End of line for Down minors

End of line for Down minors

26 June 2013 - by BY MARK FITZSIMONS

REIGNING Ulster champions Tyrone are through to face either Cavan or Monaghan in the final after a strong finish secured them passage through against a disappointing Down side.

Pete McGrath’s Mourne charges did not play to their potential and after edging the first half they wilted in the second period. The Down camp will be bitterly disappointed with this loss. The game marked a real opportunity to make it through to an Ulster decider for the first time since 2009.

With Tom Grimley and Aaron McClements in charge at midfield for the opening thirty minutes, Down had plenty of possession to work with. Six arrived their way but it could have and should have been a lot more. Tyrone kept in touch and only went in at the break one point in arrears.

A scrappy opening to the game was characterised by a lot of unforced errors as both teams displayed their nerves.

It took a Daire Gallagher free for Tyrone on eight minutes to kick-start the contest. His Trillick club mate Lee Brennan then put Mickey Donnelly’s outfit two up in the resulting attack.

Down did not get their first point until the 12th minute. It arrived through a free from Rostrevor’s Conor Doyle.

The lively Cory Quinn then levelled the game before Tyrone team captain Ruairi McGlone edged his side ahead on the quarter hour mark. McGlone made the most of indecision in the Down backline as he pounced on a mistake to convert.

Cory Quinn’s growing influence on the game then became apparent when he pointed twice in the space of two minutes. His first flag raiser was top drawer stuff. After winning possession he let fly from an acute angle with a curling shot. He followed this up with a well taken free.

Tyrone were soon back on terms as Daire Gallagher got his first from play to make it 0-04 apiece after nineteen minutes.

Conor McGrady was the grateful recipient of some fine work by Daniel McCarthy to put Down in the ascendancy again in the 20th minute.

Straight after this Conor Doyle used his trusted left foot to guide over his second of the afternoon.

Down failed to build on their two-point cushion in the last ten minutes of the half. Despite hogging possession and creating openings, they didn’t punish the Tyrone rearguard.

A third Daire Gallagher point on 28 minutes left the Red Hand county one point behind at Noel Mooney’s half-time whistle.

Down were up against the breeze in the second half and they had a nightmare start. Between the 37th and 40th minute, Tyrone reeled off four points in a row to take a two point lead. Lee Brennan got two of these while Padraig McGirr and Daire Gallagher got the others.

It wasn’t until the 41st minute that Down got themselves back into the game when Conor McGrady got his second effort from play.

Six minutes later, Cory Quinn got Down back within a point with a free. After this Tyrone introduced Derrylaughan’s Stephen McGrath and his impact was sizeable.

David Mulgrew’s first of the game give Tyrone breathing space on forty nine minutes but Down hit back through Conor Doyle as the game entered the last ten minutes.

Down totally collapsed in the closing stages. Tyrone banked another three scores without reply as substitutes Rian McHugh and Stephen McGrath combined to secure 1-02 between them. Another Tyrone sub Ché O’Donnell set McGrath up for the major.

A consolation free from Cory Quinn reduced the gap to five but Tyrone were totally in control by this stage.

Final score: Down 0-10 Tyrone 1-12

Down: R. Malone; R. Magee, K. Colgan, A. Fegan; D. McKeever, D. McCarthy, T. McInerney; T. Grimley, A. McClements; P. Havern, S. McGonigle, D. McAleenan; C. Doyle (0-3, 2F), C. McGrady (0-2), C. Quinn (0-5, 3F). Subs: S. Dobbin, P. O’Hagan.

Tyrone scorers: D. Gallagher (0-4, 3F), S. McGrath (1-1), L. Brennan (0-3), R. McGlone (0-1), P. McGirr (0-1), D. Mulgrew (0-1) and R. McHugh (0-1).