Down back on track with impressive showing

Down back on track with impressive showing

19 March 2014

NIALL Madine’s early goal proved decisive as Down bounced back from last weekend’s defeat to Galway to end Donegal’s unbeaten record in Newry.

Madine’s 12th minute strike set Down up for a victory which puts them right back in the promotion mix. They led by 1-6 to 0-5 at half-time and managed to keep a Donegal side, which has picked up just one point from their last two games, at arm’s length in a tense second half.

Down should have had a penalty as early as the seventh minute when Conor Laverty was taken down by Donegal ‘keeper Paul Durcan, but the decision wasn’t given.

They raised a green flag five minutes later, though, when full forward Madine bundled the ball to the net after Conor Maginn’s initial shot had been blocked.

That goal, coupled with a Laverty point, had the home side 1-1 to 0-0 ahead before Dermot Molloy finally opened Donegal’s account in the 17th minute.

Kevin McKernan’s long-range point restored Down’s four-point advantage before Michael Murphy and Mark Poland traded scores. It was tit-for-tat from there until half-time as further Down points from Laverty, Donal O’Hare and Madine kept them four ahead at the break.

Donegal restarted with points from Martin McElhinney and Leo McLoone which were cancelled out by efforts from O’Hare and Conor Garvey at the other end.

Murphy’s ‘45 left a goal in it, 0-8 to 1-8, 10 minutes into the second period, but there followed a 21-minute scoring drought as the intensity levels ped and the wides began to rack up.

Donegal, who amassed a costly 12 wides over the 70 minutes, threw on Paddy McBrearty and Neil Gallagher in a final effort to win the game, and while Gallagher, who was lucky not to be sent off, and Colm McFadden managed late points, Down held on for a vital win, despite having Laverty black-carded for a cynical tackle in the closing minutes.

Down coach Niall Moyna acknowledged that Madine’s early goal was crucial to their victory over a previously undefeated Donegal team. “You know what you’re up against when you play Donegal,” he said.

“Having the breeze in the first half and getting a lead is always important against Donegal because they’ve got to come out, as normally they play a very defensive style of football.

“It was extremely important we picked up two points because we only have three home games and you have to pick up points at home.”

The DCU Sigerson Cup-winning manager also insisted that Down weren’t as bad as they looked in their loss to Galway last weekend.

“Believe it or not, having done the analysis, the Galway game was our best performance this year, and that includes today, by a mile.

“I mean, the number of tackles, the number of scoring attempts, the number of turnovers, we just didn’t finish. We’d four goal chances, we kicked wide after wide, but we knew we were on track, and we knew if we had a repeat performance today we’d do well.”

Down: B. McVeigh, D. McCartan, B. McArdle, O. Costello, R. Boyle, A. Carr, C. Garvey (0-2), P. Turley, K. McKernan (0-1), C. Laverty (0-1), M. Poland (0-2), C. Maginn, D. O’Hare (0-2f), N. Madine (1-1), J. Johnston. Subs: R. Johnston for J. Johnston, B. Coulter for Madine, P. Fitzpatrick for Laverty (BC).

Donegal: P. Durcan, E. McGee, N. McGee, K. Lacey, F. McGlynn, L. McLoone (0-1), A. Thompson, R. Kavanagh, M. McElhinney (0-1), M. McHugh, C. Toye, O. MacNiallais, C. McFadden (0-2f), M. Murphy (0-3, 1f, 1’45), D. Molloy (0-2). Subs: N. Gallagher (0-1) for R. Kavanagh, D. Walsh for MacNiallais, P. McBrearty for Molloy, D. O’Connor for Toye.

Down 1-9

Donegal 0-10

NFL DIVISION 2