Four goals from four different goal scorers were the difference last Sunday as Armagh booked their place in the Ulster final.
Their 4-10 to 0-12 win over neighbours Down ended a 15-year wait for a final appearance, and the goals made all the difference.
Shane McPartlan and Ciaran Mackin claimed their first ever championship goals, while Andrew Murnin and Rian O’Neill also hit the net.
Down’s full back line struggled with long balls into their defensive square. But Rory Grugan says that wasn’t something that Armagh targeted beforehand.
Both Murnin’s and Mackin’s majors came from shots by McPartlan and O’Neill dropping short. Murnin and Mackin were in the right place to punch the ball to the net.
“Obviously, goals are always big scores in games, but it wasn’t as if it was a tactical ploy or anything,” said Grugan.
“Two of the goals came from shots that dropped short and it was just good forward play to follow them in and get the touch to knock it into the net.
“Those goals gave us a stretch of a lead and allowed us to play the game on our terms in the second half.
“We would have been disappointed not to have scored more goals in the league,” added the Ballymacnab playmaker.
“But I think that anyone watching the games would have seen that we left a lot of chances behind, and it was a case of a lack of execution.
“Today, we had a bit of good fortune, and then the last goal was really good forward play from Rian to get inside and apply the finish.
“Some days the goals come for you, some days they don’t. But as I said, it allowed us to stretch out the lead and see the game out.”
