Eirgrid Ulster under 20 Football championship
Down 5-8 Antrim 1-6
Pics by Bert Trowlen
A sparkling first half performance by Antrim at Dunsilly on Wednesday night promised a first win for Niall Jackman’s Saffrons but in end the home side flattered to deceive.
Down came strong after the break to score five second half goals but in the end the result didn’t matter though the management will be disappointed by the second half performance given the promise they had shown in the opening half
It always looked likely to be a dead rubber anyway with Antrim needing a win over Derry next week to halt the progress of Tyrone, Monaghan and Derry into the knock-out stages. Derry’s win over Monaghan in a tie played at the same time as the Dunsilly game meant that both participants at the Antrim Centre of Excellence were eliminated with a round of games still to come next Wednesday.
The Antrim management would have been happy enough at half-time; they went in for a break holding a 1-4 to 0-3 lead and deserved to be in front against a wasteful Down side that accumulated 10 wides.
Yes, the visitors broke quickly, but their shooting was poor and there were two relatively straightforward frees among those ten shots off-target. That represented a 50% success rate for free-taker Jamie Doran with their other point coming from Ronan Kelly in the 26th minute.
By contrast Antrim’s build-ups were more laboured but, when they got openings, they took their chances. Captain Cahir Donnelly and goalie Shea Laverty fired over two fine scores before Niall Fallon attempted a fist pass across the Down goals in the 13th minute. It was blocked back to him and he buried it in the net.
Antrim’s other two scores came from frees, Tom Shivers accurate from the dead ball after fouls committed on Johnny Hannon and Ciarán Maginnis.
Antrim continued to look comfortable in possession in the early stages of the second half, but, when Senan Carr’s hit and hope shot in the 37th minute ended in the Saffron net, the game changed and Antrim were very much on the back foot.
Dara Mussen had already pointed a couple of minutes earlier and when Carr caught a long kick-out, played a neat one-two with Jamie Doran, he looked up and spotted that Laverty was well out of goals and the Clonduff midfielder side-footed into an empty net from 30 metres to put the visitors into the lead for the first time in the game.
Doran pointed a free and then got on the end of a high ball that dropped a few metres from goal in the 47th minute. He stuck out a fist and punched to the net.
Antrim still hadn’t raised a flag since the second of Shivers frees in the 28th minute and Callum Gribbin’s well-struck effort a minute after Doran’s goal barely raised a cheer.
During the final ten minutes Down pressed home their advantage on the break with Donal Milligan and Michael Murdock raising white flags.
Sub Sean O’Neill was on the pitch less than a minute when he took a pass from Doran and hit the net. Then defender Mark McSwiggan collected the ball when Milligan’s shot for a point came off an upright and he side-footed home Down’s fifth goal in the 60th minute less than 60 seconds after Niall Duffy had taken a good score for Antrim.
Antrim have to face Derry next Wednesday, but Down’s defence of their 2023 title is over.
Down: S Carr 2-0, J Doran 1-4, 0-3 frees, S O’Neill and M McSwiggan 1-0 each, R Kelly, D Mussen, D Milligan and M Murdock 0-1 each.
Antrim: N Fallon 1-0, T Shivers 0-2 frees, C Donnelly, N Duffy, C Gribbin an S Laverty 0-1 each
Antrim: S Laverty, C Maginnis, S Doyle, E O’Hare, C McCann, P Duffin,R Quinn, M McCrossan, C Donnelly capt, N Duffy, T Shivers, C Walsh, E McCartan, J Hannon, N, Fallon.
Subs: R McErlean for C Walsh (41), C Gribbin for N Fallon (41), C Johnston for S Doyle (50), D Martin for R Quinn (56), J Toner for E McCartan (56)
Down: J Mulgrew, M McSwiggan, F Murdock capt, D Milligan, D Rafferty, C Cunningham, L Quinn, T McCarroll, S Carr, R Quinn, R Kelly, J Doran, T Gilroy, D Mussen, N Rogers.
Subs: D Ruddy for L Quinn (14), C O’Reilly for R Quinn (36), M Murdock for T Gilroy (36), M Murray for D Mussen (43), S O’Neill for N Rogers (57), L Green for T McCarroll (bs)
Referee: C Brady (Cavan)
