By Cian O'Connell

“I thought they executed better than us,” was Kildare manager Cian O’Neill’s initial assessment following an absorbing All Ireland SFC Round 4B Qualifier at Croke Park.

Armagh eventually prevailed 1-17 to 0-17 following a gripping game at GAA headquarters with O’Neill acknowledging the importance of Andrew Murnin’s decisive first half goal.

“Having just looked at the breakdown there, this is nothing really between the teams - possessions, attacks, shots, turnovers, it was really, really tight which is what I thought from looking at it,” O’Neill reflected.

“I just thought they were more efficient in their execution. I thought the first 10 or 12 minutes almost mirrored what happened in the Dublin game when we had a lot of chances, but generally we would be tapping them over the bar creating a bit of distance between the two teams and we didn't.

“Then all of a sudden what you would describe as a sloppy goal goes in and it is a blow, it isn't just three points, mentally it is a blow. That was a pity because we were making a lot of errors, but still being competitive.”

Murnin’s major carried huge significance for Armagh and while Kildare rallied after the restart, Kieran McGeeney’s charges were able to pull clear.

“We just couldn't get that one point above, we got back to level,” O’Neill stated. “Every time we missed a shot it was almost like they came down to get a score so psychologically it was a blow. We didn't execute right throughout the game. That is what cost us the game, I feel.”

Former Armagh footballer Paddy McKeever is part of McGeeney’s backroom team and is encouraged by the progress being made.

"We sort of knew it was going to be another big step up from the Tipperary game,” McKeever admitted.

“They put up a pretty impressive score against Dublin, we were watching it aswell, they probably missed a good 2-4 so we knew we would have to score highly.

"Kildare play an attacking brand of football which allowed us to play, we just won out in the end.”

McKeever acknowledged that Armagh had been ‘very clinical’ in the opening period. “I think they hit the post two if not three times and they had some poor wides. We were very clinical in the first half so we were lucky enough from that aspect.

“Obviously the goal made a big difference, a lot of it had to do with the pressure they were taking their shots under because a lot of our defenders were pressing them pretty strongly, maybe that put them off a fraction.”