Allianz Football League Division One: Rian O'Neill stars as Armagh stun Dublin in Croke Park opener

Armagh launched their Division One campaign in hugely impressive fashion as they stunned Dublin with a 2-15 to 1-13 win at Croke Park.

Crossmaglen's O'Neill shone with 1-4 while Rory Grugan was another standout performer for the Orchard men.

Lorcan O'Dell's goal reignited Dublin in the second half but Armagh held on for a momentous five-point win.

Having outplayed Dublin for long periods in their own backyard, Kieran McGeeney's side will be full of confidence ahead of welcoming All-Ireland champions Tyrone to the Athletic Grounds on 6 February.

It is a serious statement of intent from Armagh, who are competing in their first full Division One campaign since 2012 with last year's competition having been regionalised because of the pandemic.

For Dublin, however, it will only raise further questions about Dessie Farrell's side as they look to bounce back from finally relinquishing their grip on the Sam Maguire Cup last year.

O'Neill to the fore during Armagh's brilliant first-half display

While there had been question marks over an Armagh defence that shipped 4-31 in two championship games last year, the consensus was that McGeeney's talent-rich forwards could cause serious problems for the Dubs' full-back line.

And so it proved during a riveting display from the visitors, who dictated the tempo after waiting 18 minutes for a score from play, with Ballymacnab's Rory Grugan growing in influence as the half wore on.

Having missed a difficult early free, O'Neill burst into life to take centre stage under the lights in his first appearance at Croke Park.

After landing a fine score after collecting Grugan's angled pass, the Crossmaglen Rangers sharpshooter raised Armagh's first green flag when he confidently stroked the ball past Evan Comerford after David Byrne had misjudged the flight on Aidan Nugent's diagonal pass.

O'Neill landed another magnificent score from out left to take his first-half tally to 1-3 as Armagh took full advantage of a Dublin defence that struggled to come to terms with their opponents' kicking game.

O'Neill's last score of the half came after Duffy had netted Armagh's second on 28 with a lob over Comerford when he may have been going for a point.

Cormac Costello led Dublin's scoring charge in the opening period with three before being replaced by Dean Rock after 29 minutes.

While Armagh were unsurprisingly unable to maintain their blistering first-half pace, they refused to let O'Dell's goal unsettle them, with Connaire Mackin, Stefan Campbell and Tiernan Kelly all contributing fine scores from play to keep the away side ticking over in the second half.

More questions around Dublin

Whereas Armagh will be counting the hours before taking on the Red Hands at the Athletic Grounds, Dublin boss Farrell will be forced to field further questions over his side's perceived downward trajectory.

Since replacing Jim Gavin in late 2019, Farrell has been forced to contend with the retirements of Michael Darragh Macauley, Paddy Andrews, Kevin McManamon, Cian O'Sullivan and Philly McMahon - in addition to the continuing absences of Jack McCaffrey, Paul Mannion and Stephen Cluxton.

But he was still able to field a team against Armagh that featured nine of his starters from last year's All-Ireland semi-final defeat by Mayo.

Farrell used 40 players during Dublin's recent O'Byrne Cup campaign, and while O'Dell impressed on his league debut after replacing Ryan Basquel, the hosts struggled to deal with Armagh's relentless running and fluid attacks.

In addition, a total of 14 wides will be a worrying statistic for Farrell with Brian Fenton and Niall Scully among those guilty of failing to score from promising positions.

It could have been worse for Dublin, too, had it not been for Comerford's fine save to tip a Greg McCabe shot onto the crossbar.

While questions will be asked of Dublin, it is still only January and those tempted to write them off this year should proceed with caution.

But it does not get any easier for the deposed All-Ireland champions with a trip to Tralee to face Kerry up next for Farrell's men.

The opener belonged to Armagh, though. When they last faced Dublin in the league, in March 2012, Diarmuid Connolly hit a hat-trick of goals to lift the Dubs to a resounding 4-17 to 1-10 win, but this could not have been in starker contrast to the Orchard men's trip to headquarters a decade ago.

And while Armagh have received criticism for failing to reach an Ulster Final during McGeeney's eight-year reign despite playing an attractive brand of football, they produced a thrilling demonstration of what they are capable of in front of a 22,704-strong Croke Park crowd when their attack and defence both operate efficiently.