The Down Ladies Team got their first points of the season with a thumping win over Roscommon in Tullylish.  Despite the very wet conditions, Down produced some tremendous passages of play to overcome a brave Roscommon side.

It was Roscommon who took possession from the throw in, immediately sending a long ball in to the Down half back line.  However, Shamrocks player, Sinead Fagan was out quickly and combined well with Sinead Murphy to pass the ball out of the defence.  Their good work was rewarded when Lyndsey Cunningham’s subsequent attack up the wing found Maeve McConville who duly pointed for the first score of the match.  Sixty seconds later, they doubled their lead when Michaela Downey took the ball on the right wing, before soloing past two Roscommon players to hit the ball over the bar.  Despite their early attacks, Down were brought back to earth with a bump as Roscomon came back with a goal.  A strong shot by half forward Michelle Carey was saved at point blank range by ‘keeper Emma Madine only for full forward Emer Casey to strike an unstoppable shot high into the left corner, bringing them right back into the game. 

Despite the set back, Down came back, dominating possession with Grainne McClean pointing from a free on the twelve minute mark.  Michaela Downey and Kyla Trainor caused multiple problems for Roscommon throughout the half with their strength in possession.  They combined to great effect just after the half way point with Trainor passing to Downey from the wing before the Clonduff player hit the back of the net.  Downey followed this with another point after some excellent fielding and distribution from midfielder Cora McKibben.   Further scores from Roscommon’s Michelle Carey saw them narrow the gap but as half time approached, Down still held the upper hand.  They went into half time leading 1-5 to 1-2, but given their domination of possession, should have had a few more scores on the board.

The second half saw Down play some of the best football seen by the side this year.  Michaela Downey set the scene for the half by thumping the ball against the cross bar after just thirty seconds.  And while Downey hit the scores in the first half (1-4), she turned provider in the second, with a quick wide pass allowing Kyla Trainor to go on a tremendous solo run before hitting the top left corner of the net.  That was to be the first of 3-2 that the Downpatrick star would hit in the second half. Her scoring trail was interrupted just twice by Roscommon with two points from Michelle Carey from frees.  Substitute Lisa Morgan, also got in on the act with a cracking goal from ten yards out, low to the keeper’s left.  The basis for all of Down’s attacks in the second half was the tenacity of their back line, who snuffed out every Roscommon attack.  Niamh Lennon, Bronagh McCurry and Niamh McGowan were faultless with goalkeeper Emma Madine making some key saves and performing well under the high ball.  In reality, the game was over as a contest half way through the second period and when the referee’s final whistle blew, a drenched Down team headed for the shelter of the changing rooms very happy with their day’s work.

Managers Noel Haughey and John McCarthy were pleased with the team’s performance saying, “the effort and determination that the girls showed today was fantastic.  We applied pressure throughout the game, our blocking was excellent and our finishing was good especially in the second half.

Down have showed a significant improvement with this win and will be particularly pleased with the standard of fielding and ball control displayed, especially given the bad playing conditions.  The defensive unit did all that was asked of them and the powerhouse performances of Downey and Trainor left them in a different league at the end.

Down Team: Emma Madine Bronagh McCurry Niamh McGowan Niamh Lennon Eilish McConville (captain) Sinead Murphy Sinead Fegan Aine Keary Cora McKibben Grainne McClean Kyla Trainor Michaela Downey Kerrie O’Neill Lyndsey Cunningham Maeve McConville.  Subs Used: Lisa Morgan

Management: John McCarthy, Noel Haughey