Michael Murphy has announced his return to inter-county action in sensational style as Donegal defeated Armagh 0-21 to 1-10 in a smashing Ulster derby on Sunday afternoon.
Despite a gruelling opening forty minutes of action that saw both sides trading barbs throughout, it was Jim McGuinness's men who came up with the goods in the final quarter, sending Armagh back across the province with another defeat.
While on any ordinary day a comprehensive defeat of the All-Ireland champions would be headline news, Sunday proved to be all about one man, Michael Murphy.
Having started the clash on the bench, it took 44 minutes for Jim McGuinness to turn to his most trusted lieutenant, bringing him into the fray as Donegal looked to utilise all their experience and protect a hard-earned and fragile two-point lead heading down the final stretch.
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Forker sees red for ridiculous Michael Murphy head-butt
As if he'd never left, the 35-year-old legend who last played in 2022 wasted no time getting involved in proceedings, nearly immediately immersing himself in a decisive scuffle with Armagh's Aidan Forker.
As Murphy entered, his marker-to-be exited. Aidan Forker's deliberate and frankly ridiculous headbutt of Murphy leaving the referee with little choice but to show him red and reduce Armagh to fourteen men.
Aidan Forker, what were you thinking?pic.twitter.com/i1wnnD3ZMD
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) February 16, 2025
Less than forty seconds later, Murphy got his first sniff of the scoreboard when Ethan Rafferty scuffed a kick out into the full forward's bread basket - not having to be asked twice, Murphy sailed the point over the crossbar earning himself a rapturous welcome from the Donegal faithful whom he has served so well.
Having been reduced to fourteen men, and with Murphy well and truly finding his form, a potential return from Armagh just slipped further and further away, with Kieran McGeeney's men simply unable to find any answers to Donegal's late surge.
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Speaking after the game on TG4, man-of-the-match Paddy McBrearty hailed the return of Donegal's favourite son, calling him a 'vital cog' for the side going forward.
Obviously when you've the calibre of someone like Michael coming back there's going to be a bit of hysteria around the place but our lads dealt with it well. Since he's come back there's been a lot of hype around the county but listen as a group we've just knuckled down and shielded ourselves from that.
It's great to have him back obviously and he's going to be a vital cog to us going forward.
A vital cog he certainly was. Following Murphy's introduction, Donegal added a total of eight points to their tally while Armagh managed just three in the same period - the difference proving more than enough to see Donegal claim an eight-point 0-21 to 1-10 win and make it three from three in this year's Allianz Leagues.
Jim McGuinness's unbeaten men now sit a point clear at the top of Division One having defeated Dublin, Kerry and Armagh.
