Derry 1-7 Armagh 1-10
Armagh became the first team to beat Derry in the championship at Celtic Park in 16 years when they dispatched the struggling county by 1-10 to 1-7.
Armagh nearly got off to a dream start inside the first minute when Brian Mallon found himself with just Derry goalkeeper Barry Gillis to beat. Gillis proved up to the challenge however, making the save after rushing off his line.
The two teams looked to be closely matched for much of the first half, and the game was tied on four occasions.
However, the first big moment of the match came when Paddy Bradley managed to get onto the end of a Doherty pass on 30 minutes. The former All-star punched into the net past Paul Hearty in the Derry goal.
A flurry of points from Derry in the latter stages of the first half meant the teams went in at half time deadlocked at 1-5 to 0-8.
Derry were poor in the second half and registered just two points during the entire period.
They could have turned the game around with five minutes to play when they were given a penalty. Finian Moriarity slammed into Paddy Bradley with what looked like a high elbow. However, Gerard O’Kane’s strike was saved by Paul Hearty who appeared to have come off his line.
Armagh go on to face Monaghan in the quarter-final. Derry meanwhile will be forced to head into the qualifiers if they want to progress.
