Dr McKenna Cup round 3: Down 2-15 Cavan 1-15
Injury-time flurry sees Down past Cavan in McKenna Cup | Independent.ie
Down landed five points unanswered in second-half injury time to seal a win in this thrilling clash at Páirc Esler.
A slightly fortuitous 16th-minute goal from Brían O’Connell was all that separated the sides at half-time as Cavan led.
Raymond Galligan’s men, spurred on by Man of the Match Oisin Brady who notched 0-7 from play, looked to have done enough when they opened a six-point lead 11 minutes into the second half but superb goals from Odhran Murdock and sub Rory Mason saw the Mourne men take the win.
The hosts were wasteful, kicking 10 wides and dropping a number of very poor efforts short, but they stepped it up in the closing stages. While Cavan recovered from the goals to lead by two again entering injury time, their kick-out came under huge pressure late on and Down made their momentum count with that late flurry of scores from Pól Quinn, Pat Havern (two), Oisin Savage and Rory Mason.
Cavan had opened with intent, Paddy Lynch converting a 45 and Oisin Brady adding one from play, but Down quickly took charge, reeling off four in succession before O’Connell saw his rebound hit the net to make it 1-4 to 0-5.
Down's missed chances were mounting up and the visitors punished them with two well-taken Oisin Brady points to go in leading by three.
This clash had the feel of a throwback, with endless turnovers and contests, but it looked as if the result would be one-sided when Cavan reeled off three in succession to lead by 1-9 to 0-6.
Down ended 30 scoreless minutes with a point from Pierce Lavery and the game turned on its head in the space of three minutes when Mason buried the ball to the top corner and, soon afterwards, Murdock tore through the centre and also blasted home.
The Blues responded well through Lynch, Padraig Faulkner, Oisin Brady and Jack Tully but Down kept battling. With the momentum behind them, they pinned Cavan in and produced those five late points to win it in a remarkable finish.
Scorers – Down: Pat Havern 0-5, Odhran Murdock 1-1, Rory Mason 1-1, Oisin Savage 0-2, Pearse McCabe 0-1, Pierce Laverty 0-1, Gareth McKibben 0-1, Liam Kerr 0-1, Jack McCartan 0-1
Cavan: Oisin Brady 0-7, Paddy Lynch 0-3, (1 45, 1f), Brían O’Connell 1-0, James Galligan 0-1, Padraig Faulkner 0-1, Tiarnan Madden 0-1, James Smith 0-1, James Tully 0-1
Down: John O’Hare, Peter Fegan, Ryan McEvoy, Finn McElroy, Daniel Guinness, Pearse McCabe, Pierce Laverty, Odhran Murdock, Jonny Flynn, Gareth McKibben, Liam Kerr, James Guinness, Andrew Gilmore, Pat Havern, Oisin Savage
Subs: Rory Mason for P McCabe (ht), Jack McCartan (0-1) for J Guinness, Pól Quinn for A Gilmore (both 43), Conor Francis for G McKibben (46), Niall McPartland for J Flynn (51), A Doherty for F McElroy (63), Gerard Collins for P Laverty (63)
Cavan: Fergal O’Rourke, Oisin Kiernan (Denn), Killian Clarke, Killian Brady, Jason McLoughlin, Oisin Kiernan (Castlerahan), Brían O’Connell, James Galligan, Padraig Faulkner, Tiarnan Madden, Oisin Brady, Gerard Smith, Paddy Lynch, James Smith, Cormac O’Reilly
Subs: Ryan Brady for J Smith (ht), Evan Finnegan for K Clarke (46), Peter Smith for B O’Connell (53), J Tully (0-1) for C O’Reilly (51), Paul Smith for T Madden (67), Caoimhan McGovern for G Smith (68)
Ref: Diarmuid Boylan (Monaghan)
By Thu 11th Jan
