Crossmaglen Rangers 0-15 Garrycastle 1-12:A COMPELLING hour of football left two proud outfits, who clearly have a flair for the dramatic, with plenty to ponder. For 40 minutes Garrycastle had Crossmaglen Rangers in deep bother, but bizarrely it was the midlanders who were relieved to survive when the final whistle sounded.

This was another occasion when Cross were surprisingly slow to get going, but when the Armagh boys clicked late on they carved sufficient opportunities to retain the All-Ireland title.

Paddy Mulvihill’s 21st-minute goal and the enduring excellence of Dessie Dolan ensured Garrycastle departed with a 1-8 to 0-7 interval advantage.

Then in the third quarter Garrycastle’s Tom McHugh and Crossmaglen’s Paul Kernan were both red-carded for picking up second bookings. Five Cross points on the spin eventually brought them level, but Dessie Dolan and Mulvihill subsequently clipped scores against the run of play.

The Cross response was immediate as Oisín McConville, still a classy contributor, and David McKenna restored parity. Then a flurry of chances were fluffed and joint manager Tony McEntee felt his side should have won.

Garrycastle’s mixture of spirit and skill brought them plenty of joy initially. Dessie Dolan gave a tutorial in the art of corner-forward play in the opening period and when Mulvihill stroked a goal Garrycastle’s gritty approach was being rewarded on the scoreboard too.

Garrycastle were plucky from the outset, hard-working wing forward Paul Dillon was lucky to stay on the field following a seventh-minute collision with Brendan McKeown.

By the 43rd minute, with McHugh and Paul Kernan dismissed by referee Rory Hickey, Garrycastle led by 1-10 to 0-8.

But five Cross points changed the complexion entirely as the Kernans, Aaron and Tony, and McConville with three in a row left the aristocrats trading at parity.

Garrycastle made a burst, Cross duly answered, and another date will be required. Garrycastle manager Anthony Cunningham said: “the team that focuses more and learns more between the drawn match and the replay is usually the team that wins.” The studying has already commenced.

CROSSMAGLEN RANGERS: P Hearty; J Morgan, P Kernan, P McKeown; A Kernan (0-2), D O’Callaghan, B McKeown; J Hanratty, D McKenna (0-1); M McNamee (0-1), A Cunningham, T Kernan (0-2); J Clarke (0-3), K Brennan, O McConville (0-6, five frees). Subs: S Finnegan for McKeown (25 mins), K Carragher for Brennan (29 mins), M Aherne for McNamee (51 mins), F Hanratty for Carragher (55 mins).

GARRYCASTLE: C Mullin; E Mulvihill, J Gaffey, M McCallon; K Henson, D Harte, T McHugh; S O’Donoghue, D O’Shaughnessy; P Dillon (0-1, f), P Mulvihill (1-1), G Dolan; J Duignan (0-1), J Dolan (0-2), D Dolan (0-6, five frees). Subs: A Browne (0-1) for O’Donoghue (27-29 mins, blood), R McGowan for Duignan (44 mins), A Browne for G Dolan (46 mins), A Fox for Henson (49 mins), A Daly for Dillon (56 mins).

Referee: R Hickey (Clare).