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Thrilling Ulster Final finishes level 2003
Ulster Football Championship - Final
Down 4-8 Tyrone 1-17 
@ 2.30 p.m. Clones, Sunday 13th July 2003
This was one of the most exciting games to take place at the famous Monaghan venue in years and, in the end, both sides deserved a second chance.
Down played half the game with fourteen men and managed to stay in touch with an unbelievable penchant for scoring goals. Paddy O'Rourke's men seemed to hit the net every time they went upfield and, indeed, led by nine points ten minutes into the second half.
But the league specialists never panicked and fought back for a deserved draw. And but for three poor wides late on, the favourites would have prevailed.
Tyrone made a blistering start and a sweeping move had Owen Mulligan one-on-one with Mickey McVeigh inside 30 seconds but the Down ėkeeper saved brilliantly.
Mourne County midfielder McCartan fired a simple third-minute free badly wide before - predictably - Tyrone captain Peter Canavan opened the scoring in the fifth minute.
Liam Doyle equalised from a free when Chris Lawn was harshly adjudged to have fouled Dan Gordon. But Sean Cavanagh fisted Tyrone back ahead after good approach play from Enda McGinley.
Nineteen-year-old Gordon got out in front of Lawn and turned superbly to float over his first point of this year's championship but the O'Neill County restored their narrow advantage in the 15th minute when Kevin Hughes sold a wonderful dummy before floating over.
McVeigh made his second point-blank save to deny the unmarked Cavanagh when the big midfielder looked odds-on to score a goal, but Brian Dooher pointed neatly from the rebound.
Mickey Harte's men were well on top now and Canavan's delightfully-curled free had them 0-5 to 0-2 in front at the end of the first quarter.
McCartan's close-range free reduced the arrears but the energetic Cavanagh split the posts effortlessly to make it double scores, 0-6 to 0-3. When Ryan McMenamin was penalised for handling on the ground, Doyle popped over the resultant free.
Down should have edged even closer when awarded another easy free but this time the kick was lost after Ronan Murtagh foolishly lashed out at McMenamin and the referee opted to throw up the ball.
Tyrone punished the Mourne men as Conor Gormley pointed at the other end and the teams continued to swap points with Down full back(!) Brian Burns, Mulligan and Doyle all raising white flags.
There were two minutes of added time and what drama we saw: Down scored a goal, had one of their most influential players controversially sent off, and added a point to take a two-point lead into the break!
The suckerpunch arrived two minutes into injury-time when Benny Coulter danced majestically through the Tyrone defence to blast an unstoppable shot to the back of the net.
Down won the next possession and McCartan was awarded a free. Brian McGuigan tripped the 1994 All-Ireland winner just as he was about to take the kick and McCartan replied by throwing the ball into the Tyrone centre forward's face. For his troubles, he received a straight red.
Doyle sent over the last score of the half and the fourteen men carried a 1-7 to 0-8 lead into the break.
Tyrone had numerical superiority on the resumption. However, it was Down who came tearing out of the blocks to register 2-1 without reply in the first ten minutes of the second half.
Canavan missed what was by his own high standards a relatively straight-forward free in the first minute of the half.
Unbelievably, the fourteen men responded with their second goal. Again, Coulter was the architect: the busy Down forward ripped through the Tyrone defence and coolly picked out Doyle who slammed to the net from close range.
And it got even worse for the hot favourites three minutes later when the O'Neill County defence stood off and allowed gangly full forward Gordon to fist a high centre past Devine to the net.
Tyrone's heads were down and when Coulter ended a flowing move with a fine point in the 45th minute, they led by nine points, 3-8 to 0-8!
Down sat back and Tyrone came looking for goals. They got one when Peter Canavan calmly converted a 48th-minute penalty. Canavan had picked out Cavanagh whose shot bulleted back off the crossbar and when the Tyrone captain gathered the rebound he was fouled. He made no mistake from the spot and McGuigan followed up with a good point from play.
Tyrone's comeback continued to gather pace as Canavan knocked over a 51st-minute free to leave just four points between the teams, 3-8 to 1-10.
Wing back Philip Jordan raided forward and blasted a shot inches over the bar as Tyrone's numerical advantage began to tell. Mulligan supplied their next point and suddenly there were only two points in it. And the fourteen men of Tyrone seemed to have all the momentum.
McGuigan's left-footed attempt flew marginally wide as the O'Neill County endeavoured to get closer but Canavan made no such mistake when converting his third free in the 60th minute.
With ten minutes left, there was just a single point between the sides. And it was the captain (from another free) who drew the favourites level with nine minutes to play.
Down hadn't had an attack for 15 minutes but they had an amazing knack of finding the net and struck again in the 63rd minute. Doyle's high free was punched home by Gordon after terrible indecision in the Tyrone defence.
Tyrone refused to give up though and fought back manfully again, hitting two points in a minute through Mulligan and Gourley.
With two minutes remaining, Canavan drew a foul from the Down defence and the inimitable Tyrone captain made no mistake from the resultant free to again bring his team level.
The sides were level but there would be four minutes of added time. Canavan's left-footed effort was waved wide and Kevin Hughes and Ryan McMenamin also squandered late chances as a pulsating clash ended all-square.
Tyrone: J Devine; C Lawn, D Carolan, R McMenamin; C Gormley (0-1), D McCrossan, P Jordan (0-1); C McAnallen, S Cavanagh (0-2); B Dooher (0-1), B McGuigan (0-1), K Hughes (0-1); E McGinley, P Canavan (1-6), O Mulligan (0-3). Subs: C Gourley (0-1), B Robinson
Down: M McVeigh, J Clarke, B Burns (0-1), M Cole, J Lavery, A O'Prey, A Molloy, S Ward, G McCartan (0-1), L Doyle (1-4), M Walsh, B Coulter (1-0), R Sexton, D Gordon (2-1), R Murtagh. Subs: J McCartan, S King, M Linden, P McCartan
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