A free-for-all and four sent off

The covers were unceremoniously hauled off the uglier, darker side of Gaelic football's tribalism at Davitt Park, Lurgan, yesterday. In a match on a gloomy afternoon, and on a quagmire of a pitch, there was enough electric undercurrent to fuel the national grid.

Donegal won, deservedly perhaps, but the result - with as weird a scoreline as you'd see anywhere - was almost coincidental. Four men, two from each side, were sent off for their respective roles in three different incidents; there were a couple of donnybrooks to quench the bloodthirsts of the more insane in the 6,000 crowd; and, saddest of all, there was the sight of a player, Armagh full back Colm Hanratty, being carried off on a stretcher after receiving a broken leg.

Donegal's Shane Bradley and Martin Coll were dismissed, while Armagh pair Cathal O'Rourke and Kieran McGeeney received similar penalties in a torrid game that had 49 frees - 31 of them awarded to Donegal.

And, giving an indication of Donegal's superiority in the game itself, they had 11 wides to just two from Armagh. However, Donegal didn't secure victory until seven minutes into injury time when Brian McLaughlin, barely five seconds on the pitch, kicked their fourth successive point to turn a two-point deficit with eight minutes (of normal time) remaining into a two-point winning margin.

An hour before the throw-in, an almighty cloudburst left the pitch like a sponge. Impromptu repair work on the flooded goalmouths left those areas like wallpaper paste dumping sites, but, for the most part, it seemed the worse consequence would be to hamper the goalkeepers, as demonstrated by Paul O'Callaghan's futile attempt to leap from the glue-like substance for Armagh's first goal.

Sadly, such was not the case. The state of the pitch contributed to more serious matters - but, also, there was an intensity to the game that seemed at odds with its November timing. Donegal manager Declan Bonner later described it, rather aptly, as "a championship match played on a quagmire in winter."

The outcome was that the sheer pace of the game in the conditions led to some reckless tackles, and it seemed inevitable that someone would get seriously injured. Unfortunately, it happened in the 35th minute when Bradley and Hanratty, running full pelt from opposite directions, clipped each other. The sickening, stomach-churning sound of a leg break is perhaps the most unwanted one in sport and it reverberated around the ground.

Play was halted for six minutes to facilitate Hanratty's sad departure on a stretcher, and, although there didn't seem any intent, referee Bannon decided Bradley had to go for the incident.

While both teams were drawn into huddles as supposed calming measures, the tension was no longer under the surface but now very much out in the open.

Play didn't resume until there were 41 minutes on the watch and barely two minutes later up to 18 players were crammed into the net at the clubhouse end in a scene that, on another day, would have been somewhat comical.

Brian Duffy, manfully, had just scrambled in Armagh's second goal (to level matters on the scoreboard) when all hell broke loose, some players racing 50 yards to join the ugly melee in the netting. When a semblance of order resumed, Coll and O'Rourke were both given their marching orders. Two or three others could have joined them.

None of this madness had been particularly evident in the first half. The football was hard and tough, but not especially reckless or badblooded. Indeed, playing with the wind, Donegal dominated for most parts but struggled to score. When Diarmaid Marsden shot from 30 yards in the 15th minute, his effort found the top corner out of the vain clutches of O'Callaghan. That gave Armagh a 1-1 to 0-2 lead, against the run of play, but Donegal dug in and scored five unanswered points to leave them three points ahead at the break.

The only incidents of note before Hanratty's injury centred around Armagh goalkeeper Brendan Tierney. He pulled off a fine fingertip save to deny Adrian Sweeney in the 33rd minute and, a couple of minutes later, made a superb stop to deprive Brendan Devenny of a certain goal.

However, Barry Duffy's goal - which led to the major melee in the netting - enabled Armagh to draw level. Then, after John Duffy kicked Donegal back into a one-point lead (at a time when Brian Murray was introduced as a substitute but the man he was replacing, Sweeney, hadn't left the pitch - he did so some seconds later) Armagh counterpunched with a super Marsden finish for their third goal and only their fourth score. It left them 3-1 to 0-8 ahead. But Donegal kept their heads much the better and, even with the numerical inferiority, took the game to Armagh.

Tony Boyle was magnificent and Murray's introduction added strength. Boyle pointed a free and then Jim McGuinness, who'd worked hard throughout, especially in his efforts to negate Jarlath Burns's superb contribution at midfield for Armagh, kicked the equalising point in the 56th minute.

With the match evenly poised, Armagh were also reduced to 13 men in the 56th minute when McGeeney was dismissed for an incident with Damien Diver.

And the retrieval work and attacking instincts of Diver and his fellow half back Mark Crossan reaped dividends in the lung-bursting final few minutes. Their moves forward resulted in points by Boyle (from a free) and McLaughlin. Eventually, seven minutes and 46 seconds into added time, referee Bannon blew the whistle for the last time to give Donegal victory. It leaves them sharing top place in Section B with Meath, and inflicted on Armagh their first defeat of the campaign. However, yesterday's harvest is probably the hardest two points Donegal can expect to win in the league.