By Shaun Casey

FOR the thousands of Armagh fans seated around Croke Park, taking in the crisp September air, the emotion of compete devastation filled their thoughts. They came so close to toppling Gaelic football’s aristocrats Kerry in 2000 but failed to do so.

Level after normal time, level after extra-time, level after 70 minutes of a replay, finally it was the second extra-time that decided things. After almost 200 minutes of championship action, it was the Kingdom who progressed to the All-Ireland final.

Of course, two years later Armagh would smash through that glass ceiling and win Sam, beating Kerry in the championship for the first time ever in the process. Two years earlier though it seemed as far away as ever, this coming team just coming up short again.

“We knew that we were there or thereabouts, we just had to play well on the day,” recalls John McEntee 25 years on.

“Kerry were really good, they were really sharp inside, and they had huge bursts of energy with the likes of Tomás Ó Sé running up and down the wing.

“Aodhán Mac Gearailt as well, they had a lot of young players mixed in with their seasoned footballers and it felt like they needed to win in 2000 for their credibility, as much as we needed to win as well.

“I think they put a big onus on winning that 2000 campaign. There was a big focus on Kerry that they needed to get back to winning ways and win an All-Ireland and it felt like it was a must win for Kerry and they performed really well.

“Was there pressure? I can’t say there was. When you’re playing Kerry, it’s one of those games that you play football for. You’re playing against one of the greatest counties in Ireland and there’s an extra bit of pressure but it’s an extra bit of excitement and tension.

“When you’re playing Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final, you know it’s the big time, so you want to play well. It’s what you’ve grown up to do. You’ve watched them all your life and then suddenly you’re playing against them, so you want to play them.”

Éamonn Fitzmaurice was centre half-back for Páidí Ó Sé’s team and was one of those young bucks trying to get his hands on a Celtic Cross. Looking back at those crunch contests, Fitzmaurice has found memories.

“They were played on really fine days and there was huge crowds in Croke Park and there was massive atmosphere. Armagh, as they always do, brought huge colour,” said the former Kerry player and manager.

“They were some of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played in to be honest because they were physical, and they were real football battles.

“While a few of the older lads had won the All-Ireland in ’97, there was a whole crop of us that came through in 2000 where it was our first year, kind of establishing ourselves on the team and it was an incredible experience.

“We actually drew the final (against Galway) and it went to a replay as well so we had two draws and replays that year, but it was brilliant, it was great, really enjoyable.”

Armagh had just won back-to-back Ulster titles after ending a 17-year wait for the Anglo Celt in 1999 but started on the back foot immediately in their first championship tie with the Kingdom since 1982.

Dara Ó Cinnéide slotted home a penalty inside the first few minutes and suddenly Armagh were 1-3 to no score down. But they showed the battling qualities they’d become renowned for and went in at half time two points up.

“They got a penalty early on and Mike Frank Russell, he was a phenomenal inside forward and the first ball in, he just literally turned Enda McNulty and kicked it over the bar and that set the tone,” added McEntee.

“We knew they would start well, and our intention was to mitigate the damage. It was difficult, particularly that penalty because even in hindsight, it was probably a soft enough penalty.

“We responded and Paddy McKeever got our first point, and he was on fire in that first half. He was marking Tomás Ó Sé and Paddy was an incredibly strong runner, and he got on a number of balls, he kicked the first score with the outside of his left boot.

“He set up the goal as well, he fisted it across the goal and ‘Bumpy’ (Barry) O’Hagan got it and stuck it in the back of the net so that got us back into the game and it was tit for tat for long parts after that.”

Kieran McGeeney looked to have secured a famous win for the Orchard County, but there was a twist in the tale.

“The first day we started very well and then Armagh took over for a spell and it see-sawed, but we equalised,” Fitzmaurice reflected.

“We got a free right at the end where Denis O’Dwyer, as he kicked it someone challenged him and there was a free from where the ball landed. Maurice Fitzgerald was coming in as a sub that year and he took the responsibility to kick it over the bar.”

Maurice Fitz. One of the greats. One of the players who everyone loved to watch, unless he was playing against your own county of course. He came off the bench and bagged 1-1 that day, which guaranteed his side a replay.

“Maurice Fitz, it was possibly, in my memory, it was the best goal that I had ever seen,” said McEntee. “He literally cut in from the sideline, got a one-two and shot from about 20 metres and stuck it into the bottom corner of the net.

“It was an outrageous goal, and it was probably the signature move of Maurice Fitz. Maurice was arguably one of the best footballers of all time and certainly an iconic figure in Kerry, even when they suffered barren years, he was still a key forward for them.

“He didn’t win as much as the great Kerry team before him but even so, he showed how good he was, and he came on that day and his goal was just phenomenal.”

A large part of Armagh’s success was down to the strength and power of wing forward Cathal O’Rourke. The two Brians, McAlinden and Canavan, had a clear job for the Dromintee man. He was to disrupt Kerry’s midfield and block Darragh Ó Sé’s runs on kickouts.

It worked the first day, and for a while in the replay, but Kerry soon caught wind of the tactic and went about derailing it.

“Cathal O’Rourke was outstanding,” McEntee explained. “He was coming in and helping out around the middle and stopping Darragh Ó Sé jumping up and catching ball.

“He was disrupting Darragh’s play but the second game, Cathal got nailed the first couple of balls he came in for, they were wise to him blocking the run of Darragh and he got cleaned out of it.

“That was part of the reason why they got on top of us the second day, we lost the influence of Cathal but Cathal the first day, he kicked a couple of crucial frees, particularly early on in the first half and that kept us in touch.”

Having once again led at half time in the replay, with McEntee putting them five clear at the start of the second period, Armagh hit a wall. A rejuvenated Kerry, now in control around the middle, held the Ulster champions scoreless for 18 second-half minutes.

Armagh fought back once more, leading to another period of extra-time.

“I think we were six points down, we were well out of it at some point in that game, we just couldn’t get the ball in our hands,” added McEntee.

“Eventually, in a ten-minute spell, we kicked four or five points and that got us back into the game. We had a couple of chances near the end, and we didn’t take them. Back then, there was a wee bit more chaos, it was a bit more frantic.

“I think nowadays, there’s a lot more control in how teams see out their games. I think we were as good as Kerry, but they just had that wee bit extra special one or two players that got them across the line.”

Extra-time again, and Kerry produced the goods this time around.

“In extra-time, we felt strong, and we got the job done but it was an incredible experience for our team because we were a young team at that stage,” Fitzmaurice reflected.

There are obvious parallels between then and now. Twenty five years on, Kerry are back in need of an All-Ireland title, but this time around, it’s Armagh who have the Sam Maguire in their grasp and they’ll not give it up without a fight.

“This great Kerry team at the minute it’s similar to 2000,” McEntee continued. “It’s slightly different now because Armagh are the All-Ireland champions and are probably favourites this weekend, but they’ll want to play well to show the pressure hasn’t got to them.

“Kerry will be coming up with a bit less pressure from the outside but within the county, there’ll be huge pressure on them to beat Armagh. This will be a huge game for Kerry, in many ways, it’s the same pressure on Kerry that there was in 2000.

“The only difference is the team they’re playing. Armagh were up and coming in 2000 whereas now, Armagh are the main team in the country.”