ARMAGH goalkeeper Blaine Hughes was mobbed by his team-mates in the tunnel after the Orchardmen saw off Tipperary on Saturday evening.
“That was some catch boy,” roared a delighted James Morgan as he trotted post en route to the dressingrooms at Semple Stadium.
Baby-faced Carrickcruppen clubman Hughes came of age at the death in Thurles when his side needed him most. Tipp were three points behind in injury-time and, desperate for a goal, they launched a high ball dangerously into the square.
Hughes called it and came off his line to pluck the ball out of the air, arching backwards to hold on before being clobbered by Tipp full-back Paddy Codd for his trouble.
The Orchardmen could have made the game safe by then, but were forced to battle right to the final whistle. In the end, they won by two points.
“You just have to call it and go for it,” said Hughes, who made his fourth Championship appearance last Saturday.
“It’s crucial moments like that that you train for so hopefully we can push on in the next round and get a victory and see where that takes us.”
Armagh had gone in at the break two points behind and a Michael Quinlivan goal early in the second half sent Liam Kearns’ Tipperary side – All-Ireland semi-finalists last year – four points ahead.
But the Orchardmen abandoned their sweeper system and went on the attack, pushing up into the Tipperary half and forcing a succession of turnovers as they took control of the game.
“The pressure was on,” Hughes admitted.
“We went into controlling mode and tried to snuff them out and see what happened. They put a few high balls in but we dealt with them no problem and caught them on the counterattack. We were confident, once we got up to a three-point lead, that we could see it out like the last game (against Westmeath).”
Saturday’s victory was the latest step of an impressive comeback from Armagh. Kieran McGeeney’s side was heavily criticised after they bowed out of the Ulster Championship following a disjointed second half showing against bitter rivals Down in Newry.
Since then however, they have beaten Fermanagh at home before recording back-to-back wins on the road against Westmeath and Tipp.
Hughes is confident that Saturday’s victory will add confidence and belief to the side as they prepare for their July 29 round four Qualifier against Leinster final losers Kildare at Croke Park.
“That Down game was a big setback for us,” he said.
“Winning a game like this brings a lot of confidence and great momentum to the squad,
“When they banged the goal in at the start of the second half people might have thought we would have died down, but we kept pushing on and pushing on and ended up on top.
“Hopefully it’ll do wonders for us. We have a close-knit group and this will push us on in the next round. We’ll keep our feet on the ground and keep working. Hopefully we can ride this wave all the way and see where it takes us.”
