EirGrid Ulster U20 Football Championship Section A, round three
Down 0-13 Monaghan 1-12
DEFENDING champions Down are still winless after three games of this year’s Championship after falling to Monaghan in Newry.
The Mournemen fell to a heavy defeat to Derry in their first outing, and were pegged back by Tyrone last Wednesday having led by six at one stage – so Neil Coulter’s side were determined to get their campaign up and running.
Yet they were coming up against a Farney outfit who battled beyond Antrim in their first game, picking up where they left off by hitting the ground running at Pairc Esler on Wednesday night as they moved into a 1-2 to 0-1 lead after 10 minutes.
After that slow start, however, Down gradually gained a foothold in the game, closing the gap to a point by half-time.
And they bagged the first three scores of the second half to move into the lead, but Monaghan came roaring back to halt the Mourne momentum, leaving just a score between the sides coming into the final quarter.
Just as Down looked set to close out the game, and claim a first win of the campaign, the Farneymen stepped it up a gear.
First they snatched a late leveller when Padraig Doogan-Burke stroked over with a minute of normal time remaining, before a Stephen Mooney strike two minutes into added time, followed by a Nicky Sherlock effort, secured a dramatic win for Darren Greenan’s side to kickstart the Monaghan celebrations.
It was late heartache for the Mournemen for the second week in-a-row, after Hogan Cup winning captain Callum Daly came off the bench to grab a stoppage-time leveller for the Red Hands seven days earlier.
Their final game is against Antrim in Dunsilly next Wednesday, while Monaghan take on Tyrone in Omagh.
Having also held off a late fightback from the Saffrons last week, this young Farney outfit has already shown it is made of stern stuff heading towards that date with the Red Hands.
