Down are denied by impressive Royal aces

Down are denied by impressive Royal aces

19 July 2023

IT was not to be for Conor Laverty’s Down team as the Mournemen suffered Tailteann Cup heartbreak at Croke Park on Saturday.

Opponents Meath ultimately deserved the victory based on their performance on the day, but Down will no doubt be rueing their subpar outing which effectively helped the Royals land the cup honours.

Two green flags were raised by Meath in a five-point victory but this wasn’t as straightforward as the scoreline may suggest. 

A bizarre first major from midfielder Ronan Jones came after the ball rattled the post and deflected off the Meath number eight’s thigh before floating agonisingly past Down ‘keeper Niall Kane.

This well and truly stunted Down’s momentum, who at the time were 0-4 to 0-1 in front and playing confident football.

Meath got their second within the final attack of the game after Down, who were trailing by two and chasing their elusive goal, were turned over before man of the match Jack Flynn released Royals team-mate Jack O’Connor to put the result beyond doubt.

In contrast, Down were hesitant in front of the net.

Notably, a squandered second half chance left a sense of ‘it wasn’t to be their day’ around Croker as Shealan Johnson’s effort from close range was blocked before Pat Havern took far too long to pull the trigger on his follow up, allowing Meath to escape unscathed.

Before this, on the stroke of half-time, Liam Kerr looked certain to rattle the net as he barrelled down on Meath’s goal, although his blasted shot went over the crossbar and he looked visibly aware that he had chosen the wrong option.

Outside of this, Down also suffered from wide balls and shots either ping short or drifting wayward.

This wasn’t Down’s worst performance in recent times, not by a long shot, it just rather felt like a missed opportunity – especially as the sides went in level at the interval at 0-6 to 1-3.

In fact, spirits were high as the 3pm whistle sounded and Down began with intent.

To be fair to Meath, they equally showed their physicality and both were initially up for the task. After three minutes Down were in front as Ceilum Doherty split the posts from play. Mathew Costello replied with a free for the Royals and a wide effort apiece from the teams followed.

Still, Down gathered momentum with three points on the bounce, courtesy of an impressive Ryan Johnston score, a fisted Shealan Johnson effort and an eye-catching Odhrán Murdock strike, after he had collected the ball, swivelled and fired over the bar without hesitation.

Things were going to plan before Meath’s freak first goal which seemed to temporarily deflate Down’s attack.

Jordan Morris gave Meath the advantage for the first time in the contest soon after, although Pat Havern converted a free from close range to bring the scores level once more.

In the following minutes Down were guilty of wastefulness in possession, something that helped a rejuvenated Royals outfit gain traction on the encounter.

Meath weren’t particularly flawless either, but they were doing enough to upset the apple cart even if it meant receiving a few yellow cards in the process.

Down’s nerves weren’t helped when Havern uncharacteristically missed a free from a promising position before Ceilum Doherty was arguably harshly shown the black card for a tackle which could have warranted a yellow instead.

Even with 14 men on the pitch, the Mournemen continued to rally and push forward, showing shades of what had got them to this point in the competition.

However, the end product was lacking and lady luck simply wasn’t looking their way.

Ryan Johnston, who was one of the more impressive players for Down, was released and found himself with just Meath ‘keeper Sean Brennan to beat but the custodian was up to the task with a smart save to deny the forward.

Down did manage to notch the final score of the half, but that came from Kerr’s effort, after Magill had won the flick-on, which should have hit the net. This was also Down’s first point since the 19th minute.

After the interval Down returned to the pitch with renewed intent and two big points from ‘keeper Kane sent the Mournemen on the right path.

Meath responded with two quick-fire points from Cathal Hickey and earlier goal-scorer Jones, before Magill shot Down’s seventh wide of the afternoon.

Meath substitute Jack O’Connor, who proved to be an inspired addition to the game for the Royals, then kicked over a fantastic point and not long after, team-mate Flynn fired his county in front.

Chances went begging in the following stages but there could be no denying this was a fast and furious affair.

A series of traded scores between Flynn and Havern followed but, most notably, Down still struggled to raise the green flag.

St John’s clubman and Mourne substitute Andrew Gilmore’s effort split the posts as the announcement of five added minutes was made and at this stage Meath were ahead by two.

As the clock clicked furiously ticked down, the Mourne side were turned over in attack before O’Connor broke free to break Down hearts.

Down: N Kane (0-2, 1f, 1 45’); P McCarthy, P Laverty, A Doherty; M Rooney, C Doherty (0-1); D Magill; D Guinness, P Havern (0-4, 3f); E Branagan, L Kerr (0-2), R Mason; S Johnston (0-1), O Murdock (0-1), R Johnston (0-2).

Subs: S Annett for Mason (43), D McAleenan for S Johnston (56), A Gilmore (0-1) for Magill (59), P Branagan for McCarthy (60), R McEvoy for Guinness (63).

Meath: S Brennan; A O’Neill, R Ryan, C Caulfield; D Keogan, P Harnan, S Coffey; R Jones (1-1), C Gray; J Flynn (0-4), J McEntee, C Hickey (0-2); J Morris (0-1), M Costello (0-3, 2f), A Lynch.

Subs: J O’Connor (1-2) for Lynch (46), C O’Sullivan for McEntee (53), H O’Higgins for Caulfield (57), D Lenihan for Morris (66), D McGowan for Hickey (69).

Referee: N Mooney (Cavan).