DOWN
2-12 MEATH 1-21
In the final round of
the Christy Ring group a makeshift Down
team lost to Meath in Ballycran on Saturday.
Meath took full advantage of the rule
which allows up to 5 hurlers from stronger
counties to represent weaker counties
in the competition, with additions from
Waterford, Clare and former Tipperary
star Eoin Brislane. Down entered the match
with only 14 fully fit squad members,
one of whom was the sub goalkeeper.
Down again were slow to
start. Meath scored first from a Nicky
Horan free. Andy Savage replied for Down
3 minutes later. Two more frees and a
65 from Horan followed as Down struggled
to come to terms with the power of Meath
round the middle of the park.
After 10 minutes Down
found their touch. Two points from Andy
Savage and Simon Wilson closed the gap.
The teams then traded points up to half
time. Meath led at the break 10 points
to 7 having scored all but 2 from frees.
The third quarter of the
match displayed the competitive edge which
was missing in the first half. Ciaran
Coulter rocked Meath with a goal to open
Down’s second half scoring. A Simon
Wilson shot ended up in the net following
a misjudgement by Meath Goalkeeper Stephen
Quinn. Down stretched their lead to 2-11
to 0-13 through points from Eoin Clarke,
Simon Wilson and Paddy Coulter.
A red card for Meath’s
Joey Keenan, 15 minutes into the second
half following a tussle with Simon Wilson,
proved to be the turning point in the
match. Meath raised their game to compensate
for their loss and Down struggled to make
use of the spare man. Down blew their
chance of victory scoring only 2 points
in last 20 minutes. Meath added 1-8 in
the same period and but for the heroics
of Graham Clarke in goals, it might have
been more.
A five point win for Meath
sees them through to the semi-finals of
the Christy Ring Cup, though Down should
take positives from their display. Players
such as Sean Ennis and Ruairi McGrattan,
who featured little in the starting 15
during the year, took their chance and
shone in the defence. In attack Ciaran
Coulter and Simon Wilson both looked impressive
following their return to the panel.
Down’s season is
now over. Whilst relegation in the league
in a division containing Waterford and
Cork was inevitable, the magnitude of
the defeat in the Ulster Final and their
failure to reach the semi-finals of the
Christy Ring Cup for the first time, demonstrate
a major effort is required to get Down
hurling back to where it was in the recent
past.
Team: G Clarke, A Bell,
S Murray (capt.), S Ennis, R McGrattan,
K Courtney, S Johnston, A Savage, G Adair,
E McGuinness, C Coulter, S Wilson, P.
Coulter, G Savage, E. Clarke.
