Armagh look to continue their Lazarus-like recovery

For all the Biblical references to Lazarus rising from the dead there is no actual record of him dying for the second time. Which is a good thing, because it helps keeps alive all those sporting references, the latest of which comes with Armagh’s revival through the football qualifiers.

After losing their Ulster quarter-final to Fermanagh, 0-12 to 0-7, and after which many were already writing their obituary for the season, Armagh came back to life with qualifier wins over Westmeath and Sligo before producing one of those Lazarus-like recoveries against Clare last Saturday evening.

Trailing Clare 1-15 to 1-12, with only a minute of normal time remaining, Armagh still found time to score 1-4 without response, thus setting up this Saturday’s fourth-round tie against Roscommon in Portlaoise.

In being drawn against the beaten Connacht football finalists, Armagh also have some history on their side: last year, just one of the four beaten provincial finalists (Galway) managed to win their fourth-round qualifier; the other three (Kildare, Cork and Down) all lost. The year before, 2016, just two out of the four beaten finalists won at the same round-four stage.

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Armagh also boast one of the best qualifier records since the so-called back door was first introduced in 2001. Of their 31 qualifier games played in the years since, including this year, they’ve won 22 and lost nine.

Their re-emergence has come despite the exodus of once central players such as Jamie Clarke, Stephan Campbell and James Morgan: “I thought that this performance was in the players,” manager Kieran McGeeney said after the comeback against Clare last Saturday.

“Clare were the best team we have played all year, there is no doubt about that and we found it very difficult in the first half, but I suppose you could say that we contributed to our own problems by shooting so many wides. The fact that we came back so well says much for the team. I have been saying for some time that they are a young side but they are now maturing.”

Whoever wins will be joining Donegal and Dublin in Group B of the Super 8s, along with the winners of Tyrone and Cork, who play at 5.0pm at the same venue.

They last meet in the 2014 championship, when Armagh won a round-three qualifier tie in Dr Hyde Park, 1-17 to 1-12, while Roscommon beat them in a round-one qualifier back in 2012; further back they met in the 1980 All-Ireland semi-final (which Roscommon won), and the 1977 semi-final (which Armagh won). RTÉ will have broadcasting the game live on RTÉ News Now from 2.45pm. Throw-in is at 3.00pm.