The first half of Armagh v Roscommon was not the most riveting 35 minutes of football we have seen this summer.
Heavy rain in Dublin made the surface in Croke Park extremely slippy and both sides were cautious in the opening period with their championship fate on the line.
Roscommon managed only a single score in the first half-hour, with Armagh taking a decisive lead early on thanks to Barry McCambridge's goal after 19 minutes.
The major flashpoint of the game came just before half-time, when Roscommon's Ruaidhrí Fallon received his second yellow for a high hit on Armagh's Rory Grugan.
Roscommon would fight on without Fallon but, ultimately, Kieran McGeene's Armagh would hold on against the 14-man Rossies to claim a seven-point win and progress to their first All-Ireland semi-final in 19 years.
Fallon had been living on the edge throughout the first half, after being yellow-carded early on for a not-too-dissimilar hit just over ten minutes earlier.
Despite the somewhat reckless appearance of both challenges, Fallon would find support from an unlikely source at half-time, with Armagh legend Aaron Kernan defending the St. Brigid's man on GAAGO.
READ HERE: 'He Cares For Donegal So Much': Mogan On McGuinness's X-Factor
READ HERE: Andy Moran Has Serious Doubts About Overall Impact Of Split Season
Armagh v Roscommon: Ruaidhrí Fallon sent off in first half
29 June 2024; Referee Martin McNally shows a second yellow card to Ruaidhri Fallon of Roscommon, 9, during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Armagh and Roscommon at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile
The major talking point at half-time in Croke Park was the sending-off of Ruaidhrí Fallon.
GAAGO pundits Cillian O'Connor, Cian O'Sullivan and Aaron Kernan dissected the incident, with Kernan sticking up for the Roscommon man.
Despite his Armagh roots, Kernan would defend Fallon, saying that he felt the second yellow card had been harsh.
Kernan cited the slippery conditions, saying that the difficulty of planting on the surface combined with the low level of danger in the tackle should have seen Fallon off with a "stern warning" rather than a red card.
The first yellow card that Ruaidhrí Fallon had picked up, to be fair, he catches Tiarnan Kelly square on the chest. He probably was fortunate, it could potentially have been a black card. He was very lucky that there was no head contact because [then] that is a red.
To me, that's a harsh second yellow given the conditions. Just like you're trying to take a shot, it's so hard to get your foot planted. He's going in for that hit there...Grugan sees what's coming and he goes into mid air.
He catches him off shoulder but, to me...as an Armagh person, I can't really complain but if you're a Roscommon person you'll feel very hard done by.
If you bring the conditions into it...there's not the same danger, there's no head hit in it. The speed that he was going at, the speed they were colliding, that was one that Martin McNally could maybe have let go with a stern warning - 'This is your last chance.'
Cillian O'Connor alongside Kernan took a different view of the incident, suggesting that Fallon should have taken more care in the tackle with a yellow card already hanging over him.
The red card would ultimately prove decisive, in a heartbreaking end to the season for Roscommon.
It was ecstasy for Armagh, however, who reached their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2005 with a decisive seven-point win.
SEE ALSO: Joe Brolly Compares Derry's Fall And Rise To His Own Personal Struggles
