It was tense stuff in Castlebar tonight, where Mayo edged out Armagh by 2-13 to 1-15 to seal a place in Round Four of the Qualifiers.

Fionn McDonagh and Kevin McLoughlin struck goals in either half for the winners, who will take on either Galway, Meath, Cork or Cavan next weekend for a place in the Super 8s.

There was nothing between the teams in the first half but a more economical Mayo turned around with the narrowest of advantages, 1-6 to 1-5.

Colm Boyle, Ciaran Treacy, Jason Doherty and Darren Coen were eleventh-hour additions to James Horan’s starting XV, replacing Michael Plunkett, Donal Vaughan, McLoughlin and Fergal Boland, a Conor Loftus free opening the scoring in the fourth minute.

Rory Grugan equalised and the Orchard County moved three clear in the fifth minute when Rian O’Neill palmed the dropping ball to the net from close range. Amid high drama, McDonagh quickly netted for the hosts, firing through the legs of Blaine Hughes, O’Neill nudging the border county back in front from a free – 1-2 to 1-1 after eight minutes.

Grugan swung over the third Armagh point but Mayo replied through Loftus (free) and McDonagh, leaving the sides level for the third time with 15 minutes gone. A Jamie Clarke free from the ground was cancelled out by Coen, but Stefan Campbell kicked the northerners back in front, only for Doherty to equalise again after the hosts lost Lee Keegan to an ankle injury.

Paddy Durcan raided forward from wing back to conjure the score that separated the teams at the interval.

Mayo's Conor Loftus clashes with Armagh's Aidan Forker. ©INPHO/James Crombie.

Wind now at his back, Clarke stroked over a free off the deck to tie the scores up again and then clipped one over from play to restore the visitors’ lead on 40 minutes – a sweet strike from the wrong side.

Substitute McLoughlin, who replaced Andy Moran in the 21st minute, pointed from close range to tie the scores up for the seventh time as a few drops of summer rain fell, 1-7 apiece. Clarke’s third second-half strike flew over on 45 minutes, Coen replying instantly with a brilliant brace at the other end as the lead changed hands again.

Niall Grimley equalised from 45 metres but, after Donal Vaughan’s left-footed effort restored Mayo’s advantage, McLoughlin weaved his way through the Armagh rearguard and looped the ball to the net with his right boot to put his side four points clear with 51 minutes played.

The outstanding Coen made it 2-11 to 1-9, Mayo goalkeeper David Clarke making a vital intervention when pushing a Jamie Clarke goal effort onto the post at the start of the fourth quarter as Armagh tried to get back into the game.

The luckless losers rallied with four quickfire scores: Jamie Clarke pulled one back, then Rory Grugan fired a goal chance over the crossbar, Campbell’s second and third of the night suddenly making it a one-point game with eight minutes left – 2-11 to 1-13.

Four minutes from the end, substitute Cillian O’Connor swept over a simple Mayo free that was moved closer to the posts and the former All Star converted another free on 70 minutes. Three minutes into four of injury time, O’Neill pulled back a pointed free and Campbell stroked over another one within 20 seconds of the restart but Grimley’s last-gasp effort drifted wide as Mayo held on for a narrow victory and Kieran McGeeney’s charges crashed out rather unluckily.

Mayo - D Clarke; C Barrett, B Harrison, K Higgins; L Keegan, C Boyle, P Durcan (0-1); M Murray, A O'Shea; C Treacy, J Doherty (0-1), F McDonagh (1-1); D Coen (0-4), A Moran, C Loftus (0-2f). Subs: K McLoughlin (1-1) for A Moran, S Coen for L Keegan, D Vaughan (0-1) for M Murray, C O'Connor (0-2f) for C Loftus, F Boland for J Doherty, E Regan for C Treacy.

Armagh - B Hughes; M Shields, P Burns, A McKay; P Hughes, A Forker, B Donaghy; J Og Burns, N Grimley (0-1); J Hall, A Nugent, S Campbell (0-4); J Clarke (0-5, 2f), R O'Neill (1-2, 0-2f), R Grugan (0-3). Subs: E Rafferty for A Nugent, G McCabe for A McKay, B Crealey for J Og Burns.

Referee - M Deegan.

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