Malone kick off and each team tests each other’s mettle, trying to settle into their patterns and impose their game plans but it’s Armagh who establish the better start.
The tempo is rapid, the ball recycled immediately from the breakdown. Fitness and tactical use of the bench will be critical if the whole game is played at this pace.
Report and pictures by Richard Owens.
Mistakes from each squad see the ball change hands frequently and there is no score for the first quarter but it’s a dangerous tackle by Malone’s lock Azur Allison on Armagh’s big wing Andrew Willis that changes the game. With Allison sent to the bin and Willis back on his feet after his upending, Armagh crank it up and it’s not long before full back Tim McNeice draws first blood running an excellent line to score under the posts, his out half, Cormac Fox, easily adding the extra . . .
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