Armagh defeated 14-man Antrim by 0-13 to 0-10 in tonight's Ulster U21 FC quarter-final replay at chilly Pairc Esler.

These two sides proved inseparable after extra time when they played out a thrilling draw last Wednesday night but the losers' chances of progressing in this 'home' tie were hampered greatly by an early red card issued to key man Ronan McGrady.

The Saffrons gave everything in Newry tonight as they played for 53 minutes with 14 men but, in the end, the mountain proved too steep to negotiate.

Armagh got on top in the closing stages of the first half and managed to keep their noses in front from there to the end to clinch a semi-final place against Donegal next Wednesday night.

After the drama of seven days ago, it was hardly surprising that this was a more dogged affair, with scores proving extremely hard to come by in the opening stages. The sides were level on three occasions as six points were shared inside the opening 25 minutes, but Steven McDonnell's men made their numerical superiority tell as they reeled off four successive points to lead by double scores at the interval, 0-6 to 0-3.

The Orchard County had been dealt a setback before throw-in when - despite being named in their team earlier in the week - senior star Ethan Rafferty didn't make the starting XV, with Blaine Malone replacing him at midfield. After an exchange of pointed frees inside the opening six minutes, Antrim goalkeeper Ronan Hanna made the first of four excellent saves to keep his side on level terms.

The Saffrons suffered a massive blow in the seventh minute when full forward McGrady - the goal-scoring hero of last week's drawn match at the Athletic Grounds and the provider of their opening point tonight from a free - received a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident.

Despite being a man short, Frank Fitzsimmons charges refused to let their heads drop and twice took the lead before Jemar Hall's '45' split the posts to make it 0-3 each after 25 minutes. (Seven minutes earlier, Hall had landed the game's first score from play to make it 0-2 apiece.) The winners followed up with three more points - including scores from Malone and Ciaran O'Hanlon - in the closing stages of the half to lead by double scores at the break.

Armagh kicked on with the first two points of the second half, which meant that they had struck six in a row, but the gallant 14 men replied with a trio of points from corner forward Patrick McBride to close within two after 38 minutes, 0-8 to 0-6.

After the Saffrons had fired a goal chance narrowly wide at the end of a brilliant break, the Orchard County again found Hanna standing between them and the opening goal of the game - a stunning point-blank save with the match now starting to spark to life…

It was end-to-end stuff as the sides tagged on three more points apiece to leave two between them with ten minutes remaining, 0-11 to 0-9. Not for the first time in the match, Antrim custodian Hanna pulled off a super save to keep his goal intact.

Trailing by three with seven minutes to go after Armagh right half forward Paul McGeown had clipped over his third of the night, Antrim closed the gap again when McBride thumped over an inspirational score from inside his own half, bringing his second-half haul to 0-5. Hanna - who simply refused to be beaten - made his fourth eye-catching save of the night as Armagh tried to put the match to bed in the closing minutes; the winners added a 13th point to lead by three with time almost up.

The match almost had a thrilling denouement as Antrim were awarded a last-gasp free and McBride went for goal but David O'Hagan's save meant the Saffrons were unsuccessful in their brave bid to force extra time (which would have seen them restored to 15 men...) for the second week in a row and have bowed out of the competition at the end of an epic 140-minute battle.

Armagh: D O'Hagan; D O'Neill, S Kelly, C McCooey; D O'Hagan, M Murphy, J McElroy; A Findon, B Malone (0-1); P McGeown (0-3, 1f), M McKenna (0-1), C Comiskey (0-3, 3f); E English (0-1), C O'Hanlon (0-1), J Hall (0-2, 1 '45'). Subs: P Crilly for Murphy (42), C MacIomhar for English (49), J Grugan (0-1) for Hall (58).

Antrim: R Hanna; C O'Rawe, N Delargy, F O'Neill; M McGarry, R Wilson, E Killough; O Gallagher (0-1), D Nugent; R Murray (0-1, f), P Nugent, D McAleese (0-1); P McBride (0-5, 2f), R McGrady (0-1, f), L McCurdy. Subs: K Quinn for P Nugent (42), R Lynch (0-1) for McCurdy (45), R McCann for Gallagher (51), C McCann for Wilson (56).

Referee: Eamon McHugh (Tyrone). Tweet

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