Fermanagh...0-12 Armagh...0-11: Death and taxes. It's true; there are few certainties in life. This year's championship had been motoring along nicely until Saturday's quarter-finals turned everything on its head. Armagh were priming themselves for a second All-Ireland in three years and a place among the football gods.
Fermanagh slammed the gates of Olympus shut. What's astonishing is this was no fluke. Okay, we had ignored the possibilities it had been coming. They pushed Tyrone hard in Ulster while Meath, Cork and Donegal were all felled in the qualifiers. Enda McNulty's dismissal before half-time is not a legitimate excuse. Fourteen-man Armagh had their chances to win and they didn't take them.
After so many years of refusal, Fermanagh have forced their way into the VIP room. They have never won a provincial title and this was only their second victory in Croke Park, but this morning they can begin planning for the greatest prize of all. And still, manager Charlie Mulgrew will refuse to look past Mayo.
'One game at a time' has been the Donegal man's mantra since taking the reins, in January, of this supposedly rag-tag outfit who were hindered by the defection of so many senior players last year. The irony here is although the relative unknowns starred it was the biggest Fermanagh name of all that delivered the killer blow in the final scene.
After 23 minutes, Mulgrew upped the stakes by introducing Tom Brewster, a player who only returned from Australia last May. It adds to the romance that Fermanagh's greatest day was sealed by the son of Michael Brewster.
Brewster initially threatened to be the villain of the piece by kicking two wides late on, before finishing off a flowing move in the fourth minute of added time. It was only at this moment the 56,310 in attendance realised a truly surprising outcome was unfolding.
Armagh had 30 seconds to find a score, something the Fermanagh defence - ably led by their captain Shane McDermott - had not allowed them to do for the previous 14 minutes. They couldn't even get out of their own half and when referee John Bannon's whistle blew, the outpouring of emotion from the 10,000 Fermanagh folk in attendance was as fervent as the stadium has witnessed.
The dark memories of the Athletic Grounds in 1993 when Fermanagh threw away a nine-point lead in the final minutes against Armagh or the hammering at the hands of Tyrone last year were laid to rest. Those who felt they were better served by leaving Fermanagh in recent years actually did their county a favour, although not many will be calling them with regards. There are new idols.
However, the day that changed everything stayed close initially to the pre-match script. Within six minutes Steven McDonnell had added three points to Diarmuid Marsden's opener. The fear was that Fermanagh would be overwhelmed.
McDonnell was on fire; he had five points by the interval and two of his eventual seven-point total were a sight to behold, but there were a couple of signs Fermanagh were here for more than just sightseeing.
One individual battle caught the eye. Stephen Maguire was in at full forward on Francie Bellew and he drew a few early fouls from the Crossmaglen man. He kicked three of these in succession before a James Sherry effort and a 45 from Colm Bradley levelled it.
Like a great conductor, Mulgrew immediately threw Brewster into the mix. Maguire tacked on two more points to leave them leading by two at half-time.
In contrast, Armagh couldn't find a break during this period. Marsden palmed the ball off the underside of the crossbar after a Ronan Clarke tap-down. Then came a high elbow from McNulty to the face of Martin McGrath, which required prolonged treatment. Bannon had little option but to send McNulty off.
And still, the Armagh blitz seemed imminent. Joe Kernan introduced Andrew McCann and within five minutes of the restart Paddy McKeever and McDonnell pulled them level. Then their leader, Kieran McGeeney, sauntered forward for a rare point.
Brewster equalised but Armagh were beginning to get most of Bannon's 50-50 calls. McDonnell kicked a free, only to slip off the radar thereafter as he got trapped on the wrong side of a green wall that stretched across the half-back line. Sherry's sweeping role stood out.
Fermanagh had more of the ball but it still looked like the same old story as nerves set in and the wide count soared into double figures. Eamonn Maguire squared it up once more with a brave shot but Kernan had one last ace up his sleeve. Oisín McConville came into the fray - he had been held back with a dodgy hamstring - and duly delivered a score. But with seven minutes to go Brewster recovered from the yips to tie it up for the fifth time.
This seemed like Armagh territory. They have been in these kind of scrambles countless times but no orange shirt stepped up this time. Brian Mallon had a chance and was wide. Tony McEntee gave possession back to Fermanagh twice in quick succession. Costly errors, and as the prospect of another draw loomed Brewster kicked his glory point from the left flank. Cue the pitch invasion.
FERMANAGH: 1 N Tinney; 2 N Bogue, 3 B Owens, 4 R McCluskey; 5 R Johnston, 6 S McDermott (capt), 20 P Sherry; 8 M McGrath, 9 L McBarron; 10 E Maguire (0-1), J Sherry (0-1), 15 C Bradley (0-2, one 45); 13 C O'Reilly, 11 S Maguire (0-5, four frees), 12 M Little. Subs: 28 T Brewster (0-3, one free) for O'Reilly (24 mins), 29 H Brady for M McGrath (37 mins-half-time, temp), H Brady for McBarron (42-44 mins, temp), 24 D McGrath for J Sherry (58 mins).
ARMAGH: 1 P Hearty; 2 E McNulty, 3 F Bellew, 4 A Mallon; 5 K Hughes, 6 K McGeeney (0-1), capt, 7 A O'Rourke; 8 P Loughran, 9 P McGrane; 10 P McKeever (0-1, free), 11 T McEntee, 29 J Toal; 13 S McDonnell (0-7, three frees), 14 R Clarke, 15 D Marsden (0-1). Subs: 27 B Mallon for Toal (31 mins), 20 A McCann for B Mallon (half-time), 22 K McElvenna for O'Rourke (54 mins), 12 O McConville for McKeever (56 mins), B Mallon for Clarke (61 mins).
Referee: J Bannon (Longford).
