The 2009 National League with The Irish News Online

2008 promised much and delivered little for Down’s footballers. Danny Hughes tells Neil Loughran of his frustrations from last year and his hopes and aspirations for the campaign ahead...

WEXFORD. Founded and named by the Vikings, the Yellowbellies rampaged through Down’s ambitions twice in 2008, leaving promotion and All-Ireland hopes in tatters.
The Model county may be renowned for achieving success in the caman code (they have won six All-Ireland SHC titles, the last coming in 1996), but last year saw a sea-change that catapulted their footballers out of Division Three and into an All-Ireland semi-final, where they lost to eventual winners Tyrone.
In the process, they sent Down boss Ross Carr back to the drawing board. A five-point loss at Wexford Park in March consigned Down to the first defeat of a frustrating and fruitless National League campaign. Subsequent reverses against Leitrim and Fermanagh would ensure the Mournemen spent another season travelling the highways and by-ways of football’s third tier.
Five months later, though, a Matty Forde-inspired Wexford would upset Down on the biggest stage of all. Jason Ryan’s side used the vast expanses of Croke Park to send Carr’s side spinning out of the All-Ireland Championship on a miserable Saturday afternoon in August.
After the euphoria of an Ulster Championship replay victory over Mickey Harte’s Red Hands at Pairc Esler in May, the Wexford defeat brought Down crashing back to earth.
Danny Hughes was part of the half-forward line that day and admits “nothing went right.” However, the Saval clubman insisted the ghosts had long been laid to rest. Victories over St Mary’s and Tyrone in the Dr McKenna Cup had got the close-season training ban out of their systems, says Hughes, and they were now raring to go in the National League, starting at Thurles against Tipperary on Sunday.

“That day against Wexford was a low point in the career of myself and the other boys on the panel who have been around for a few years,” he said.
“We went down to Sligo and lost in a Qualifier a few years ago, but Wexford was a big blow because of the tradition that Down have in Croke Park.
“On the day, there were a number of factors that contributed to the defeat: the weather didn’t help, there was a torrential downpour. Add into that there was maybe 20,000 people at the game. I would rather play the game in Parnell Park with a full stadium making noise than at a virtually empty Croke Park on a Saturday afternoon.
“But, most importantly, the decision-making on the field on the day was not good enough. You can’t get away for that.
“From a personal point of view, my performance wasn’t good enough. The ball was bouncing off my chest when I normally would have handled it.
“At one time I ran out over the sideline... Croke Park wasn’t even big enough to hold me. Benny [Coulter] still has a laugh at me about that, saying there should have been another half-an-acre for me to play in.
“But I’ll learn from that. I’ve no doubt I’ll be back to Croke Park, and so will the rest of us at some point.”
Tough talking, but the hard yards start now, and getting into Division Two, where they would face a higher class of opposition, must be the immediate priority if Down are to be seen as anything other than a potential banana-skin for the big boys come Championship time.
“Our priority last year was to get out of that division and we didn’t do it. We fell away in the end,” said the 26-year-old, who made his debut for Down in a 2001 Qualifier against Donegal.
“At different times in the year, players go through patches of form, but it’s about trying to get people to peak at the right time. You just have to look at Tyrone last year. They weren’t peaking in May, but by August and September they were strong.”
Ah, Tyrone. Remember that great night? Remember the fans streaming on to the pitch in an outpouring of emotion seemingly bottled up since 1994? Remember Paul Murphy had Brian Dooher in his pocket for the whole game?
Great memories, but if they counted for little after the Wexford defeat, they counted for nothing at all when a beaming Dooher gleefully held aloft the Sam Maguire Cup on September 21.
“Until we achieve what the boys in 1991 and 1994 achieved, we’ll never match up. We know that. But the pressure and the scrutiny that comes with playing for Down is all worth it.
“The atmosphere at that [Tyrone] game was electric. That reaction was probably down to ourselves, and the fact that Down fans haven’t had much to cheer in recent years.
“We can play wonderful football. Maybe that’s our problem sometimes, when it comes to beating the Leitrims of this world, where you can’t always play the beautiful game. You have to be able to adapt to a more dogged style.”
2008 was also a year to remember for Sean Cavanagh, a university friend of Hughes when the pair were studying accountancy at Queen’s. A second All-Ireland in four years, captaining his country to a series win over their Australian counterparts Down Under, Hughes has nothing but admiration for the man widely regarded as the country’s finest footballer.
He said: “To be honest, there is a jealousy there. I’ll never match up to Cavanagh football-wise because the guy is the best player in Ireland, and he has been consistently brilliant for the last number of years.
“One player can make a difference, and he does make a massive difference for Tyrone. I couldn’t speak higher of the guy.”
One player who could make a difference to the Down cause, should he return to these shores from the world of Aussie Rules football, is Martin Clarke.
“The reality is Martin wants to come home at some point and win an All-Ireland. When he does come home, I’m sure he’ll be slotted in somewhere, and he would make a difference.
“Any team would benefit from having a guy of his quality.”
Until that day arrives, though, banishing the memories of 2008 and building with what they have at their disposal now is what really matters for Down.

CONSISTENCY. This is the key for Down in 2009, as Ross Carr enters his fourth National League campaign in charge of the Mournemen.
The Clonduff man knows a similarly hit-and-miss League campaign this time around won’t do, as Down missed out on promotion to Division Two after stuttering to defeat against Wexford and lowly Leitrim, before a last-day loss to Fermanagh consigned them to another season in the third tier.
Cavan should be the only team capable of challenging Down for top-spot, as they recorded comfortable wins over Louth, Limerick and Longford last year and would expect to do so again this time around. Therefore, the March 7 clash with Tommy Carr’s Breffnimen takes on added importance.
Carr will also be keen to tighten things up at the back, as the Mourne side shipped an average of almost 15 points a game in last year’s NFL campaign. Things didn’t improve in the Championship either, as they conceded an average of 17 points per game. Such a rate places huge pressure on the Down forwards to outscore their opponents.
The triumph over Tyrone at Pairc Esler in last year’s Ulster Championship showed what Down are capable of on their day. Dan McCartan performed solidly on Sean Cavanagh, while the midfield and forwards played with the kind of confidence and desire rarely in recent years.
Unfortunately, the humbling at the hands of Wexford at Croke Park led to suggestions that Down froze on the big stage. While this may be harsh, the Mournemen due largely to the weather conditions struggled to hold on to the ball, and could well have lost by an even greater margin on the day, but for Wexford’s first-half profligacy in front of the posts.

Down need to go up in the world says Danny

2008 promised much and delivered little for Down’s footballers. Danny Hughes tells Neil Loughran of his frustrations from last year and his hopes and aspirations for the campaign ahead...