Galway edge Armagh by the minimum of margins

Armagh 0-20 Galway 3-12

A last minute score from man of the match Rob Finnerty saw Galway earn the two-points on offer at the Box-It Athletic Grounds, shading what was a frantic encounter by the minimum of margins.

An Oisin O’Neill free looked to have snatched a share of the spoils for Kieran McGeeney’s men, but there was one twist left in the tale, with Finnerty bringing his overall tally to 1-6 with the final kick of the game.

Galway’s first goal came through Kieran Molloy but the game turned on it’s head during a earlier Finnerty free. Armagh were punished for a breech when Joe McElroy momentarily stepped over the line to inform the Armagh management of an injury, and the referee brought it forward for a two-point free.

Finnerty’s effort dropped short and ended up in the net, cutting Armagh’s four-point lead to one, before Finnerty and Cillian McDaid raised further white flags to give Galway a 2-5 to 0-10 half time lead.

It was nip and tuck in the second period and just when Armagh looked to have pulled away, Galway hit back with a third goal of the night, with Matthew Tierney rattling the net this time around.

O’Neill and Finnerty traded scores in the final few minutes and it was Padraic Joyce’s men, in a repeat of the 2024 All-Ireland final, who left the Cathedral City the happier of the two teams.

Armagh: Blaine Hughes, Joe McElroy, Gareth Murphy, Peter McGrane, Ross McQuillan 0-3, Tiernan Kelly 0-1, Jarly Og Burns 0-3, Callum O’Neill, Andrew Murnin, Fergal O’Brien 0-1, Conor Turbitt 0-1, Greg McCabe, Cian McConville 0-2 (1f), Oisin O’Neill 0-4 (1f, 1tpf), Oisin Conaty 0-2. Subs: Tomas McCormack for J. McElroy, Jason Duffy 0-1 for C. Turbitt, Ethan Rafferty for F. O’Brien.

Galway: Connor Gleeson, Johnny McGrath, Sean Fitzgerald, Jack Glynn, Finnian O Laoi 0-1, Dylan McHugh, Kieran Molloy 1-0, Sean Kelly, Mattius Barrett, Liam Silke, Ciaran Mulhearn, Daniel O’Flaherty, Fionn McDonagh 0-1, Rob Finnerty 1-6 (1-2f), Oisin McDonagh. Subs: Matthew Tierney 1-0 for K. Molloy, Cillian McDaid 0-1 for D. O’Flaherty, Shay McGlinchey 0-1 for M. Barrett, Shane Walsh for C. Mulhearn, Brian Cogger for F. O Laoi, Shane McGrath for F. McDonagh.