Armagh dismiss Donegal to land place in final

Donegal 0-6 Armagh 2-16, Letterkenny

Armagh blasted their way into the Allianz NFL Division 2 final and secured promotion to the top flight with a landslide victory over Donegal.

The Orchard men dominated this Ulster derby in Letterkenny, with Steven McDonnell and Finnian Moriarty finding the net.

Adrian Hanlon and Michael Murphy were Donegal's only scorers as they trailed by 1-9 to 0-2 at half-time.

McDonnell soon took his tally to 1-3 and substitute Ronan Clarke also pointed as Armagh set up a divisional decider against Down.

This was one to forget for John Joe Doherty and his Donegal side who were brimming with confidence after their recent wins over Tipperary and Meath, and their Under-21s' Ulster title success earlier in the week.

But they simply did not turn up on the day and the most galling statistic from today's much-anticipated clash is that the hosts managed just two points from play.

Armagh, on the other hand, had twelve scorers in all and never slackened off as they kept pushing for scores after a terrific first half display.

Both sides knew that a win would guarantee promotion and a place in the Division 2 final, so there was a huge amount on the line.

The throw-in was delayed by upwards of 15 minutes as the large crowd made its way into a sunsplashed O'Donnell Park, and Armagh looked like they might rue some early missed chances.

But Paddy O'Rourke's men took control of the scoreboard as Aaron Kernan (free) and Charlie Vernon fired them in front, and Donegal had to wait all of 19 minutes before Adrian Hanlon landed their opening score.

Under-21 hero Michael Murphy tagged on a free, but a second Vernon point and an Andy Mallon effort from play made it 0-4 to 0-2 to the visitors.

Then came the opening goal. 25 minutes in, a high ball was lofted in on top of the Donegal rearguard and McDonnell rose to fist it to the net from inside the square.

It was big blow for Donegal and they never recovered, continuing to look disjointed as points from McDonnell, Ciaran McKeever and Brian Mallon stretched Armagh's lead out to ten points for the break.

There was no let-up from O'Rourke's well-drilled charges in the second half, with Brian Mallon pointing just ten seconds after the restart.

Murphy replied for Donegal but when wing back Finnian Moriarty was afforded acres of space to dart forward and collect a 45th minute goal for Armagh, some home fans made their way to the exits.

Brian Mallon and McDonnell added to Donegal's misery, and pride was certainly a factor as Rory Kavanagh, Hanlon and Stephen Griffin rallied their troops with points, making it 2-12 to 0-6 in the 59th minute.

Armagh, maintaining a superb standard of football, were not finished though and they hit four more points to finish the game on a high, with Ronan Clarke welcomed back to the fold with a huge cheer when he got away from his marker and pointed.

O'Rourke is hopeful that Clarke will be able to get match fit for Armagh's Ulster Championship clash with Derry on May 16, following his injury lay-off.

Whether he will feature in the upcoming Division 2 final against Down remains to be seen, but Armagh will certainly provide unbeaten Down with a stern test. They will also have revenge on their minds after last month's 1-13 to 1-6 defeat in Newry.