Martin Clarke: Armagh's thrilling win over Down reminds us why we love sport

Unpredictable, tense, dramatic.

As a Down man you'll forgive me for feeling a tinge of disappointment at the outcome of Sunday's incredible game, but I don't know a single person who saw that match and could honestly say they were not totally and utterly enthralled by the spectacle.

It leaves you wondering: how could you not love sport?

When Armagh went five points up with an extra man advantage, that was it. Game over, well done Armagh, commiserations Down.

But that resilience, which has quickly become a hallmark of Paddy Tally's squad, came to the fore again as Down refused to accept their fate.

While Down's never-say-die attitude so nearly clutched victory from the jaws of defeat, Armagh deserve a lot of credit for doing what needed to be done in order to get over the line.

Kieran McGeeney will be delighted to get that Ulster SFC monkey off his back, but he'll be gravely concerned that his side once again failed to convincingly close out a game.

I would like to see Armagh go for the jugular late in a match and try to turn a five-point lead into an eight or nine-point advantage, because clearly sitting back and trying to see it out is not working.

They certainly have the talent at the top end of the field and young Rian O'Neill looks set for a long and exciting inter-county career.

He is already a star for Crossmaglen so I knew the occasion wouldn't get the better of him, but I didn't expect an eight-point performance with four coming from play.

His attitude and work ethic coupled with his skill and aggression will take him far.

I must say, though, I was surprised with the space that Down granted him. Gerard Collins did an excellent job on Jamie Clarke but they didn't get tight on O'Neill and he made them pay for it.

Before I get into this subject I have to be absolutely clear: I am completely in favour of referees clamping down on high tackles.

Head injuries are so serious that any rough or violent contact to the head should absolutely be met with a red card.

The problem comes with the implementation of the new rules. The inconsistencies in the officiating are causing chaos in games.

At the minute some head-high challenges are yellow, some are a red and some aren't even a free-kick.

Have the GAA been into each county dressing room and laid the rules out in clear terms to the players? Have they shown them clips of past incidents which would now be a red card offence?

As a player, all you want from the referee is consistency and clear instructions.

That's why I felt really sorry for Caolan Mooney on Sunday. Having played with him in Australia, Caolan is a good friend who I know really well.

When Paddy took charge of Down, Caolan put his hand up and said he wanted to become a leader within the squad.

There was nothing deliberate about his coming together with Aidan Nugent, who thankfully was ok to continue.

Mooney was sprinting back as full speed to try and stop his side from conceding a goal and when Nugent dinked inside he lowered his body, but Mooney's body position didn't change and he certainly wasn't leading with a swinging elbow.

Under the new rules, it is probably a red card offence but in the centuries of Gaelic football played before these rules, that's not a sending off.

Referees, coaches, players and fans need to be on the same wavelength.

It didn't surprise me that Cavan v Monaghan was a tight game, but I didn't think Cavan would have the self-belief to see out what was a serious statement win.

As soon as Conor Brady won the opening throw-in and Cavan moved the ball through the hands for an early point, you knew they were on their A-game.

Their ball movement was exceptional. They played at pace but didn't take unnecessary risks.

As for Monaghan, it's another disappointing exit from the Ulster Championship.

They only have themselves to blame and I don't think they paid Cavan enough respect. They tried to set that counter-attack trap and their hosts just did not fall for it.

Maybe they underestimated Cavan.

Having helped coach the under-20s for a few months last year, I can attest that Cavan have a lot of excellent, skilled footballers who will punish you if you give them the space that Monaghan did.

Malachy O'Rourke is a coach that I really like, and I don't believe for a second that he would allow any of his teams to be under-prepared for any match.

I don't know why, but Monaghan decided to afford Conor Rehill far too much space all game, and the youngster made the most of it.

Now we can look forward to an Armagh v Cavan semi-final and we have every reason to expect it to be a cracker.

Neither team has been to the final in recent years, but both will fancy themselves to get the job done.

With just under two weeks until the game, I really have no idea who will win it.

And that's exactly why we love sport, isn't it?