Michael Murphy makes triumphant Donegal return as Ulster champs come out head and shoulders above Armagh

Allianz National Football League Division One: Donegal 0-21 Armagh 1-10

IT was in the moments after a devastating defeat to Armagh that Michael Murphy knew the time had come.

Ten years after spearheading Donegal’s remarkable All-Ireland triumph as a 22-year-old, injuries had started to take a toll. A little more grey was creeping in around the temples. And the Tir Chonaill weren’t challenging for the big one any more; not really.

That day, Armagh really drove them into the dirt. Having edged the Orchard in Ulster months before, they were broken and battered in Clones. Declan Bonner’s side had worn the contender tag for long enough, but no more.

Instead of boarding the team bus back to the hills, Murphy hopped into the car with father Mick. Little needed said; the die already case, in his mind at least.

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It was the finality, the certainty when official word came in the autumn of 2022, that made a day like Sunday unimaginable. One denial followed another, all delivered with that trademark smile and shrug of the shoulders.

For all the life the new rules have helped breathe into the game, the interest and arguments sparked, there is something about a sporting comeback that captures the imagination like little else.

Donegal supporters turned up in their droves on a freezing cold Saturday night a fortnight ago, hoping to be able to say they were they there when Michael Murphy made his return to county colours.

It didn’t happen against Dublin, or in Kerry last weekend, but the inevitable was only ever being delayed.

Going hell for leather with the rest of the panel during an elongated warm-up, all eyes were on him as the players made their way off the field and down the tunnel before throw-in.

The temperature rose when word came through that Murphy was replacing Jonny Carlin on the bench, wearing number 22.

He trotted up and down towards the town end of Pairc Mac Cumhaill a couple of times before, eight minutes into the second half, Jim McGuinness gave everybody what they wanted.

The 35-year-old was stripped in seconds, over-eagerness almost bringing him onto the field before being granted permission to do so as Armagh celebrated an Andrew Murnin two-pointer that cut a six-point half-time deficit to two.

Murphy and Murnin briefly crossed paths as the Lurgan forward retreated beyond halfway, but it was Aidan Forker – with whom the Glenswilly man locked horns many times during his first coming – who took it upon himself to welcome a familiar foe back into the fray.

Four shoulders and a couple of pushes got bums off seats, before they were followed by a Zinedine Zidane-esque moment of madness as the Armagh captain stuck his head in Murphy’s chest to earn himself a straight red card, and hand all the momentum back to the Tir Chonaill just as they had managed to stem the tide.

But where Marco Materazzi clutched his face and rolled around the ground, Murphy grabbed the game by the scruff a minute after Forker had made the long walk, turning and curling between the posts as he has done so many times through the years.

A soaring catch to clasp a Shaun Patton kick-out served as another reminder to everybody of just what has been missed, with a second point from play showcasing what he has to offer in a game currently undergoing cosmetic surgery thanks, in part, to his own design.

Mobbed as soon as the game had ended, Murphy will know this is only the start of what could be an exhilarating journey.

For Armagh, it was a bruising wake-up call after the pats on the back that followed their impressive victory over neighbours Tyrone two weeks earlier.

Because Donegal never allowed the All-Ireland champions to settle into any kind of attacking rhythm; the Tir Chonaill protecting the 40-metre arc as though their lives depended on it, with Shane O’Donnell never too far from the lurking Ethan Rafferty.

The Grange goalkeeper regularly urged his Orchard team-mates to go deep in order to clear out space for him to strike but, although he converted a brilliant 45 and then a second-half two-pointer, Rafferty also kicked away possession three times as Armagh tried to penetrate.

And yet it looked as though Kieran McGeeney’s men might have picked up where they left off at the Athletic Grounds when Darragh McMullan slammed home the game’s only goal 11 minutes in to put Armagh 1-2 to 0-2 up.

Instead, they switched off and got sloppy, Donegal – with a breeze at their backs - ruthlessly punishing every mistake as they reeled off 10 points without reply, Murphy’s old sidekick Patrick McBrearty looking as sharp and strong as at any point in recent years.

Jason Duffy arrested the slide just before the break, and when Rafferty produced a brilliant double save to deny Jamie Brennan and Oisin Gallen, a weekend of comebacks looked set to add another to the list.

“Donegal and Armagh will also have those types of dynamics,” said McGuinness, who remains unbeaten in 15 League and Championship games in Ballybofey.

“You don’t expect to race into a bit of a lead and win the game. We were four points down twice in the Ulster final last year and didn’t think we were gone. Armagh would absolutely be the same today.

“These games go down to the wire, every single one… you have to just roll with the punches in many respects and just try and see it out.”

And McGuinness still had an ace in his pocket.

Murnin’s stunning two-pointer should have been the catalyst for their comeback; instead it proved to be Armagh’s last kick, the introduction of Murphy, followed by Forker’s swift exit, opening the door for the Tir Chonaill to cruise across the line – and put the cap on a day none of the 13,000-plus inside Pairc Mac Cumhaill are ever likely to forget.

Donegal: S Patton; F Roarty, B McCole, M Curran; R McHugh 0-1, P Mogan 0-1, E Ban Gallagher; C McGonagle, C Moore; J Brennan 0-1, C O’Donnell 0-2, C Thompson 0-2; P McBrearty 0-6 (0-1f), O Gallen 0-2 (0-1f), S O’Donnell

Subs: D O Baoill for Roarty (HT), M Murphy 0-3 (0-1f) for Brennan (43), N O’Donnell for Gallen (55), E McHugh for S O’Donnell (59), O Doherty 0-1 for C O’Donnell (61)

Armagh: E Rafferty 0-3 (1tpf, 1x45); T McCormick, B McCambridge, G Murphy; A Forker, G McCabe, R McQuillan; B Crealey 0-2 (tp), N Grimley; J Duffy 0-1, D McMullen 1-1, J Hall; C Turbitt, A Murnin 0-2 (tp), O Conaty

Subs: S Campbell for Hall (35), J Og Burns for Murphy (HT), C McConville 0-1 for McQuillan (53), C O’Neill for Turbitt (62)

Blood sub: J Og Burns for McQuillin (7, reversed 11)

Yellow cards: O Conaty (32), A Murnin (46), G McCabe (50)

Red card: A Forker (44)

Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)

Attendance: 13,109