- Written by Matt Gault
- BBC Sport NI at Brewster Park
image source, Getty Images
Armagh comfortably defeated Fermanagh in a one-sided quarter-final at Brewster Park, setting up a rematch with Down in the Ulster Football Championship semi-final.
Oisin Smith's shot was blocked by Aaron McKay on the line, denying Fermanagh an early scoring chance.
Armagh found goals through Conor Turbitt, Jarry Og Barnes and Stephen Campbell to lead from 3-4 to 0-2 at half-time.
In a subdued second half, Armagh kept Fermanagh at arm's length and ran out 11-point winners to advance.
Armagh have yet to win an Ulster title since 2008, but went into this quarter-final having missed out on a silver medal after underperforming against Donegal in the Division Two final.
They also traveled to Brewster Park knowing their last Championship visit to Fermanagh in 2018 ended in a very disappointing defeat.
But Orchard, perhaps carrying a chip on their shoulder, ensured they endured no such headache here, shaking off Ernemen with three first-half goals and effectively ending the match well before the interval. .
Down will undoubtedly pose a tougher challenge in the semi-finals, but given Armagh's relentless demonstration of firepower in Enniskillen, they will be highly favored to reach the state finals for the second year in a row.
Armor blows away Ernemen in the first half.
Of course, it could have been a different story. After early Armagh goals from Andrew Murnin and Ryan O'Neill, Fermanagh missed out on a golden opportunity to score the first goal as Ultan Kelm got past O'Neill and Conor Turbitt on the left and found Oisin Smith. did.
Spinning past Blaine Hughes, Smith looked destined to be given the green light only after a superb goal-line block from Aaron McKay.
Moments later, Kelm was given a black card for bringing down a crumbling Marnin, while Armagh played inside with Rory Grugan past several Ern defenders and Turbit calmly slotted home past Ross Borg. When they decided, they took advantage of their numerical advantage.
Armagh's goal followed two minutes later. After a deliberate run forward by Jarry Og Burns, Borg made a good save from Murnin's goalbound shot, but in the 19th minute the ball fell into the hands of Burns, who simply smashed it into the empty net. I was working.
Armagh continued to push forward in numbers while Shaun Cassidy's free came on for Fermanagh, with Burns opting to shoot the ball over the bar in front of goal.
Stephen Campbell then used the finesse of a favorite to slot the ball into the Borg net, keeping the visitors out of sight.
