Tyrone emerged victorious yet again against fierce rivals Armagh, this time by a score of 2-13 to 0-13 in their Round Three qualifier in Omagh on Saturday.
Mickey Harte’s men took hold of the game just before half-time thanks to a Joe McMahon goal and they never relinquished that grip, comfortably winning in the end.
But it was a different story in the early exchanges at a sunny Healy Park. Armagh began brightly and it looked like Tyrone would struggle to cope with Stevie McDonnell and Jamie Clarke.
Three times the wily McDonnell put the Orchard County ahead, while Peter Harte was keeping Tyrone in touch via dead balls. Still, they trailed approaching half-time before they hit a spurt of scoring, capped by Joe McMahon’s palm to an empty net after a mistake by Armagh keeper Paul Hearty.
It turned the game in the Red Hand’s favour and a quick point by Brian McGuigan saw them enter the dressing room leading 1-7 to 0-6, a scoreline that seemed barely believable just a few minutes before.
It certainly rocked Armagh and the never really recovered their composure. They slipped into serious trouble when Tommy McGuigan rattled the net to put seven between the sides after 47 minutes. Almost immediately, Paddy O’Rourke’s side were offered a lifeline when referee Martin Duffy awarded them a penalty for a foot block but the usually lethal McDonnell blazed over for a point.
From that point on, Tyrone were able to keep Armagh at bay. Mark Donnelly and Sean Cavanagh landed late scores to put an extra sheen on the score but Tyrone were worthy winners and they will now face Roscommon in the delayed Round Four qualifier next week.