Football

Caolan Mooney savours first Ulster Championship victory with Down

Down's Caolan Mooney gets away from Armagh's Stefan Campbell during Sunday's Ulster Championship clash at Pairc Esler. Picture by Seamus Loughran
Down's Caolan Mooney gets away from Armagh's Stefan Campbell during Sunday's Ulster Championship clash at Pairc Esler. Picture by Seamus Loughran Down's Caolan Mooney gets away from Armagh's Stefan Campbell during Sunday's Ulster Championship clash at Pairc Esler. Picture by Seamus Loughran

IT’S hard to believe, but six years have now passed since Caolan Mooney made his senior Championship debut in red and black.

Perhaps more surprisingly, Sunday’s derby clash with Armagh was only his second appearance in the Ulster Championship and, more importantly, his first win.

Even taking into account the summers spent with Aussie Rules outfit Collingwood between 2012 and 2014, that seems unusual.

Mooney is one of a clutch of Down footballers to have started their inter-county careers in the shadow of the 2010 side that reached the All-Ireland final, making his bow in a Qualifier win down in Clare the following year.

Despite his relative inter-county inexperience, the Rostrevor rocket’s searing pace is a huge asset to Eamonn Burns’s improving Down side. When he was granted the space to turn on the after-burners in Newry, Armagh simply couldn’t live with him.

Mooney may not have been born when the Mourne County last registered a Championship victory over their greatest rivals in 1992, but the significance of Sunday’s win wasn’t lost on the 24-year-old.

“There’s a few of us who have had to wait for a first Ulster win,” said Mooney.

“Coming into the game, everyone was saying the sky was the limit for this Armagh team.

“They were in the same sort of boat as us – we went from Division One to Division Two, they went from Division Three to Division Two and then back down so I didn’t understand where the comparison was that they had the upper hand because we were playing at the higher level.

“I know League form doesn’t mean much but we went in with the underdog tag and just pushed them on the back foot from the outset.

“Even when those [Armagh] goals went in in the first half, we were still on top in defence. It was just a high ball in and it fell their way, but we pushed on and kept scoring.

“We knew in the second half, with the breeze, if we broke out at speed they weren’t going to live with us.”

Such confidence was in short supply in Down just a few short months ago.

Without a win in League or Championship for almost two years, they must have felt as though the changing room walls were closing in after losing their opening two games in Division Two.

Mooney played a crucial role as that pressure valve was released with victory over Meath in March, but insists it was the relegation-defying draw in Cork on the last day that brought a new-found belief to Down’s class of 2017.

He said: “The Cork game showed the fighting spirit this team has. Four points down and playing against a strong breeze, especially down there, and we came back.

“We were lucky enough results went our way but throughout the League we weren’t playing as bad as people were making out.

“Kildare and Galway, it was just lapses in concentration for a couple of minutes, there was a couple of goals and that killed us. At least today we got back from the goals, they didn’t stop us, we pushed on.

“Everyone knew the importance of the game if we got the win - hopefully it’ll bring a buzz to the county and on to the next round.”

There were plenty of positives to take from Down’s play, particularly their defensive solidity after a shaky first half, and Mooney even took heart from their response when a full-scale schemozzle broke out late on.

“It was great to see all the boys coming in,” he said with a smile.

“There’s always a saying ‘one in, all in’ but sometimes with the county, you haven’t got that club feel. But as soon as it happened everybody was in and stood up for each other.

“It shows there’s a good bond between us all.”