If one man epitomised Armagh’s remarkable mid-Championship revival on Sunday afternoon then it was Rian O’Neill.
There is a clear correlation between the Orchard County’s reassurance and O’Neill’s timely return to form.
The Crossmaglen ace was one of the stars of the first half of the League campaign as Armagh began their Division One campaign with huge wins over Dublin and Tyrone.
Read more: All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-final draw explained
As O’Neill’s form tailed off, so did Armagh’s. O’Neill was held scoreless by Brendan McCole in Ballybofey in April and Armagh’s Ulster hopes were ended by a seven-point loss.
O’Neill played a much deeper role in the brilliant win over Tyrone last weekend, but on Sunday he demonstrated why he remains one of the brightest attacking talents in the country with a sensational 1-7 haul as Kieran McGeeney’s men claimed a stunning 3-17 to 0-16 success.
His tally included an expertly-taken penalty, a 45, two frees and four points from play.
Just for good measure, he also kicked the long delivery for Rory Grugan’s goal after 10 seconds and helped set up Armagh’s third goal, finished by midfielder Stephen Sheridan.
Speaking after the game, Armagh coach Kieran Donaghy expressed his delight with O’Neill’s performance.
“I’m delighted for him because he took a lot of flak after Ballybofey,” said Donaghy.
“He's a young lad. He's still learning his trade.
"He's a phenomenal athlete and he's doing a good job leading this team along with Aidan Nugent.
“He'll know now as well as everyone else, it's back to the grind."
Donaghy added: "It was building up to this game in Ballybofey and then you don’t have the performance that you want.
“It was a tough one. We weren’t happy with our performance.
"We didn’t do a good job on the line. I’m delighted for that bunch to get a bit of just reward for the work that they’ve put in.”
Armagh fans easily outnumbered Donegal on the terraces in St Tiernach’s Park and they’ve an All-Ireland quarter-final to look forward to following Sunday’s 10-point victory.
Donaghy is hoping they’ll travel in big numbers once again with Armagh set to learn their fate in Monday morning’s draw.
“We got drawn against Donegal, the biggest of games we could have got - the toughest draws in the last two and our fellas have responded well,” added Donaghy.
“This county is going to get in behind this team now. You saw the crowd that was there today (in Clones). It was unbelievable.
“When we were kicking scores there in the second half that kind of crowd can inspire a team and we’d be looking for them in massive numbers in Croke Park in two weeks.”
Meanwhile, Donegal boss Declan Bonner opted not to speak to the media following Sunday's 10-point loss in Ballybofey amid renewed speculation regarding his future as manager.
Read more: Armagh vs Donegal RECAP as the Orchardmen clinch All-Ireland quarter-final berth
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