Richie Mullan's early first half goal proved the difference between the sides as Derry hurlers started their Division 2B campaign with a hard fought three point victory over Down in a tight game at Celtic Park on Sunday.

Paddy Tally has revealed his Down team for Sunday's opening Allianz League game against Tipperary.  The Mourne County travel to Clonmel to face Tipperary knowing there is little or no margin for error.

The Mourne men will be hoping for a repeat of last June's All-Ireland qualifier clash with Tipp, which ended in a 1-13 to 1-10 victory to Tally's team.  The stakes have never been higher in Division 3 of the Allianz League with the prospect of Tier 2 championship football facing the teams that finish outside the top two.  Down could not have asked for a harder start to the 2020 League campaign as after their travels to Tipperary, they host Derry in Newry next weekend and then their back on the road with a trip to Cork awaiting them the following weekend.

Down (Allianz FL Division 3 v Tipperary):
Rory Burns; Peter Fegan, Brendan McArdle, Ryan McAleenan; Gerard Collins, Darren O'Hagan, Shane Annett; Johnny Flynn, Sean Dornan; Barry O'Hagan, Conor Poland, Daniel Guinness; Owen McCabe, Donal O'Hare, Corey Quinn.

Subs: John O'Hare, Niall Donnelly, Ross Carr, Patrick Murdock, Pat Havern, Conor Maginn, Liam Kerr, Liam Middleton, Ross McGarry, Kevin McKernan, Ciaran Harney.

Down manager Ronan Sheehan has announced his team to face neighbours Derry in the Allianz League at Celtic Park tomorrow.

The McGurk and Kehoe Cup competitions have helped the Mourne men prepare well for the Division 2B opener with their neighbours.

Down (Allianz HL Division 2B v Derry): Stephen Keith; John McManus, Caolan Taggart, Darragh Mallon; Gerard Hughes, Conor Woods, Matt Conlon; Liam Savage, Phelim Savage; Pearse Og McCrickard, PJ Davidson, Danny Toner; Tim Prenter, Eoin Sands, Oisin MacManus.

Subs: Paddy McNally, Chrissy Egan, Ryan McCusker, Ronan Costello, Mark Patterson, Conor Cassidy, Donal Og Rooney, Niall Fitzsimmons, Niall McFarlane.

We are now in the last week for accepting new Direct Debit entries for the 2020 Clubs Draw.  Clubs are asked to please ensure that any Tickets they have sold are returned to County Office this week. 

Down GAA will arrange collection anywhere or they can be brought any day to the County Office or James will be available on Thursday night to collect tickets at the County Committee Meeting in the Burrendale Hotel. 

Please get your sold tickets to us on an ongoing basis it does make life a wee bit easier, the earlier we receive sold Tickets.

On Monday Night in the Burrendale Hotel over 100 Club Officers attended information workshops with Down GAA Senior Officers ahead of the new Club Season.

Club Chairpersons, Secretaries and Treasurers met with their County Counterparts in an initiative that hopefully will benefit all parties in the Season ahead.

There was the opportunity for Club Officers to discuss any matter with County Officers and in turn the opportunity for County Officers to offer help and guidance to our Clubs.

Feedback from all three workshops was very positive as Clubs and County prepare for the season ahead.

THE Ladies Gaelic Football Association is pleased to announce details of the 2020 Gaelic4Girls Programme – with 30 clubs from across Ireland set to benefit including Aghaderg from Down.  

This is the 12th year of the Gaelic4Girls initiative, which has proven hugely-successful since its inception in 2008.

This year, 21 counties are represented among the 30 clubs, with inter-county stars Aimee Mackin (Armagh) and Jenny Higgins (Roscommon) on board as official 2020 Gaelic4Girls ambassadors.

Six clubs from three counties in Connacht will participate in the 2020 Gaelic4Girls Programme, while Leinster will be represented by eight clubs from six counties.  

In Munster, seven clubs will represent five counties, while the Ulster presence amounts to nine clubs from seven counties.

Vincent Whelan, LGFA National Development Officer with remit for Growth and Participation, commented: “This year we had unprecedented interest in the hugely successful Gaelic4Girls programme.

“The programme aims to increase participation in 30 specifically selected clubs nationally, who have met the requisite criteria.

“Clubs will undertake an eight-week programme engaging with the local community, local schools and LSPs (Local Sports Partnerships) to reach out to the wider community and throw open their club gates to new members at certain age groups.

“In addition this year, coaches will get the opportunity to avail of two coach education days to support them as they continue their journey through the programme.

“As with every year, the famous Gaelic4Girls jersey will be sporting new colours and the participants will be off to a colourful start to their Ladies Gaelic Football lives.

“Fun Cluster blitzes, where the new players will get to execute their newly-acquired skills, will close the programme out and help to reinvigorate, grow and sustain the clubs well into the future.”

The full list of participating clubs for 2020 reads as follows:

Connacht: Loughrea (Galway), Kilmeena, Mayo Gaels, Claremorris, Ballyhaunis (all Mayo), St Mary’s (Sligo).

Leinster: St Anne’s (Carlow), St Nicholas (Louth), Wolfe Tones (Meath), Athlone (Westmeath), Clonard (Wexford), Clann Na Gael, St Nicholas, Newtownmountkennedy (all Wicklow).

Munster: Clarecastle (Clare), Whitescross (Cork), Finuge St Senans (Kerry), Croom, Askeaton-Ballysteen (both Limerick), Clashmore-Kinsalebeg, St Oliver’s (both Waterford).

