Football

Down dig in again to snatch late victory over disappointed Derry

Derry's Chrissy McKaigue closes down goalkeeper Rory Burns during Saturday night's National League clash in Newry. Picture by Philip Walsh
Derry's Chrissy McKaigue closes down goalkeeper Rory Burns during Saturday night's National League clash in Newry. Picture by Philip Walsh Derry's Chrissy McKaigue closes down goalkeeper Rory Burns during Saturday night's National League clash in Newry. Picture by Philip Walsh

Allianz National Football League Division Three: Down 0-14 Derry 0-12

DOWN could just as easily be sitting with zero points from two games, promotion hopes in tatters, the prospect of the long trip down the N7 to take on bogey team Cork doing little to lift the mood.

Instead, Paddy Tally’s battlers seized control of their own destiny when it mattered most to snatch an unlikely looking draw in Tipperary on the opening day of the League and, on Saturday night, they had to dig deep again.

The Mournemen were fortunate to only trail by a point heading towards the final 10 minutes, a series of squandered Derry opportunities – including a gilt-edged goal chance for Shane McGuigan in the 57th minute – keeping Down hopes alive heading towards the last.

When Conor Poland was sin-binned with 10 minutes left, however, those hopes appeared to be fading fast.

But the fresh legs brought in by Tally made a much greater impact than those introduced to the fray by Rory Gallagher, the stark reality of chasing a game a man down suddenly sharpening Mourne minds.

Liam Kerr’s pace and directness prised open a packed Derry defence, Pat Havern gave Down width and energy, while Daniel Guinness brought much-needed urgency off the bench and showed guts galore to sling over from 35 metres and draw Down level with five minutes left.

Sean Dornan was only on the field for a couple of minutes after replacing Jerome Johnston in added time, but rose highest to claim a crucial mark around the middle, relieving the pressure when they needed it most.

Derry should be kicking themselves. A weird mixture of disappointment and relief greeted the eventual outcome of the previous weekend’s draw with Leitrim, when they were lucky to have escaped with anything after a below-par display.

Saturday night was a marked improvement yet the Oak Leafs headed back home empty-handed. They now have no option but to beat Tipperary in Owenbeg this Sunday in order to give themselves any chance of mounting a promotion push.

Gallagher made three changes to his starting line-up, bringing in the dynamic Paudie Cassidy as well as forward pair Alex Doherty and Shane McGuigan, and his side were much more composed and clinical as a result.

Slaughtneil man McGuigan was the outstanding forward on show all night, cutting onto his left foot before slotting over inside 30 seconds. Straight away, Down sweeper Kevin McKernan focused his attention on McGuigan’s wing in a bid to try and limit his impact.

For all their sloppiness in Celtic Park seven days earlier, Derry were a model of discipline in the first 35. Against the breeze they were dominant from kick-outs, building methodically to isolate their shooters in space early on, with Benny Heron and Shea Downey adding to McGuigan’s early score as the Oak Leafs moved into a 0-3 to 0-1 lead.

Down, meanwhile, were the ones crying out for some composure when faced with a white and red wall, Derry holding their shape well to drag mistakes from their opponents. When a Doherty strike with the outside of the boot moved them into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead eight minutes before the break, Gallagher’s men looked comfortable.

However, the Fermanagh man wasn’t impressed when, with the half drawing to a close, referee Padraig Hughes opted against playing advantage when a move involving Ciaran McFaul and Padraig Cassidy was recalled for a free when a goal was a possibility.

McGuigan converted from close range but with Donal O’Hare dead-eyed from frees as usual, the Mournemen had closed the gap to a point, 0-8 to 0-7, at half-time.

The pattern of the game remained the same after the break but Derry were passing up opportunities they had been burying in the first half, kicking seven wides in total – three coming from McGuigan as Darren O’Hagan began to get on top of their battle.

The Clonduff defender was mistakenly named twice in the match programme and at times it seemed as though there was two of him after timely interceptions when McGuigan and the marauding Padraig McGrogan within minutes of each other, getting a vital hand in on both occasions.

O’Hagan also did just enough to edge McGuigan off balance when Derry’s big chance arrived 13 minutes from time, the ball running away from the Derry forward as he chased it into the square, eventually sliding and shooting over the bar under pressure from the Down captain.

That score put Derry up 0-11 to 0-10, and they received another boost Poland was black carded for a high tackle on Padraig Cassidy. With the Slaughtneil man bursting into acres of space after a Down attack had broken down, Poland had no choice but to take him out.

A man up, Derry popped the ball from side to side, trying to tire Down out, but the Mournemen regained possession and when O’Hare played the ball back to Guinness, he made no mistake to level.

In the 66th minute, Down hit the front for the first time all night, Barry O’Hagan taking a mark after a short Kerr kick before confidently dispatching from distance.

With the tide turned in the other direction, the killer blow for Derry came with a minute to go when substitute Chrissy Bradley drifted an aimless ball into the square as they chased an equaliser.

A long ball out of defence found Pat Havern tearing towards the square but it looked as though the danger had been averted when he cut back instead of continuing his charge towards goal, the Saval forward laying off to Johnston on the loop.

The Kilcoo forward, who only returned to county training on Thursday night, took one step to the left before curling straight between the posts, bringing a huge roar from the home support who sensed another comeback was almost complete.

A rampaging run from Brendan Rogers spread panic among the Mourne ranks in added time but they held on to get the job done, with Derry left to count of the cost of another opportunity missed.

Down: R Burns; D O’Hagan, B McArdle, R McAleenan; S Annett, K McKernan, G Collins; J Flynn, C Poland (0-1); B O’Hagan (0-2, 0-1 mark), P Devlin, O McCabe (0-1), J Johnston (0-2, 0-1 mark); D O’Hare (0-6, frees), C Quinn (0-1). Subs: L Kerr for Devlin (43), P Havern for Quinn (47), P Fegan for McAleenan (51), D Guinness (0-1) for Collins (55), S Dornan for Johnston (70+3)

Black cards: C Poland (60), B O’Hagan (70+5)

Yellow cards: R McAleenan (30), C Quinn (40), O McCabe (58)

Derry: O Lynch; L McGoldrick, B Rogers, C McCluskey; S Downey (0-1); P McGrogan, N Keenan; C McKaigue (0-1), E Bradley; C McFaul, P Cassidy, D Tallon, B Heron (0-1); A Doherty (0-1), S McGuigan (0-7, 0-4 frees). Subs: N Toner for Heron (49), R Bell for Doherty (55), C Doherty for McCluskey (56), C Bradley (0-1) for Keenan (67), G O’Neill for Downey (70+3)

Yellow cards: S Downey (47), C McCluskey (54),

Referee: P Hughes (Armagh)