Allianz National Hurling League Division 2A: Down 1-19 Kerry 0-20
IT’S 15 years since Down last mixed it with hurling’s elite – but at their Ballycran battleground on Saturday they edged another step closer to a top flight return when Kerry were dramatically dispatched at the death.
Having trailed by six at the break after opting to face down the wind, a storming second half saw the Ardsmen haul themselves back into the game before a pair of late frees from sub Oisin MacManus snatched supremacy when it truly mattered, moving Ronan Sheehan’s side into a winner-takes-all 2A decider against whoever emerges from this weekend’s semi showdown between the Kingdom and Westmeath.
Taking that final step will be foremost in Down minds in the fortnight ahead, but already they can reflect on further huge strides made. Considering last year was their first 2A campaign in almost a decade, talk only of securing survival has been firmly left behind.
To finish top in an ultra-competitive division containing counties who have operated at a higher level consistently in recent years speaks volumes of the hard work done to push Down forward.
But, allied to the improved conditioning that formed the foundation of Saturday’s victory, continuity of selection and a settled squad – not always a given in years gone by - has brought a steel and a sureness when knife-edge games hang in the balance. Just look at how this campaign has played out.
Victory over Carlow on the opening day was sealed in the dying seconds. Level with five to play, a strong finish sealed the deal in Meath. A gale force wind saw Down trail Kildare by 15 at half-time before a second half fightback so nearly reaped rich rewards before losing out by the minimum. Eight of the last nine scores went their way to snatch victory in Westmeath.
Every single point Down put on the Division 2A board has been hard-fought – if unsurprising – that Saturday should play out exactly the same way. It was also fitting that, having lost to Kerry on every occasion since the 2013 Christy Ring Cup final, another barrier should be broken through on such a significant day.
And yet the Kingdom – managed by former Waterford Allstar Stephen Molumphy - will have made the long trip home wondering how they let it get away. Needing only a draw to seal their spot in the 2A final, 10 wides during that opening 35 helped the Ardsmen stay in touch.
With a breeze casually estimated to be worth anywhere around six-to-eight points, Kerry had to make do with the lower end of that scale heading in at half-time – and even then it was only in the dying moments that daylight came.
The direct running of the towering Fionan MacKessy and Mikey Boyle from deep offered cause for concern, but the deployment of Marc Fisher and Conor Woods as dual sweepers helped curtail the Kerry threat sufficiently any time they went long.
The dead-eyed Paul Sheehan kept Down in touch from frees but rapid-fire scores from Shane Conway, captain Padraig O’Connor and Padraig Boyle left a target of six on Kerry backs as the Ballycran crowd roared the Ardsmen out for the second half.
The ferocious tackling of the half-back line and never-say-die approach of forwards Eoghan and Daithi Sands provided the platform for the comeback, with an expertly-converted Conor Woods penalty – after Eoghan Sands was hauled to the ground by the sin-binned Conor O’Keeffe – kick-starting Down’s momentum.
Pearse Og McCrickard, a late replacement for Donal Hughes at midfield, led the rebellion as the Ardsmen ate into the Kerry lead, a Sheehan free drawing them level with 14 minutes to play.
Yet as the counties traded blows, it was anybody’s guess who would prevail. Springing the lively Maurice O’Connor from the bench, Kerry suddenly posed more of a threat inside that at any other stage in the second half.
The Kingdom spurned a couple of goal chances that would have been a hammer blow for Down hopes, and when MacManus converted a free four minutes into added time the Ardsmen had one foot in the 2A final.
After Boyle’s desperate bodycheck on Jordan Doran a minute later, MacManus stepped up again, showing nerves of steel once more to seal the deal for a Down side only going one direction.
Down: S Keith; M Hughes, J McManus, T Murray (0-1); M Fisher (0-2); M Conlon (0-1), C Woods (1-2, 1-0 pen, 0-2 frees), C Taggart; P Óg McCrickard (0-1), L Savage; R McCusker, P Sheehan (0-7, 0-6 frees), C Egan; D Sands (0-1), E Sands. Subs: O McManus (0-3, 0-2 frees) for Egan (24), J Doran (0-1) for McCusker (49), B Trainor for E Sands (51, blood sub, reversed 54), C Cassidy for Murray (55), B Trainor for Sheehan (58)
Yellow cards: J McManus (17), L Savage (35), T Murray (53)
Kerry: M Stackpoole; C O’Keeffe, E Leen, F McCarthy; C Walsh, M Boyle, M Leane (0-2); F MacKessy (0-1), P O’Connor (0-2); S Nolan (0-1), S Conway (0-7, 0-6 frees), C Harty (0-2); D Collins, P Ahern, P Boyle (0-4). Subs: E Ross for McCarthy (29), N Mulcahy for Ahern (42), M O’Connor (0-1) for Nolan (49), G Dooley for Collins (60)
Black card: C O’Keefe (38-48)
Yellow cards: P O’Connor (35), P Boyle (70+5)
Referee: C Mooney (Dublin)