Ulster: Naomh Seamus (Antrim), Pontzpass, St Michael’s (both Armagh), Naomh Ultan, Naomh Muire (both Donegal), Aghaderg (Down), Belcoo (Fermanagh), Ballybay (Monaghan), Castlederg (Tyrone).

History was made at Croke Park today — but not in the manner in which Kilcoo had planned.

Instead of marking their first appearance by taking delivery of the All-Ireland Club football title, the Down and Ulster champions were forced to play second fiddle to mighty Corofin, who swept majestically to their third successive crown.

On a day when they had hoped the sporting gods might smile on them, Kilcoo were forced to shoulder setbacks that ultimately led to their defeat.

Having shown that they could match their illustrious opponents in most elements of the contest, a red card incurred by Dylan Ward and a mini-collapse in the first half of extra-time contributed to Kilcoo’s downfall.

Their unrelenting spirit, willingness to put their bodies on the line and boundless energy were to stand them in good stead but when Corofin brought their vast experience, guile and stamina into play as the match progressed, it became clear that Kilcoo were out of their depth.

That they showed unswerving courage is beyond question but the handicap of having to play without a key player for the greater part of the second half ultimately proved too much.

The game was by no means a classic but it underlined the pressure and stress which teams must deal with at this level.

Corofin were streetwise and methodical for the most part although on other occasions they were rather naive, often surrendering possession rather meekly.

For their part, Kilcoo were always willing to probe for openings but for much of the first half they had 14 players behind the ball as they strove to ensure that Corfin would not steal a march.

In a tedious, often pedestrian first half devoid of real flair or invention, the teams all but cancelled each other out. Yet while Kilcoo enjoyed the greater ration of possession, they were fortunate not to concede two goals in the second and 26th minutes when goalkeeper Martin McCourt’s reflexes were tested to the full by shots from Michael Lundy and then Martin Farragher.

Five wides in the 11 minutes suggested that Kilcoo would have to work hard for their scores and that’s precisely how things turned out.

It was not until the 15th minute that they got off the mark, and only then through a converted free from Paul Devlin. When he repeated this two minutes later, Kilcoo began to look more comfortable.

Almost incredibly for a team that won the last two All-Ireland Club football titles, Corofin had to wait until the 23rd minute when Ronan Steede swept over a magnificent score from far out on the left wing.

This was followed by McCourt’s save from Farragher before Liam Silke put the finishing touch to the best move of the half by firing over the equalising point.

But if Kilcoo had held their own in the first half, it was a rather different story in the opening phase of the second period.

Ward’s departure to a second yellow card in the 34th minute clearly impacted on Kilcoo’s overall movement and Corofin were not slow to take advantage of the situation.

Gary Sice, one of their most experienced players, potted two points in the 35th and 36th minutes and when Jason Leonard landed another from a free, Corofin were beginning to look comfortable at 0-7 to 0-4.

Indeed, the indications were that they were about to close the game out.

But Kilcoo had other ideas and quickly put them into practice.

Joint skipper Conor Laverty whipped over a point from play and shortly afterwards Daryl Branagan, not for the first time in recent months, popped up with a crucial point that left Corofin clinging to a 0-7 to 0-6 advantage.

Suddenly it was game on again as Kilcoo delved into latent reserves of energy to force Corofin onto the back foot.

And when Paul Devlin landed yet another score to level matters in the 10th minute of injury-time, the nerves were almost tangible.

But that was as good as it got for Kilcoo.

Corofin dusted themselves down and obviously manager Kevin O’Brien had some serious words with them in the dressing room.

The reigning All-Ireland champions found a higher gear and suddenly Kilcoo were floundering as Ronan Steede, Dylan Canney and Liam Silke inflicted mortal wounds on Kilcoo’s morale.

But it was Conor Cunningham who inflicted the real killer blow when he stabbed home the only goal of the game to give his side a 1-11 to 0-7 lead at half-time in extra-time.

The second half was a non-event from Kilcoo’s perspective — they were held scoreless, but it mattered not.

They gave it everything on a day when fortune did not smile on them.

Kilcoo: M McCourt; N Branagan, R McEvoy, N McEvoy; E Branagan, Aaron Branagan, D Branagan 0-1; A Morgan, Aidan Branagan; D Ward, P Devlin 0-5 (3f), R Johnston; S Johnston, J Johnston, C Laverty 0-1. Subs: J Clarke for R Johmston (50), Anthony Morgan for Aaron Morgan (57), P Greenan for D Branagan (BC in extra-time) Yellow cards: Ward (30), R McEvoy (47), D Branagan (49). Red card: Ward (34). Black Card: D Branagan (ET)

Corofin: B Power; C Silke 0-1, K Fitzgerald, L Silke 0-1; K Molloy, C Cunningham, D Wall 0-1; D Burke, R Steede 0-3; G Sice 0-3 (2f), Mike Farragher, J Leonard 0-1; I Burke, Martin Farragher, Michael Lundy. Subs: C Cunningham 1-0 for Wall (35), G Burke for Brady (40), C McGrath for L Silke (57), D Silke for Mike Farragher (64), D Canney f0-2 for Burke (69). Yellow cards: Wall (31), L Silke (41), Steede (46). Black card: D Silke (66).

Referee: Conor Lane (Cork).

Belfast Telegraph