Farney fall short in extra time in Ulster final

Ulster SFC final

Armagh 2-28

Monaghan 0-25

(AET)

Monaghan fell short of a first Ulster SFC victory since 2015 when they lost to Armagh after extra-time in Clones. A valiant comeback had seen Monaghan wipe out a seven-point deficit to bring it down to the wire, but Armagh brought huge energy levels to extra-time to end their wait for a provincial title after so many near-misses in recent years.

Armagh led by 0-13 to 0-11 after a nip-and-tuck first half where Oisín Conaty was in unstoppable form and they moved five clear within four minutes of the restart with a quick flurry of scores. A Tiernan Kelly goal made it 1-16 to 0-12 in the 44th minute, but Monaghan refused to wilt, with Jack McCarron making an impact off the bench and joining Stephen O’Hanlon in kicking momentum-changing two-pointers.

Armagh sub Ross McQuillan put his side a point up going into a frantic last five minutes, where Conor McCarthy’s equaliser was followed by both sides missing chances to win it in normal time, which finished all-square at 0-24 to 1-21.

Armagh had gone to extra-time in each of their three consecutive Ulster final losses between 2023 and ’25 and they were clearly hell-bent on ensuring that they got over the line at the fourth attempt, as they outscored Monaghan by 1-7 to 0-1 in the last 20 minutes. O’Hanlon’s early point in extra-time proved to be Monaghan’s last, with Oisín O’Neill’s goal turning the tide decisively in Armagh’s favour.

Rory Grugan’s super-sub role was also key in helping Armagh clinch a first Ulster SFC title since 2008.