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Paddy Burns joked that the Armagh players "owe our fans an apology" after putting them through some torment before snatching a dramatic 0-23 to 0-22 victory over Tyrone in the opening Ulster Football semi-final at Clones.
The All-Ireland champions looked in a degree of control as they led 0-18 to 0-12 after 47 minutes.
However, as has become the norm under the new rules, two-pointers helped Tyrone fight back to lead by two with eight minutes remaining before Armagh hit the final three scores, with Rory Grugan's last-kick free clinching victory.
"We don't like to make it easy and I'd say there were plenty of hearts in mouths," said Burns of the Armagh fans, who again travelled to Clones in huge numbers.
While Armagh methodically worked to secure their match-winning free after the hooter had sounded, the defender in Burns was pleading with his team-mates to "kick the ball dead".
"That's all I was thinking. If it goes to extra-time so be it," said the corner-back, who plays his club football with Down outfit Burren.
But his team-mates had other ideas and after they poached yet another of Niall Morgan's kickouts, a foul on Conor Turbitt secured the 21-metre free which Grugan was never going to miss.
Burns himself was given the onerous task of marking Tyrone's big forward threat Darragh Canavan and performed the job admirably by restricting the Errigal Ciaran star to only two points from play.
"With a boy like Darragh, you just have to do your best to get close and sometimes hope for the best. He got a few shots away that he didn't convert too."
While Burns' smile said it all, Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke rued his team's inability to close out the game after seemingly timing their run perfectly to move into the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
"We got ourselves in a good position and we're just disappointed we didn't see it out," said O'Rourke, who praised his side's "character" in fighting back from six down to lead.
The Tyrone boss lauded the contribution of young substitute Eoin McElholm who kicked two points after his 47th-minute introduction.
"He was a sort of a spark that lit up the forward line to a degree when he came in. He caused Armagh a lot of trouble and got a couple of great scores and just was a threat straightaway."
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The All-Ireland champions looked in a degree of control as they led 0-18 to 0-12 after 47 minutes.
However, as has become the norm under the new rules, two-pointers helped Tyrone fight back to lead by two with eight minutes remaining before Armagh hit the final three scores, with Rory Grugan's last-kick free clinching victory.
"We don't like to make it easy and I'd say there were plenty of hearts in mouths," said Burns of the Armagh fans, who again travelled to Clones in huge numbers.
While Armagh methodically worked to secure their match-winning free after the hooter had sounded, the defender in Burns was pleading with his team-mates to "kick the ball dead".
"That's all I was thinking. If it goes to extra-time so be it," said the corner-back, who plays his club football with Down outfit Burren.
But his team-mates had other ideas and after they poached yet another of Niall Morgan's kickouts, a foul on Conor Turbitt secured the 21-metre free which Grugan was never going to miss.
Burns himself was given the onerous task of marking Tyrone's big forward threat Darragh Canavan and performed the job admirably by restricting the Errigal Ciaran star to only two points from play.
"With a boy like Darragh, you just have to do your best to get close and sometimes hope for the best. He got a few shots away that he didn't convert too."
While Burns' smile said it all, Tyrone manager Malachy O'Rourke rued his team's inability to close out the game after seemingly timing their run perfectly to move into the lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
"We got ourselves in a good position and we're just disappointed we didn't see it out," said O'Rourke, who praised his side's "character" in fighting back from six down to lead.
The Tyrone boss lauded the contribution of young substitute Eoin McElholm who kicked two points after his 47th-minute introduction.
"He was a sort of a spark that lit up the forward line to a degree when he came in. He caused Armagh a lot of trouble and got a couple of great scores and just was a threat straightaway."
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