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Paddy Tierney

Crossmaglen survive scare but questions remain over Jamie Clarke

Crossmaglen came from six points behind to defeat Silverbridge by five points in their Armagh SFC opener at the Athletic Grounds on Sunday.

Second half goals from Paddy Reel from a penalty and a Pauric Keating major had Silverbridge firmly in the driving seat.

However, the Harps were undone by a typical Crossmaglen masterclass in the final quarter as a brace of Rian O’Neill 45s helped turn the game.

Read more: Maghery v Armagh Harps RECAP as Sean McDermott's progress to Armagh SFC quarter-final

Cross had their noses in front when they struck for the clinching goal with Cian McConville playing a stunning pass inside to Caolan Finnegan who slotted home to end the game as a contest in the final minutes as Stephen Kernan's men secured a 1-19 to 2-11 victory.

Yet, one of the major talking points from the game surrounded a player who didn’t feature at the Athletic Grounds.

Prior to throw-in, there was speculation on social media that Jamie Clarke wouldn’t feature for Cross due to an alleged dispute over his soccer commitments with Newry City.

The former Armagh GAA star signed up with Newry ahead of the new Irish League season and has made four substitute appearances for Darren Mullen’s side so far.

However, he was originally named to start at full-forward for Crossmaglen, but was replaced by Seanie McConville ahead of throw-in.

Clarke was an unused substitute for the remainder of the contest and it remains to be seen if he will feature for Rangers in their outing which will be a quarter-final clash in a fortnight.

The South Armagh men are joined in the last eight by Granemore, Ballymacnab, Maghery, Dromintee, Clan na Gael, Killeavy while there was an upset in the final game on Sunday evening at the Athletic Grounds.

Defending champions Clann Éireann were beaten 1-9 to 0-11 with Shea Loye scoring the crucial goal for Mullaghbawn.

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