Coulter gets Down off to a great start
Leitrim recorded the surprise
result of the weekend when deservedly pipping
high-flying Down by 2-7 to 1-9 at Carrick-on-Shannon.
The loyal home supporters who
flocked to Pairc Sean for this Division Three
clash probably feared the worst but Dessie Dolan’s
men produced a stellar display to claim their
second win of the campaign.
Emlyn Mulligan had the winners
off the mark with a fourth-minute free but the
Mourne County mustered a dream response when
Benny Coulter drove his 25-metre shot to the
net.
However, the hosts were up
for the challenge and they dominated the remainder
of the first half. Twelve minutes from the short
whistle, Phil McGuinness was downed as he ran
goalwards and Mulligan made no mistake from
the resultant penalty.
The winners then registered
four more times without response to assume a
1-6 to 1-1 interval lead.
With the wind behind them,
Down outscored the hosts by 0-6 to 0-1 in the
third quarter to draw level but McGuinness fisted
a match-winning goal 15 minutes from the end.
Down’s misery was compounded
when midfielder Declan Rooney was sent off for
an off-the-ball transgression.
Leitrim - N Gill; D Reynolds,
J McKeon, M McGuinness; G Reynolds, B Prior,
S Foley 0-1;G McCloskey, M Duignan; M Foley,
E Mulligan 1-4, P McGuinness 1-1; D O’Connor,
D Brennan, F McBrien 0-1 Subs: D Duignan for
F McBrien,C Duignan for D Brennan, C Regan for
E Mulligan, R Gallagher for M Duignan, B McWeeney
for P McGuinness
Down - M McAllister; L Howard,
G McArdle, M Cole; R Murtagh, L Doyle 0-5, P
Turley; A Rodgers, D Rooney; J Fegan, R Sexton
0-1, D Hughes 0-1; P Downey, D Gordon, B Coulter
1-0. Subs: D Rafferty for G McArdle, A Carr
0-1 for R Murtagh, K McGuigan for P Turley,
J Clarke 0-1 for P Downey, S Kearney for J Fegan
Ref - M Daly (Mayo)
