Allianz FL D1: Conaty the hero as Armagh come from behind

​National Football League, Division 1, Round 6

Armagh 2-24 Dublin 1-25

By Paul Keane at Croke Park

Trailing by a massive 11 points early in the second half at Croke Park, Armagh found themselves perched perilously close to the relegation trapdoor.

Half an hour or so later, and thanks in no small part to a wondergoal from man of the match Oisín Conaty, they celebrated a remarkable win, giving their survival hopes a giant shot in the arm.

With a single game to go - Armagh will host Kerry in Round 7 while Dublin will travel to Galway - relegation still remains a big concern for both counties who are locked together on four points.

But Armagh will move forward with vital momentum after this comeback win that was inspired by Conaty and Cian McConville.

Conaty's 65th minute solo goal was a score of the season contender, nudging his team three points clear at that crucial stage.

There were big impacts from substitutes Oisín O'Neill and Conor Turbitt too while Tomás McCormack and the excellent Ross McQuillan split six points evenly between them.

Both players finished with 14 players as Dublin's Brian Howard and Armagh's Tiernan Kelly were sent off together early in the final quarter.

An Armagh full-back line containing the returning Aaron McKay was under siege initially.

With 10 minutes played, Dublin already led by 1-5 to 0-1 as they chased back-to-back wins for the first time this year.

Niall Scully stroked over four points during the blitz while Ross McGarry waltzed through for Dublin's goal after just four minutes.

Blaine Hughes in the Armagh goal got his hand to the shot but couldn't keep it out as the Dublin fans in the 23,533 crowd exploded into life.

Armagh gained a brief foothold in the game when they outscored Dublin by 1-3 to 0-1 between the 17th and 23rd minutes, leaving just three in it.

Dublin will be disappointed about the goal concession as McConville left a couple of defenders in his wake before slotting beyond Hugh O'Sullivan.

But the hosts took off again and finished the half strongly with Paddy Small, Seán Bugler and Luke Breathnach points doubling their advantage to six points.

The same trio added another burst of scores approaching the interval, climaxing with a Bugler two-pointer right on the buzzer.

A skirmish broke out as the teams exited the field, apparently prompted by Scully and Jarlath Óg Burns clashing. Referee David Gough showed Burns a black card at the start of the second half.

There was a booking too for Armagh manager Kieran McGeeney, accompanied by a free in for Dublin that Scully happily chipped over to begin the second half and extend Dublin's lead to 1-16 to 1-6.

Another Bugler score shoved the margin out to 11 points in Dublin's favour.

Armagh were staring relegation in the face but turned in a spectacular second-half performance to turn the 11-point deficit into a precious two-point win.

It was a second half that had a bit of everything; from the madness of the Howard and Kelly red cards in the 57th minute - both players were booked and then booked a second time just a minute or so later - to the majesty of the Conaty goal.

McQuillan was hugely influential while Armagh got a significant kick from the bench with Oisín O'Neill firing five points and Turbitt adding three.

Dublin will be concerned with how they struggled to get their kick outs away and Armagh took full advantage, giving their survival hopes a major boost.

Armagh scorers: Oisín Conaty 1-3, Cian McConville 1-3 (0-2f), Oisín O'Neill 0-5 (0-3f, 1 tpf), Conor Turbitt 0-3 (1 tp), Tomás McCormack 0-3, Ross McQuillan 0-3, Jason Duffy 0-2, Callum O'Neill 0-1 (0-1f), Ben Crealey 0-1.

Dublin scorers: Paddy Small 0-6 (1 tp), Niall Scully 0-5 (0-2f), Luke Breathnach 0-4, Seán Bugler 0-4 (1 tp), Ross McGarry 1-0, Killian McGinnis 0-3, Eoin Kennedy 0-2, Cormac Costello 0-1.

​Armagh: Blaine Hughes; Peter McGrane, Aaron McKay, Gareth Murphy; Ross McQuillan, Tiernan Kelly, Jarlath Óg Burns; Callum O'Neill, Ben Crealey; Tomás McCormack, Jason Duffy, Greg McCabe; Cian McConville, Darragh McMullan, Oisín Conaty.

Subs: Oisín O'Neill for Callum O'Neill h/t, Paddy Burns for McKay 43-45, Conor Turbitt for Duffy 52, Burns for McKay 60, Aidan Forker for McMullan 69.

Dublin: Hugh O'Sullivan; Eoin Murchan, Nathan Doran, David Byrne; Eoin Kennedy, Brian Howard, Alex Gavin; Peadar Ó Cofaigh Byrne, Charlie McMorrow; Ross McGarry, Seán Bugler, Niall Scully; Paddy Small, Killian McGinnis, Luke Breathnach.

Subs: Seán MacMahon for Doran 16, Cormac Costello for Breathnach 47, Ciarán Kilkenny for McGarry 50, Doran for MacMahon 52, Liam Smith for Byrne 65.

Referee: David Gough (Meath).