Armagh 3-8 Wicklow 3-28
Wicklow proved far too strong for Armagh in the third round of the Nickey Rackard Cup and stormed to a 20-point win.
Armagh put up as good a fight as they could, but the visiting side were superior all over the park.
The hosts made a brilliant start however, with Tomas Galvin and Fionntan Donnelly netting inside the opening quarter.
Wicklow soon took control however. By the half hour mark, they led by the minimum of margins, 2-3 to 0-10.
Donnelly ended Armagh’s dry spell but Wicklow were in no mood for slowing down. They fired off a quickfire 2-1 to storm seven points ahead.
Just before the break, Donnelly narrowed the gap, firing the ball to the top corner of the net with a free. That made the game 3-4 to 2-11 at half time.
The second half was all one-way traffic as the visiting side pulled away, holding Armagh to just three-points after the turnaround.
The first of those points came through captain Donnelly, who slotted over a free to cancel out a Mickey Boland effort.
But 1-5 on the bounce from Wicklow saw them gallop into a 12-point lead, before Eoin McGuinness grabbed his first after entering the fray.
Donnelly traded scores with Wicklow as the visiting side continued to pile the pressure on the Orchard defence.
They could have been further ahead but for a number of outstanding, point-blank saves from Fintan Woods.
A great save at the other end denied Armagh a fourth goal, with Cormac Jennings seeing his penalty effort turned away.
Wicklow were worthy winners and it’s on to the next game for Armagh, with Fermanagh up next in two weeks.
