'Where The Hell Is Ethan Rafferty?': Armagh Concede Nightmare Goal With Keeper Up The Pitch
Kerry against Armagh in Round 3 of the All-Ireland SFC lived up to its billing, as two of the three best counties in the Championship played out an enthralling opening 35 minutes.
The game was decided by what happened just before that first half hooter blew.
The Mcgillicuddy Reeks were typically majestic on a warm June's day, and the presence of the entire Limerick hurling squad in the stands was a sign of just how big an occasion it was.
Armagh started the brightest of the two sides, building an early 0-04 to 0-01 lead.
However a brilliant assist from Dylan Geaney set up David Clifford for a goal with his first touch of the game.
From there, Kerry were in control. But it was an incident just before the halftime that will give Kieran McGeeney fits.
Armagh had the ball with a minute on the clock and trailing by three points, with keeper Ethan Rafferty part of the attack.
With 20 seconds left on the clock, Jarly Og Burns sent a terrible hand pass in. Graham O'Sullivan made a lovely pass off the ground to Jason Foley, who hoofed it forward.
Armagh's Aaron McKay then panicked under the highball, forcing a volleyball-style punch on the ball, which landed perfectly into the path of Paul Geaney.
The Dingle man has scored many goals in his career, but few were this easy.
This is an absolute gutpunch goal for Armagh to concede, especially after how the Louth game ended.
Probably the easiest goal that Paul Geaney ever scoredpic.twitter.com/4bMu1f1c6i
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) June 20, 2026
It gave the Kingdom a 2-08 to 0-08 lead at the break.
It's an absolute shocker considering how terribly Armagh mismanaged the final 90 seconds against Louth in Inniskeen last Sunday.
The GAA Plus panel were critical of how Armagh managed the situation at halftime
"It's the long, direct ball that's been causing trouble all day. Open goal by Geaney. Where the hell is Ethan Rafferty? It's a risk by Armagh to take when they keep Rafferty up the pitch," said Marc Ó Sé
"Lads we're talking about the last three minutes of the game last weekend, where Armagh totally mismanaged that. So out of character for them. This is the last minute of the first half. They're trying to work a set play. They've had long bouts of possession throughout the first half, and they've done it quite well. Sloppy from Armagh," said Paddy Andrews.
Kerry made a blistering start to the second half with a Joe O'Connor goal putting the game (seemingly) out of reach.
Balls
