Davidson fires Down past Derry in cup epic

18 January 2017

TWO down, one to go. Down are now just one victory away from a coveted place in the McKenna Cup semi-finals.

There was much relief among the long suffering Down faithful as they witnessed a first win over a county side since James McCartan’s men beat Laois 3-12 to 1-15 in their last Allianz Division 2 game back in April 2015.

It has been all downhill ever since, but Sunday’s win, allied to an opening McKenna Cup victory over Queen’s University, has given cause for optimism.

Of course, much more difficult games lie ahead, especially Down’s clash with Armagh in the first round of the Ulster Championship in June, but hope springs eternal that good times are just around the corner.

Down started well and held sway until the break, but Derry fought back with never more than a point or two between the sides in a close second period.

Derry had opportunities to draw level, but with Alan Davidson and Barry O’Hagan in sparkling form, Down did just enough to edge a morale-boosting victory.

The game burst into life in the first minute as O’Hagan lofted over two points inside 60 seconds.

The Clonduff flying machine made an instant imprint on the game and really laid down a marker for the rest of the contest.

Down were winning all the personal battles all over the park and enjoyed the majority of possession, but only led by a point, 0-9 to 0-8, after a half in which Derry were content to soak up pressure and hit on the break.

Down’s slender one point lead should have been much more as O’Hagan and Davidson were the scourge of the Derry defence, but further scores just wouldn’t come.

There is no doubt that O’Hagan’s early scores gave Derry food for thought and rocked them back on their heels as they took time to get to grips with Down’s formation.

Down were 0-3 to 0-0 in front before a Benny Heron free got Derry on the scoreboard in the fifth minute, but they fought tooth and nail to stay in the game.

The Derry defence worked like demons to keep Down at bay, but they didn’t have much success as the home side eased into a 0-6 to 0-1 lead thanks to another point from O’Hagan, who was now being marked by Conor Nevin, and two more Davidson frees.

Down really should have kicked on from here, but Derry steadfastly refused to give way and they came battling back into contention.

With McWilliams settling in to the sweeper role, Derry started getting better ball into McGuckin and, more importantly, getting players up to support him.

A brilliant score from Loughlin was followed by a Heron free and when McWilliams stepped out to set up Ryan Bell for another lovely long range effort, Down’s lead was back to the minimum at 0-6 to 0-5 with 18 minutes gone.

The sides swapped scores until the break with Down going in with a 0-9 to 0-8 lead, but the general feeling was that the slender lead was not what the home side had hoped for.

The second half saw an improved Derry performance, but they struggled to break down a keen Down defensive cover. They did lead briefly at 0-11 to 0-10 during the third quarter, but it would be the only time they fronted Down during the game.

Goal chances throughout the game were few and far between, but Davidson’s accuracy from play and placed balls was the main difference between the sides at the final whistle.

His personal tally of 0-9 was more than significant as Down recorded another win.

Down: Michael Cunningham, Ryan McAleenan, Gerard McGovern, Darren O’Hagan, David McKibbin, Conaill McGovern, Brendan McArdle, Peter Turley, Jonathan Flynn (0-1), Shay Millar, Conor Maginn, Joe Murphy (0-1), Alan Davidson (0-9, 7f), Barry O’Hagan (0-3), Pat Havern. Subs: Aidan Carr for P Turley, Caolan Mooney (0-1) for McKibbin, Danny Savage for Havern, Ryan Mallon for Millar, Gerard Collins for D O’Hagan.

Derry: Thomas Mallon, Ronan Murphy, Oisin Duffin, Conor McGrogan, Neil Forester, Conor Nevin, Peter Hagan, Patrick Kearney, Aidan McLaughlin, Gavin O’Neill, Ryan Bell (0-3), Carlus McWilliams (0-1), Niall Loughlin (0-1), Emmett McGuckin (0-1), Benny Heron (0-4, 4f). Subs: James Kielt (0-1, 1f) for Kearney, Enda Lynn (0-1) for O’Neill, Ciaran Mullan for Duffin, Michael Warnock for Hagan, Mark Lynch (0-2, 1f) for McLaughlin.

Down 0-15

Derry 0-14

McKENNA CUP GROUP A

Tweets by @TheDownRecorder