Armagh see off Breffni Blues to book semi spot

Cavan 0-12 Armagh 1-14

Armagh booked their place in the semi-finals of the Ulster Championship with a convincing five-point win over Cavan.

A blistering first half display put the Orchard in pole position and Armagh saw the game out after the turnaround.

It took until the 37^th minute for Armagh to register their first wide, Cavan on the other hand hit 15 throughout the game.

In the end, Armagh’s accuracy up front told the tale on the scoreboard, but on the ground, it was their ferocious work rate.

Armagh constantly converted turnovers into scores and with Ben Crealey at centerfield, they controlled their own restarts.

Conor Turbitt started where he left off two weeks ago against Antrim, slotting over the first two scores of the game.

Ethan Rafferty followed with a pointed 45, but Cavan cut the deficit through Cian Madden and Oisin Brady.

Two more Turbitt points (frees) put Armagh three up while Andrew Murnin traded scores with Paddy Lynch.

Shane McPartlan, Rory Grugan (free) and Turbitt all split the posts while Lynch exchanged efforts with Jemar Hall.

Crealey goal

Armagh then rattled the net for the first time in the campaign, with Ciaran Mackin playing a huge role in the goal.

Mackin won possession in defence, bombed forward and fired the ball across the square for Ben Crealey to palm home for his first ever Armagh goal.

Cavan notched on two more points before the break, through Conor Brady and Cian Madden, to leave it 1-10 to 0-6 at the break.

Lynch (mark) and McKiernan kept Cavan in touch at the start of the second half, but Greg McCabe’s superb score helped settle Armagh.

Turbitt punished Cavan for a needless foul on Rafferty before striking his seventh of the day with a beautiful sidestep and score.

Conor O’Neill swapped scores with McKiernan while Lynch and McKiernan narrowed the gap to six.

Cavan almost rattled the net through Tiarnan Madden, but Rian O’Neill turned the ball the right side of the post and the hosts had to settle for a Galligan 45.

Cavan searched for a goal that would provide some hope but had no luck. It’s Down or Donegal next for Armagh in the last four.

Armagh: Ethan Rafferty 0-1 (1f), Conor O’Neill 0-1, Aaron McKay, Aidan Forker, Greg McCabe 0-1, Ciaran Mackin, Jarly Og Burns, Ben Crealey 1-0, Shane McPartlan 0-1, Stefan Campbell, Jemar Hall 0-1, Jason Duffy, Rory Grugan 0-1 (1f), Andrew Murnin 0-1, Conor Turbitt 0-7 (3f). Subs: Rian O’Neill for J. Hall, Aidan Nugent for A. Murnin, Stephen Sheridan for B. Crealey, Callum Cumiskey for J. Duffy, Ciaran Higgins for S. McPartlan.

Cavan: Raymond Galligan 0-1 (1f), Killian Clarke, Padraig Faulkner, Jason McLaughlin, Ciaran Brady, Oisin Kiernan, Gerard Smith, Gearoid McKiernan 0-3 (1f), James Smith, Conor Brady 0-1, Dara McVeety, Jonathan McCabe, Cian Madden 0-2, Paddy Lynch 0-4 (2m), Oisin Brady 0-1. Subs: Niall Carolan for J. McLaughlin, Tiarnan Madden for J. McCabe Conor Madden for O. Kiernan, Conor Moynagh for J. Smith, Brandon Boylan for C. Brady.