Tyrone 2-21 Armagh 1-14
Armagh suffered their first defeat of the 2022 season when they travelled to Carrickmore to face Tyrone on Sunday.
The game was nip and tuck early on, but a goal just before half time but the Red Hands in control.
The Orchard fought back bravely and hit the net in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to rescue something from the game.
This round three tie had all the potential to be Armagh’s toughest test so far this season, following wins over Louth and Monaghan. And so it proved.
Dean Gaffney (2), Ryan Gaffney and Odhran Curry matched points from the hosts early on as the teams were tied 0-4 each after 18 minutes.
The younger of the two Gaffney brothers, Dean, fired over a free and put his team ahead for the second time.
Tyrone soon shot back to lead by two, but an Eoin McGuinness effort cut the deficit to the minimum.
McGuinness, who has been in fine goal-scoring form, rattled the crossbar and had to settle for a point.
Two points from Tyrone were followed by a three-pointer and the hosts headed into the interval leading 1-10 to 0-7.
Fionntan Donnelly exchanged scores with Damian Casey before Jim Short raised a green flag to keep his side in contention.
McGuinness reduced the gap to three, but two Casey frees allowed Tyrone to push further ahead.
Short continued his scoring spree with a brace, but the Tyrone sharpshooter Casey kept the Orchard side at arm’s length.
Donnelly added two from the dead ball, but a goal from CJ McGourty put the result beyond doubt.
Donnelly added his fourth, but it was a consolation point by that stage as Tyrone had the points wrapped up.
Armagh have a chance to get their season back on track immediately as they host Roscommon in round four this weekend.
