Leitrim 2-12 South Down 3-11
South Down reached the final
of the National Hurling League Division 4
with a hard-earned victory over Leitrim in
Carrick-on-Shannon. With close on half their
first team players missing through injury,
the depth of talent on the panel was clearly
shown by this performance.
However, it took them a long
time to settle. After 12 minutes they trailed
by six points to no score. After 26 minutes
they looked well beaten at 1-7 to just two
points from Jonathan McCusker (free) and Ciaran
Sloan. But then the team began to gel and
two points from Sloan and one from Karl Maxwell
left them trailing by five.
Just before half-time a John
Brown 65 was dropped in to the net by the
Leitrim goalkeeper. When Brown added a point
almost immediately, South Down were trailing
by just a single point at the break.
But Leitrim did not give
up easily. Despite points from Maxwell and
Aidan Brown, Leitrim’s Clement Cunniffe
put the home side ahead on 43 minutes by 2-8
to 1-8. But the Mourne men rallied.
A well-taken goal by Jonathan
McCusker on 45 minutes was followed five minutes
later by a fine individual goal from John
O’Kane. That left the visitors a goal
in front and they never lost the lead after
that. Further points from McCusker and O’Kane
left the Down men 3-11 to 2-10 but Leitrim
finished strongly and it took a fine save
from a Leitrim penalty to gain Down a deserved
victory and a place in the final.
All 15 men on the South Down
team deserve praise for this effort and David
McGovern provided good cover as blood substitute
for Eoin McGuinness when he went off with
a badly bleeding nose. The only bad news on
the day was Ciaran Sloan’s straight
red card in injury time which will probably
rule the team’s top scorer out of the
final.
South Down started the year
with it all to prove. Seen by some as a waste
of time and money, even within their own county,
the team’s early defeat against Monaghan
left it open to criticism. But South Down’s
reply was 3 hard fought wins. Having silenced
the detractors in their own County, their
next challenge is the final and a rematch
with Monaghan. South Down have the ability
to win a National League title, they deserve
your support for the final.
Down: G McMullan, N Conway,
B McAleenan, M Murphy, M Duggan, J McGrath,
A Higgins, T Jennings (0-1), K Maxwell (0-2,
0-1 free), J McCusker (1-2, 0-1 free), J Brown
(1-1, 1-0 65), E McGuinness, J O’Kane
(1-1), C Sloan (0-3), A Brown (0-1).
