Ulster SFC Quarter-final/ Armagh 0-10 Monaghan 0-10: Clones served up its traditional Sunday lunch yesterday of teeming rain, sizzling burger stands, grimly absorbing football and the near felling of a giant. The first draw of the Ulster championship came courtesy of a remarkable free from Paul Finlay, who delivered a beautiful left-footed reprieve in the 71st minute.
Merseyside has Steven Gerrard, Monaghan have the Ballybay prodigy, who once again stood up when it counted. That point was Monaghan's third on the trot and as the crowd of 23,731 tried to guess which way the game might break, it was the outsiders who could have stolen it at the close. The Ulster Council have fixed the replay for 3.30pm on Saturday, rugby match in Cardiff bedamned.
Those who believe Armagh's demise has already begun could use this match as evidence. It was far from the glinting combination of speed, toughness and precision kicking that have made them such a remarkable force in Ulster for 10 years. But then, it did not need to be.
This was always going to be a slow-burning summer for Armagh, but even manager Joe Kernan might have been slightly concerned by how gently they simmered in the first half, landing just one point in the first 28 minutes of their championship.
The day began with 11th-hour alterations, Tony McEntee drafted in for Aidan O'Rourke.
"We'll have to get Aidan a new mattress," a soaked Kernan mused when the game was over. "He didn't sleep well and woke up with a sore back. I thought Tony did well in there."
The long-serving McEntee twin was solid, as were all the Armagh veterans. The encouraging display from wing back Paul Duffy and the forceful Malachy Mackin were other bright spots. Oisín McConville's lethal touch has not left him, Steven McDonnell oozes class and menace and Kieran McGeeney directed traffic with authority from centrefield.
But the machine simply is not working at full capacity right now.
The most alarming aspect from Armagh's perspective was that when McGeeney put them 0-9 to 0-5 up after 63 minutes, they did not close the match out. Perhaps the haunting memories of the closing phase of last year's All-Ireland semi-final disappearance came flooding back as Monaghan went for broke. For a team that has shown itself absolutely masterful at closing games down, this was another hair-raising experience.
"We never thought we lost it," claimed Séamus McAnaney later on.
"We talked about how tough this Armagh team would be to beat and we knew it would go down to the last 10 minutes."
A fine point by Stephen Gollogly on 60 minutes initiated the fightback and Monaghan sensed something was on when Dick Clerkin thumped another just two minutes later.
McConville, playing with all the cunning of old, settled Armagh with a score we have seen 100 times: the long, raking ball from Paddy McKeever, McDonnell racing out to collect and flashing the pass, McConville clipping the score.
The smart money at that point was on Armagh to tap over a few more. Instead, they endured a perilous five minutes. Monaghan's rangy substitute Hugh McElroy made a terrific contribution by hitting a right-footed free with his very first touch. Their tails up, Monaghan came again, the nimble Gollogly skipping through three defenders to score before Finlay saved his county by pointing from the place where McGeeney had fouled corner back Gary McQuaid.
Monaghan had one more good possession, Gollogly opting to turn back in-field rather than have a pop with his left foot, and Eoin Lennon undercooking what should have been a killer pass to an unmarked team-mate.
They may well live to regret that apprehensive finish as Armagh have a habit of punishing teams in replays.
Overall though, it was an encouraging day for Monaghan after a bruising league campaign. They never lost heart, battling on through a particularly tough phase when they failed to score from play for a whopping 42 minutes. Indeed, the only thing their supporters had to cheer about in that period was a solitary Finlay free. That Armagh were not out of sight was the only consolation.
The question for Armagh is why they were not out of sight. The main reason was that they struggled to get on the ball. Paul McGrane found the physical Eoin Lennon tough to shake off, and Gollogly and big Dick Clerkin did damage around the middle.
As Joe Kernan noted, Armagh were outdone on first-half breaking ball by 17-4, a statistic he vowed to amend.
The Monaghan full-back line did well. Damien Freeman and Dermot McArdle dropped back to help cope with the rapacious speed of McDonnell and James Coyle was able to neutralise Ronan Clarke, though the Armagh target man has played very little ball this year. But with Paddy McKeever out foraging for ball and Brian Mallon unable to leave an imprint on attack, it was fortunate for Armagh that McConville had his championship face on.
Monaghan will come here with nothing to fear but the likely outcome is that the Armagh County Board will write a cheque for 30 new mattresses and Armagh will return to the old town well rested and in the mood.
ARMAGH: C McKinney: A Mallon, T McEntee, E McNulty; A Kernan, C McKeever, P Duffy; K McGeeney (0-1), P McGrane; P McKeever, B Mallon, M Mackin (0-1); S McDonnell (0-2), R Clarke (0-1), O McConville (0-5). Subs: JP Donnelly for P Duffy (63 mins, inj), J McEntee for M Mackin (66 mins),
MONAGHAN: S Duffy; G McQuaid, J Coyle, C Flanagan; D Freeman (0-1), V Corey, D McArdle; E Lennon, P Finlay (0-2 frees); J McElroy, S Gollogly (0-2), D Clerkin (0-1); T Freeman (0-1), R Ronaghan, R Woods (0-2, 1 free). Subs: P McGuigan for J McElroy (39 mins), H McElroy (0-1 free) for R Woods (65 mins).
Referee: P Fox (Westmeath).
