There was double delight for Down in Navan on Saturday afternoon as the minors firstly recorded a comprehensive victory over Meath to qualify for an All Ireland C Quarter Final and their victory was followed by the U20 team recording a win in the Liam Connor Cup Final against Westmeath.
The afternoon opened with the minor game and, for the most part, Down were significantly superior to their Leinster opponents – though Meath did have their moments, especially in the middle part of the first half and, were it not for the splendid shot stopping of Callum Travers the Royals would have had a couple of goals which may have altered the course of the game. As it were, with Travers’ stops Meath were limited to two first half points from dead balls, one a 45 and one a free while Down notched nine before the break with Barra McEvoy, Liam Blayney and Paul McGovern each contributing a third of the total haul.
After a short Meath renaissance at the beginning of the second half Down quickly assumed control again and if there was any doubt about the result it was well and truly put to bed thanks to goals from Darragh Poland and Charlie McGrath as Benny Coulter’s side stormed to a 2-16 – 0-08 victory.
The u20 game was much tighter throughout. Down trailed at half time by 0-05 – 0-04 but never panicked. They controlled the ball for large parts and defended well when Westmeath came at them.
The game stayed neck and neck right the way through the second half and it was the 43rd minute when Senan Carr’s score nudged Down to the front. The entire down defence continued to push the side on late on with the energy and fitness levels on show a credit to all involved. Down led by two with the game entering injury time but a Westmeath free reduced the gap to just one. Down responded in style though as a rapid breakaway led to the ball reaching Dan Rafferty and the wing half back slotted it home to secure the victory and seal scenes of jubilation.
By Mon 20th May
