ARMAGH signed off on a promising National League campaign in style with a deserved Croke Park win over an outgunned Fermanagh.
While the Ernemen will take positives out of their defeat the facts are that they had a three-point start on the Orchardmen and played nearly two-thirds of the game with a numerical advantage but were well beaten at the finish.
Armagh lost Finnian Moriarty to a second yellow card after 25 minutes but never looked like they were a man short. With the muscular and mobile Andrew Murnin the focal point, they had too much in attack for a Fermanagh outfit that looked shorter of scoring options as the game wore on.
Physically, the Orchardmen had the edge in every sector bar midfield and they also missed three excellent goalscoring opportunities in front of a disappointing crowd of just over 8,000 which denied a decent game any real atmosphere.
Their dominance by the final whistle would have been difficult to predict early on after Fermanagh settled quickly and established a three-point lead in the first six minutes thanks to a classy opener from Tomas Corrigan which was followed by two sweetly struck Sean Quigley frees.
Armagh's Ethan Rafferty had hit an upright in the game's first attack and the Orchardmen had another wide from Tony Kernan and dropped two shots short before Kernan got them on the scoreboard with a free after Murnin had drawn the first in a series of fouls from Fermanagh full-back Tiarnan Daly.
Pete McGrath's men hit back quickly, however, and Ruairi Corrigan broke down the right and whipped over another excellent point.
At the other end, a smart interception from Mark Shields paved the way for Jamie Clarke to bear down on the Fermanagh posts, he elected to pass to Kevin Dyas but the Dromintee man, making his first start of the season, fired wide.
Clarke took matters into his own hands in his side's next attack to score Armagh's second and Kernan's free, after another foul on Murnin, left just a point in it after 19 minutes.
The first of Armagh's goal chances came when Kernan, who covered acres, pounced quickly on a break ball in midfield and played in Micheal McKenna.
The Grange clubman picked out Aidan Forker who raced past the last Erne defender but blazed over the bar with the net in his sights and Clarke unmarked on his left.
His point levelled the game though and Armagh took the lead for the first time when Kernan slotted over his third free of the game after Ciaron O'Hanlon had been fouled.
Armagh's momentum was brought to a temporary halt when Moriarty, who had been booked five minutes earlier for a mistimed tackle on Marty O'Brien, made an impetuous, but not dangerous foul, on Ruairi Corrigan.
Referee Derek O'Mahoney showed the Wolfe Tone defender both cards in his book, and the book (yellow, black, then red) and Armagh were reduced to 14 men.
A Quigley free levelled with half-time approaching but Armagh surged ahead again thanks to a Rafferty free and Clarke's second of the game.
The lively Tomas Corrigan pulled one back with another excellent score but another Kernan free, courtesy of another foul on Murnin, meant Armagh led by two with the game entering injury-time.
It could have been even better for them at the break. Crossmaglen team-mates Kernan and Clarke combined to send Dyas through but his powerful shot was well saved by Fermanagh goalkeeper Thomas Treacy and Treacy pulled off another excellent save, this time from Murnin, after Rafferty kept Kernan's 45 in play.
Armagh went in at the break two points up and a man down, but Fermanagh's numerical advantage counted for little in the second half.
The Ernemen needed to start the second half well, but Armagh were on the front foot from the start.
Kernan rushed in to win the ball from the throw in, swapped passes with Clarke and stroked the ball over the Fermanagh bar.
Two Rafferty frees followed and after Andy Mallon, up to support the attack, was fouled, Kernan's fifth point of the game left his side 0-12 to 0-6 ahead and looking odds on to life the cup. To their credit, Fermanagh battled back.
But they played their spare man at the back and never committed the numbers forward to really threaten an Armagh defence that was bolstered by the introduction of the experienced Ciaran McKeever at the interval and forced their opponents to shoot high and wide from distance.
Quigley clawed a point back, but at the other end, Clarke - now double marked - found Murnin who had two goes at goal but was denied by the alert Treacy.
The ball was eventually bundled into the net but referee O'Mahoney awarded a free out.
Tomas Corrigan's third point and another Quigley free left three in it and then Roslea full-forward Quigley brought his individual tally to six to cancel out O'Hanlon's score from a Shields assist.
Armagh kept the pressure on high up the field to prevent Fermanagh from breaking forward and as a result the Ernemen weren't able to get enough players forward as time ticked away.
Meanwhile, Armagh took the chances that came their way. Substitute Stephen Harold began an eye-catching cameo with a composed point and James Morgan's lung-busting run to deny Darren McQuade a shot at goal underlined the fact that his side had no intention of letting Fermanagh mount a late comeback.
Quigley tapped over another free but Clarke laid the ball off for Dyas to score and Harold fisted over another to bring down the curtain on a fine evening's work for Armagh.
Despite the loss, Fermanagh can look forward to Antrim in the Ulster Championship at the end of May with promotion sealed and plenty to build on.
Meanwhile, the victory summed up Armagh's League campaign -
MATCH STATS
Armagh: N Geoghegan; A Mallon, C Vernon, M Murray; J Morgan, F Moriarty, M Shields; C O'Hanlon (0-1), E Rafferty (0-3 frees);
T Kernan (0-6, 0-5 frees), M McKenna,
A Forker (0-1), K Dyas (0-1); A Murnin,
J Clarke (0-2).
Subs: C McKeever for McKenna (h-t),
E McVerry for Forker (46), S Harold (0-2) for Murnin (58), G McParland for Rafferty (61), C Rafferty for O'Hanlon (65)
Yellow cards: F Moriarty (20 & 25), A Forker (44), E Rafferty (54), J Clarke (63)
Red card: F Moriarty (25)
Fermanagh: T Treacy, M Jones, T Daly,
M O'Brien, B Mulrone, R McCluskey,
N Cassidy, R Jones, R O'Callaghan,
P McCusker, R Corrigan (0-1), D McCusker, T Corrigan (0-3), S Quigley (0-7, 0-6 frees, 0-1 45), C Flaherty Subs: D Kille for Daly (h-t), A Breen for
P McCusker (53), C Jones for R Corrigan, D McQuade for Flaherty (60), S Cullen for O'Callaghan (70)
Yellow card: R O'Callaghan (43)
Referee: D O'Mahoney (Tipperary) Attendance: 8,134
they won with a bit to spare. They'll face a tougher test against the winners of Donegal and Tyrone, but there is much better to come from them this year.