"Down did it, Donegal did it, Derry did it. There is no reason whatsoever why Armagh can't do it." That was the confident message Armagh captain Jarlath Burns had for the county's jubilant supporters in his victory speech after the match.

In the chaotic Armagh dressing-room, Oisin McConville, the scorer of two goals, felt that the fact that Armagh had got a good start was what they needed to settle them. "We were very nervous, of course, at the start, but once we got a grip on the game, I couldn't see us losing and we grew in confidence as the game wore on.

" Insofar as the goals I scored were concerned, it was very constructive play out in the middle of the field which set up the chances and, of course, it's nice to score in situations like that. But I have to give all credit to the people who won the ball and used it so cunningly to the extent that all I had to do really was put it in the net."

Jimmy Smyth, the former Armagh captain and All Star centre forward from the 1977 team, was beaming with delight and anticipation. "We've been waiting a long time for this and I believe that we now have a team that's even stronger than the 1977 team and we can go the whole way regardless of the opposition," he said. Brian McAlinden, the goalkeeper in that 1977 team who is now joint manager of the Armagh side, was also glowing with pleasure. "That was a really great performance by our lads, but the fact is that we had to work extremely hard to get us this far.

"We had two tough games against Dublin in the play-off stages of the National League and I believe that that helped us to put the team together for the big challenge for the Ulster title.

"We have now achieved that aim and there's no doubt in my mind at all about our capability in the match or matches that lie ahead. We have a good strong young and very talented side and, quite honestly, I don't see anybody beating us within the near future," he said. His Down counterpart, Peter McGrath, was understandably despondent after what essentially was a poor performance by his side. "When you give away goals like we did, there is very little chance that you can win a match of this nature. We have no excuses, the conditions were good. The pitch was in brilliant condition, but we just didn't get our teamwork together in the way which would have left us with a chance."