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Caolan Mooney makes the difference for Down

Fermanagh 0-11 Down 1-15

Kicking on: Fermanagh’s Kevin McDonnell with Down’s Caolan Mooney

Fermanagh’s Aidan Breen tries to catch Down’s Daniel Guinness

Kicking on: Fermanagh’s Kevin McDonnell with Down’s Caolan Mooney

�INPHO/John McVitty

Daragh McGurn with Jonny Flynn

�INPHO/John McVitty

Fermanagh’s Aidan Breen tries to catch Down’s Daniel Guinness

�INPHO/John McVitty

Kicking on: Fermanagh’s Kevin McDonnell with Down’s Caolan Mooney

McBurney/Declan Bogue

Pictured Declan Bogue

Date: Thursday 12th April 2012

Location: BT Offices

Credit: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Copyright: Liam McBurney/RAZORPIX

Liam McBurney - RAZORPIX

liammcburney@gmail.com

+44 7837 68 57 67

Declan Bogue Twitter

November 09 2020 06:40 AM

There was always a sense that Fermanagh were stretched heading into this Championship opener, and so it transpired as Down rattled off 1-7 to 0-2 from half-time to the 73rd minute to make their way to an Ulster semi-final.

If there is an obligatory 'swagger' reference, it might be awarded to wing-forward Barry O'Hagan who found his target with four points from play, all of them from considerable distance and angles, most coming when the outcome was still in question.

A county like Fermanagh with the smallest playing population in the country needs every player committing to the cause, but for a variety of reasons they were down eight players from the team that last played Championship football. With such a turnover, they cannot compete.

That Down were well held in the first half was testament to their rustiness, one game in the league against Louth before this when they fielded a shadow squad.

"I sort of knew the last few weeks since we got back together that things were going really well in training," acknowledged Down manager Paddy Tally.

"Now, you don't know if that's going to work out until you start playing a match so I knew the start of the game would be ropey enough and there would be a period of the game to settle in.

"Because it is the Ulster Championship, you are away from home, a fairly young team coming together and they hadn't played together as a group in a competitive situation."

For the first 40 minutes there was nothing to choose between the teams. Then captain Caolan Mooney escaped the marking of Darragh McGurn to carve out the space for Daniel Guinness to square to Donal O'Hare who palmed to the net to leave them 1-8 to 0-8 up.

Consider Mooney's journey to this day. On December 29th last year these two met at the same venue for a Dr McKenna Cup fixture. Later that evening Mooney went out and was assaulted, causing him a fracture to the skull and a small bleed on the brain. In October, two men were handed suspended jail sentences for the assault.

And here he was, captaining his county in an Ulster Championship game, making all the difference for Tally's men. Some going for the former Aussie Rules player.

From that point on, Down's chests puffed out and Fermanagh's challenge fell off a cliff. Barry O'Hagan had a man of the match performance, lacing over points off either foot, while they have a real flavour of quality to their substitutes' bench.

"You do need people to step up on these days, Caolan's run was fantastic, he had the awareness to look for Donal at the back post and he finished it well," said Tally.

"That game was going to be so hard to win, I felt it could go right down to the wire, but the goal definitely made the difference and it took Caolan's run to do this.

"I wasn't really annoyed at the players (at half-time) because you have to be patient the likes of today because they haven't played together and you have to allow for that wee bit of rustiness or lack of match practice, or the fact they hadn't played together."

His opposite number Ryan McMenamin, the man he trained to an All-Ireland title in 2003 with Tyrone, has had a chastening opening season to intercounty management.

At the start of the year the team trialled a new attacking approach and while it yielded a notable win over Roscommon in the league, they failed badly in games against Armagh and Cavan pre-lockdown.

They also had a high number of players infected with Covid-19, and there is a definite sense of a rebuild job on, with three teenagers in goalkeeper Sean McNally, corner-back Luke Flanagan and wing-back Josh Largo Ellis all making Championship debuts.

"It was tough going, our mistakes," said McMenamin.

"And we were flat in the second half, we didn't have any bite. At this level the crowd can be a factor, it is a bit funny having no crowd at Championship matches, it felt like a friendly."

He added, "Their first three attacks they scored three frees. It is a re-occurring theme all year and we are trying to get to the bottom of it."

Down now face a Cavan side who are heading into their fifth game in five weeks in the Ulster semi-final.

FERMANAGH: S McNally; J Cassidy, K Connor, L Flanagan; JL Ellis, J McMahon, C McManus; R O'Callaghan, E Donnelly; C Corrigan 0-1, D McGurn 0-1, A Breen; S McGullion, T Corrigan, D McCusker

Subs: C Jones for McGullion (33 - 35, Blood sub), D Teague for Breen (HT), S Cassidy for O'Callaghan (HT), K O'Donnell for McManus (52m - Blood sub), R Jones for McMahon (58m), C Jones for C Corrigan (65m), P McCusker for D McCusker (65m)

DOWN: R Burns; P Fegan, P Murdock, P Laverty; G Collins, K McKernan, D Guinness; C Mooney, J Flynn; B O'Hagan, P Devlin, C Poland; J Johnston, D O'Hare, C Doherty

Subs: L Kerr for Devlin (45m), C Quinn for O'Hare (47m), R Johnston for Poland (58m), J Guinness for O'Hagan (65m), C McCartan for McKernan (67m)

Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)

Caolan Mooney makes the difference for Down

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