Down rise up to squash Orchard men with clinical performance

Tempers flare as Mourne men show ruthless edge

IT ENDED with a battle in Newry yesterday, but only after Down had already won the war with a performance that would have helped to silence more than a few doubters. As Armagh’s blunt attack went looking for the goal that would have earned them the most unlikely and undeserved of second chances, Kevin McKernan, in the sixth minute of injury time, ruthlessly pulled Gavin McParland to the ground to take his black card and all hell broke loose.

It was less a brawl and more of a contribution to a melee festival; the kind which the CCCC is hell-bent on stamping out.

Only time will tell if the flurry of yellow cards flashed by Conor Lane — four in total — will be enough to ensure that there is no payback for the Mourne men ahead of an Ulster semi-final date with either Cavan or Monaghan on June 24.

‘I won’t be watching,’ replied Éamonn Burns, when quizzed if he was going to be viewing The Sunday Game from behind the sofa. That’s a pity, then, for he would find much to enjoy on a day when Down recorded their first win over their neighbours in 25 years; a game in which he had togged in.

It is likely, given the misery which peaked with an 11th straight defeat in February against Clare, that he will have taken more pleasure out of this as manager. He will feel he has put a stamp on them – one that contrasts sharply with the badge of shame they wore 12 months ago when they suffered a record 19-point defeat to Monaghan.

In many ways, McKernan’s pull-down epitomised their absolute ruthlessness in winning here: a quality that you would not associate with Down football of late.

But then they are everything that they were not 12 months ago. They possessed the speed — rookie Shay Millar and Caolan Mooney torched Armagh legs. They also had strength that Armagh could not match as Niall Donnelly made a storming debut in the middle prior to being forced off with an injury in the third quarter.

Above all, they have the organisation, with Burns reluctantly buying into the modern day reality that if you don’t defend with numbers and purpose, then your shelflife as a manager will be as short as your summer.

Ultimately, it was that which got them over the line here. They conceded just three points from play in the second half and even then Armagh’s only point from play from substitute Anthony Duffy’s point was clearly wide.

Of course, they were helped by the shambolic nature of Armagh’s performance which will cast a critical light on the tenure of their suspended manager Kieran McGeeney, who watched helplessly from the stand yesterday.

In his three seasons, he has yet to win a Championship game in Ulster and yesterday there was no hint that this is a group which is progressing in his care.

Their status as favourites here was based on the potency of their attack, but that faith was utterly misplaced with only Jamie Clarke’s intelligence and Andrew Murnin’s cutting edge offering any hope.

Meanwhile, their defence looked vulnerable, particularly in the first half where Charlie Vernon was hopelessly out-paced at full-back. The latter was bailed out in the 19th minute by Blaine Hughes’ point-blank save which denied Connaire Harrison a goal that would have put Down firmly in the driving seat.

Instead, in defiance of the pattern of the game, Armagh not only arrived at the interval leading (2-4 to 0-9), but actually cursing their luck that their advantage was not greater.

On the stroke of half-time, a sublime piece of Clarke wizardry set up Murnin for a shot which, via the intervention of corner-back Anthony Doherty’s finger-tips, came back off the inside of the post.

Given the ease with which Armagh plundered two goals inside three minutes at the start of the second quarter — a reminder that Down’s defence is still in the business of learning — the concession of a third could well have fried their heads.

Those goals, the first from Mark Shields in the 19th minute — after he was allowed the space to get off his shot from close range when Down were set up to defend a free — and the second, a brilliant Murnin finish, threatened to flip this contest on its head.

But Down gathered themselves and set the tone for a more controlled second-half performance by pressing high immediately after the restart to profit with scores from turned over kick-outs.

That laid down a marjer and further points from the excellent Caolan Mooney and Conor Maginn left them three clear at the end of the third quarter and there would be no catching them from there.