Orchard County too hot for Kingdom
A county who have endured more hard times than any other, have got their just rewards. And they did so in remarkable fashion. In one of the gutsiest second-half performances of the championship, Armagh out-fought, out-thought and out-played hot favourites Kerry, to pave the way for the last great All-Ireland pitch invasion.
Things were looking grim for the Orchard County in the first half. They lost John McEntee, one of their most influential players, to injury and in shades of the '53 final between the two teams, Oisin McConville missed a penalty.
Four points down at half-time, their manager Joe Kernan played his trump card. The man who planted the seeds for this success by transforming the Crossmaglen club, produced his loser's plaque from the 1977 final, the last time an Armagh team played in an All-Ireland final.
"Joe put it on the table and said, lads take a long, hard look at that, because you are not leaving here with one of those," Oisin McConville said afterwards.
It worked. Armagh emerged a different team in the second half, McConville redeeming himself with a goal that almost burst the seams of the Hill 16 net. For Kerry supporters, it was a dismal end to a summer that promised redemption. When Armagh asked hard questions of the Kingdom, they couldn't provide any answers. But, as Paidi O'Se said in the Armagh dressing-room, if they had to lose, he was glad it was to Armagh.
