Desperate Down seek miracle win over Cork

Desperate Down seek miracle win over Cork

29 March 2017

DIVISION 3 football beckons for Down in 2018 unless they can pull off an unlikely victory away to Cork on Sunday.

The Mourne men are in a precarious position after last weekend’s dismissal at the hands of Galway in Newry.

They really did need at least a point out of that game but it wasn’t to be.

Going down to Páirc Ui Rínn and getting a positive result is a huge ask for Eamonn Burns and his side.

Cork have held the Indian sign over the Red and Black ever since the 2010 All-Ireland final defeat.

They are coming off a four-point win over Derry in which Colm O’Neill landed 11 points.

Paul Kerrigan also showed that he is still a force to be reckoned with as he weighed in with five more.

There is plenty of quality in this Cork side, despite the critics circling in recent times questioning the quality of their performances.

Michael Shields is to be found at corner back with former Antrim star James Loughrey settled at centre half back.

Ian Maguire is a tough preposition at midfield and James O’Rourke and Mark Collins are nifty competitors on the ’40.

Cork sit on six points and are more or less safe from the , although a top two finish is out of their grasp.

They mightn’t be firing on all cylinders on Sunday such is their predicament and that would point to what could be a tighter than expected game.

Down boss Burns knows that nothing less than a win will give his side the best chance of survival.

There will be a close eye on the happenings at Brewster Park as well with the outcome of Fermanagh and Derry also important to Down’s fortunes.

The Mourne men struggled at midfield against Galway while the defence was too loose in its marking responsibilities.

An ineffective kickout strategy needs to be addressed while more forwards need to step up to the plate to support Barry O’Hagan who at times is running a one man show in attack.

One player who is unlikely to feature is Longstone’s Mark Poland who has reportedly fallen foul of the management after speaking out in the aftermath of the Kildare defeat.

If Down are looking for scores then workhorses Joe Murphy and Shay Millar may have to make way for sharp shooters Jerome Johnston and Paul Devlin.

Down have to go for broke, It will be a shoot-out as both defences aren’t exactly water tight.

Two successive relegations would serve immeasurable damage to Down going into June’s championship encounter with Armagh.

They are in the last chance saloon. All the odds are in Cork’s favour but if Down could somehow pull off a great escape, then a brighter summer of football could be in the offing.