New dawn for Down

New dawn for Down

23 January 2019

DOWN’S senior footballers embark on a new journey of hope on Saturday night.

That’s when Paddy Tally’s charges open their NFL Division 3 campaign with a home game against Laois at Pairc Esler.

Regardless of what some Down fans think, a win against newly-promoted Laois is not guaranteed — John Sugrue’s side will be no pushovers after winning the Division 4 final last year in style.

In Donie Kingston, Ross Munnelly, Eoin Lowry, John O’Loughlin, Kieran Lillis and Alan Farrell they have the nucleus of a resolute side that will be a real threat to Down. 

Down have further Division 3 games against Sligo, Westmeath, Longford, Offaly, Carlow and Louth, and will be hoping to bounce back into Division 2 after relegation last year.

Louth will also be hoping for promotion, while Carlow and Laois will look to build on a positive 2018 campaign which secured promotion from the bottom tier.

It’s still anyone’s guess who Tally will start with on Saturday night.

He experimented a lot in the McKenna Cup and must have been pleased with promising performances from Castlewellan’s Rory Burns, Warrenpoint’s Ryan McAleenan, Bredagh’s Conor Francis, the McClements brothers,  Aaron and Declan, from Loughinisland, Downpatrick’s Conor McGrady, Saul’s Ciaran Harney, Kilcoo’s Paul Devlin and Saval’s Pat Havern and Danny McCarthy.

However, Down will again rely on Caolan Mooney, Brendan McArdle, Gerard Collins, Jerome Johnston, Connaire Harrison and Donal O’Hare and they are expected to be the backbone of the side.

Definitely missing are the suspended trio of Kevin McKernan, Darren O’Hagan and Ryan Johnston, Anthony Doherty and Gerard McGovern, who are both in Australia, Shay Millar, who is taking a break from inter-county football, and midfield colossus Peter Turley, who has retired from the panel along with former captain Mark Poland and Aidan Carr.

Tally will stick with his bid to unearth fresh talent and continue to experiment ahead of this summer’s Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final clash with Armagh.   

Bryansford’s Ruairi Wells, Mayobridge’s Shane Annett and Saul’s Ciaran Harney all caught the eye in the McKenna Cup and they might just be thrown into the cauldron on Saturday night.

Tally, who led St Mary’s College to Sigerson Cup success two years ago, is only too well aware of the talent in Down and it is now his job to bring those players forward. 

Down’s future lies in the hands of young players like Burren’s Ryan Treanor, Liam Kerr and Steven Fegan, Kilcoo’s Ceilum Doherty and Miceal Rooney, Saul’s Pierce Laverty and Lorcan Harney and Oisin McConvey from Darragh Cross, most of whom are involved in the Sigerson Cup.

However, what is also required now is as steady hand on the tiller and Tally will not want to expose too many of his rising stars just yet.

That leaves the way open for some of the more experienced players to reaffirm their capabilities and prove their worth to the panel.

Meanwhile, the county hurlers open their NHL Division 2B campaign with a home game at Pairc Esler, also on Saturday night, against Derry.

Ronan Sheehan’s new-look side go into the game full of confidence after recently lifting the McGurk Cup.

The new manager has gambled on youth as being the way forward and he has rising stars in Tim Prenter, Ronan Blair, Ronan Costello and Mark Patterson.

Experience will be provided by Conor O’Prey, Caolan Taggart, Conor Woods, Eoin Sands, P J Davidson, Ruairi McCrickard, Paul Sheehan and Cormac Coulter.

Sheehan has targeted promotion from Division 2B and a good run in the Christy Ring Cup this season and he is certainly going the right way about it.