Tyrone 0-18 Armagh 0-16
Armagh were relegated to Division Two this afternoon following their two-point defeat to arch rivals Tyrone.
Monaghan’s six-point win over Mayo saw them climb above Armagh in the table, sending them to the second tier.
It was a tight and tense encounter, with the sides level eleven times throughout the 70 minutes of action.
Conor Turbitt, a late addition to the starting line up for Rian O’Neill, was the star performer for the Orchard.
‘Turbo’ traded scores with Darren McCurry and Peter Harte while Jemar Hall did likewise with McCurry, who popped over a close range free.
Callum Cumiskey set up Turbitt for his third and played the provider role once again for the next score, playing in Niall Grimley for a pointed mark.
A powerful Conn Fitzpatrick score and a second from Harte, levelled the game. McCurry edged Tyrone ahead for the first time, but Ciaran Mackin fed Turbitt for the equaliser.
Darragh Canavan split the posts, as Aidan Forker drove over a super score, with Ethan Rafferty getting the assist.
Rafferty was called into action at the other end, superbly saving from Canavan’s low shot, as Tyrone turned Armagh over in their own defence.
The hosts held the lead at the break, with Canavan and McCurry combining. That left the score 0-8 to 0-7 at the halfway stage.
The older Tyrone heads got the ball rolling at the start of the second period. Ronan McNamee and Mattie Donnelly stretched their lead to three.
Stefan Campbell replied for Armagh, slicing through the Tyrone rear-guard to split the posts. Turbitt then tapped over an easy free to reduce the margin to one.
Second half
Forker traded scores with Harte while Campbell struck the equaliser following good work by Rory Grugan.
It was point for point, with Grugan, Cumiskey and Campbell seeing their scores matched by McCurry, Michael McGleenan, Padraig Hampsey.
Two in a row from McCurry and Conn Fitzpatrick gave Tyrone the advantage, but Armagh narrowed the gap through Campbell.
McCurry and McNamee tagged on scores, while Justin Kieran hit the final score of the game. It wasn’t enough to save Armagh however, and they’ll be playing Division Two football in 2024.
