Pádraic Joyce’s Connacht champions were the superior team on virtually every metric bar the one that counted, the scoreboard.
With 57 minutes on the clock, Galway were five up and cruising directly towards the All-Ireland quarter-finals.
But then Armagh hit them in the solar plexus, shooting 1-3 in the space of four costly minutes between the 58th and 62nd minutes.
And, not for the first time against the Orchard County, ’keeper Connor Gleeson was the Galway player in the spotlight after his kick-out gaffe led to the Tiernan Kelly goal that transformed the mood music in Markievicz Park, in front of a crowd of 8,870.
Conor Turbitt had just reduced the deficit to four with a free. Gleeson went mid-range from the resultant restart, but his low kick was intercepted by Turbitt, sparking immediate panic as he raced through on goal before offloading to Kelly. He cut inside and buried the chance from point-blank range.
Rian O’Neill struck next to level beyond the hour; then Gleeson’s next kickout to the wing was again pounced on by Kelly, who teed up Turbitt for a fisted point. Improbably, for the first time since shortly before the half-hour mark, Armagh led.
To their credit, Galway regrouped and actually regained the lead through a brace of Shane Walsh frees – one from close range, then a booming 44m kick in the 70th minute.
That pushed them one up and back on course for the quarters. But Armagh, who needed just a draw to top the group on scoring difference, cleverly worked one final chance in the 74th minute, culminating in a fisted point from sub Stefan Campbell.
Much earlier, after a feisty first few minutes, this game quickly reverted to modern-day type with both teams retreating into their defensive shell when out of possession and a preponderance of low-risk, pedestrian attacks.
Within those parameters, however, Galway had far more reason to be cheerful when the half-time whistle blew, leading 0-8 to 0-6 having faced into a fresh breeze.
Armagh were complicit in their own struggles, clocking up four early misses either side of Tiernan Kelly’s opening point.
Meanwhile, Galway’s first two points – neat left-footed efforts from Matthew Tierney and Rob Finnerty – both came at the end of lengthy possession spells that began with sloppy Armagh turnovers.
Kieran McGeeney’s men recovered, in a fashion, to edge 0-5 to 0-4 ahead after points from Ben Crealey and Conor Turbitt’s second from play.
But then Galway surged before the break, shooting four on the spin from a Finnerty free, Paul Conroy and two classy scores from Shane Walsh.
Even though Rian O’Neill responded in stoppage-time, it still left Armagh on the back foot. And when Galway, now backed by the breeze, hit four of the next six points during the third quarter, they looked firmly in the box seat … until Kelly’s goal changed everything.
Scorers – Armagh: C Turbitt 0-4 (1f), T Kelly 1-1, R O’Neill 0-3, A Murnin 0-2, B Crealey, S Campbell 0-1 each. Galway: S Walsh 0-5 (3f), R Finnerty 0-3 (2f), P Conroy 0-2, M Tierney, C McDaid, J Maher, D McHugh, L Silke 0-1 each.
Armagh: B Hughes; B McCambridge, A McKay, C Higgins; A Forker, N Grimley, J McElroy; R O’Neill, B Crealey; P McGrane, T Kelly, O Conaty; R Grugan, A Murnin, C Turbitt. Subs: S Campbell for Higgins (ht), R McQuillan for Conaty (48), A Nugent for Forker (54), O O’Neill for McGrane (65).
Galway: C Gleeson; J McGrath, S Fitzgerald, J Glynn; D McHugh, L Silke, S Mulkerrin; P Conroy, J Maher; C Darcy, S Kelly, C McDaid; R Finnerty, M Tierney, S Walsh. Subs: J Daly for Mulkerrin (inj 47), C Sweeney for McDaid (54), J Heaney for Kelly (62), D O’Flaherty for Darcy (inj 67), T Culhane for Finnerty (70).
Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone).
