It was strangely fitting that a replay which was mostly scarred by the sort of bruising ugliness and painful error so often associated with Ulster championship football should be finally shaped by a beautiful sleight of hand.

In the 63rd minute, Armagh substitute Cathal O'Rourke pitched a ball behind Donegal's last line of defence. Fellow substitute Diarmuid Marsden raced onto it as Donegal's (substitute) goalkeeper Paul Callaghan stood frozen in petrified indecision. Marsden tapped the ball past the keeper with the swiftest touch and the entire matter was settled. Donegal, never less than brave, wilted instantaneously and Armagh dominated in the remaining five minutes.

For the second consecutive Sunday, these two sides threw up a downright weird game of football, with horribly long periods of wayward kicking and over-elaboration. Ultimately, Armagh had both the physique and dash to place their stamp of authority on the match, but they sparked way too infrequently for a side with serious designs on the Ulster title.

"Maybe that's down to inexperience," offered Cathal O'Rourke, who had a devastating impact on the game after his late introduction. "We haven't had a serious run in the championship since 1990 in all fairness, so the pedigree hasn't been there. The more games we get the more dangerous we'll be."

Armagh had looked anything but dangerous in the opening quarter of the match, utterly outplayed in every sector until Oisin McConville was sent off after 20 minutes for striking Niall McCready. Up until then the Crossmaglen forward had been their lone scorer, popping over two elementary frees.

Donegal, though, were rampant, with Jim McGuinness, Martin Coll and Noel Hegarty firing ball which the live wire Brian Roper, debutant Michael Hegarty and old hand Tony Boyle were inevitably first onto.

They had fashioned a 0-6 to 0-2 lead after 22 minutes and looked the more comfortable in a curiously dead affair.

McConville's walk, though, heated Armagh blood again and John McEntee cut loose for their first score after 24 minutes.

Donegal seemed at a loss as to how to deploy their spare man and although Armagh virtually owned possession over the last seven minutes, they added just one more score and trotted off at the break down 0-4 to 0-7.

Referee Michael Curley belatedly booked Donegal's Martin Coll before the second-half throw in, after the Armagh management remonstrated with him about a late tackle on Paddy McKeever just before half-time.

It was to have a crucial bearing on things. With the Armagh half-backs beginning to knife through the heart of Donegal's defence, Coll tripped Paul McGrane and followed the same path as McConville with a full 25 minutes left.

Paddy McKeever missed the resultant free but although the next seven minutes went without a score, Armagh began to palpably fizz and an eruption looked increasingly likely.

McGrane and Jarlath Burns gradually muscled their way to control the midfield, while Kieran McGeeney and both his half-back partners were again imperious.

After 57 minutes, half-back Kieran Hughes over-lapped and burst forward, drawing half the Donegal defence before spilling the ball back for Cathal O'Rourke to toe poke it across the line.

"I don't think I could have scored it if I didn't mis-hit it. My initial thought was that it was a penalty so I reacted slowly. It was good fortune. It's the throw of a dice and we got the bit of luck at the right time," he said afterwards.

Armagh were typically streaky after that - McEntee hammered a marvellous point from the kick-out but still Donegal didn't fade.

Adrian Sweeney and John Gildea again stepped up in the white hot moments, both firing gutsy scores and Tony Boyle, well marshalled overall by Gerard Reid, converted a point to leave matters at 1-8 to 0-12 with seven minutes remaining.

At that moment, it was still anyone's game, but Donegal were leaving fatal pockets of space for Armagh to exploit. Eventually it told, with O'Rourke having both the time and vision to free the lethal Marsden.

So for the second year running, Donegal's Ulster campaign ended in seconds of spellbinding improvisation and Marsden's goal may well provide the epitaph for Declan Bonner's gallant, if ultimately, luckless two-year tenure.

Afterwards, the Armagh faithful carried Jarlath Burns like a god and their faces burned with the zeal of visionaries. Right now, their team is flawed if talented, but they will stride more certainly after this troublesome round. But how far, well, who can say?