UP ORCHARD
Armagh GAA post hilarious tweet after upsetting Kerry that sums up mood of every Orchard supporter
They'll end a long wait for an All-Ireland final return on July 28
WORDS failed Armagh's Twitter admin after upsetting Kerry - but that proved the perfect summation of fan sentiment.
The delirium of their supporters was captured in the official account's tweet to mark the final whistle being blown in an epic triumph.
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Rather than the typical dry stating of the final score, it was captioned: 'NDhehdbdbdhsjsnne Djdhdbd Ushshshsjsj' as everyone affiliated with the county was overcome by their victory.
The dramatic 1-18 to 1-16 extra-time win in Croke Park was well deserved.
The ticket hunt is now well and truly on after they sealed a return to the All-Ireland final for the first time since 2003.
Conor Turbitt’s insurance point was his fifth of the evening, while subs Stefan Campbell, Jarly Óg Burns and Ross McQuillan all made key impacts.
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The Kingdom crumbled in the face of resilience and brilliance from an Orchard team who, until yesterday, had not even been in an All-Ireland semi-final since 2005.
They move on to the decider after yet another trip to extra-time — but on this occasion the additional 20 minutes would be the end of it.
Four times in the Championship since 2022, Kieran McGeeney’s men have had to take part in penalty shootouts. Four times they have lost.
This time they made sure that would not be an issue.
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And yet, while it was Kerry who scored the last point of normal time, Armagh had had to dig in to even extend the game beyond 70 minutes.
They were five points down midway through the second half after Paul Murphy punched home a Kerry goal.
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But the team that has so often come out on the wrong end of tight games finally came up trumps.
The match swung Armagh’s way after Shane Ryan’s error resulted in a Barry McCambridge goal on 55 minutes. And from that point on, they totally bossed the game.
They had the legs, they had the will, they had the desire and they had the bench with 0-4 coming from subs.
Campbell hit two in a row to tie up the contest, with Burns and McQuillan later scoring as they surged three clear in extra-time.
Armagh had grown in belief and Kerry wilted.
Unable to get star man David Clifford into the game, they gave the ball away cheaply and never looked likely winners from the midway point of that second half.
Kerry came into it seriously undercooked having not been tested in the group stage and having played out a cagey quarter-final against Derry.
Many questions were unanswered about whether they were up to the pitch needed at this stage of the competition.
But we had been here before. There was still an expectation their experience and quality would be enough to get them through.
None of the Armagh players had played in front of such a big crowd in Croke Park before.
And the fans in orange — supporting a team in black — outnumbered Kerry by around five to one in the attendance of 55,548.
Like their players, they left it all out there as they collectively roared their side on to their biggest win since their heyday of the mid 2000s.