It was always going to be tough encounter for Armagh RFC thirds against Portadown seconds in the Crawford Cup at Chambers Park, and so it proved to be. Although The Armagh lads took an early lead when a penalty against Portadown for a high tackle was slotted between the posts by Andrew Knipe their lead was short lived and never regained. When a line out throw by James Rolston was deemed not straight by the referee and a scrim was conceded Portadown were able to push over from the 5m line for an unconverted try. Try as they may, too many simple mistakes meant that Armagh were unable to penetrate the Portadown defence. As the first half neared an end the older and perhaps wiser home side pack took control and managed a converted try on 36minutes to finish the half with a 12 points to 3 lead.

The second half continued in a similar vein and although Portadown missed an early penalty they took advantage of some Armagh mistakes to score again on 51minutes with a converted try for 19-3. A resurgent Armagh struck back when a missed kick to touch by Portadown was collected by Scrum half Trevor Girvan and fed to Andrew Brady on the wing. Showing real determination and demonstrating slick footwork Brady ran from his own half avoiding Portadown tackle attempts to cross the line for a converted try and closing the margin to 9 points.

Armagh enjoyed a better period of forward play with captain Neill Lutton, Oliver, McBride and Bingham leading the charge against the Portadown forwards and the backs, notably Ruari Karlsen making some big hits and the wings, Dougan and Brady playing their part but with no additional points on the scoreboard. Portadown finished the stronger side. A converted try and a penalty meant that at the whistle Portadown deservedly won the tie by 32 points to 10.

Armagh left the pitch disappointed but not downhearted. They certainly played well and can build on the experience by ironing out some mistakes and reducing their penalty count to take the league by the scruff of the neck.
Armagh team: N Lutton, J Rolston, C Chapman, J Gilpin, C Simms, T McBride, D Bingham, T Girvan, G Falcon, J Dougan, A Knipe, A Winder, A Brady, L Crozier.