paddy Bradley (hamstring), led 1-8 to 1-3 at the interval.

The second half was a rather listless affair and a decent crowd of close to 3,000 soon got the feeling that the result may have been decided in the opening 35 minutes.

Gilligan continued to shine in front of the Armagh goal. He struck twice again, shortly after the resumption, and a towering point from Raymond Wilkinson sent Derry into a eight-point lead.

McDonnell and Paul Keenan, who shot 0-3, added some respectability to the score line but Joe Kernan's men, who are now second from bottom in the standings, have a lot of work to do in the league before their top-flight status is guaranteed.

They close out their campaign against Down (home), Laois (away) and Westmeath (home).