Down have it all to do with just two league games remaining

​Down face an uphill battle in their last two Allianz League Division 2 fixtures, as just one win from five has left them in the relegation zone.

They will need a result on Saturday at home to Westmeath, who have no points on the board, before they travel to Clones to take on table toppers Monaghan who, along with Roscommon and Meath are aiming for promotion.

The Mournemen will be hoping Cork or Louth do them a favour too as both have four points at this stage. They play each other in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Sunday and the rebels take on Cavan the following week in their final fixture while Louth are at home to Meath.

While the results so far haven't gone Down's way, it's been small margins and luck certainly hasn't been on their side for the most part.

A battling performance in Dr Hyde Park against Roscommon saw Down come home with nothing despite scoring 23 points. Conor Laverty's men led 1-14 to 2-6 at the break but the Rossies came good in the second half to win 3-21 to 1-20 in the end. Down showed plenty of promise under the new rules however, with four two-point scores for Pat Havern and one each for Ryan McEvoy and James Guinness.

Their next game against Cork in Pairc Esler, with Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin in the stands, was better with Down's first two points in the bag following a strong second half. They had come back twice, firstly from a 10-point deficit to level and then from five. Late drama saw a point from Odhran Murdock, a goal from Danny Magill and a monster two-pointer from Havern in stoppage time to nick a one-point victory.

Sadly, that was as good as it got for the Mourne county with Laverty's unbeaten home record broken when Meath came to town.

Once again, Havern was the top scorer with 0-9, with three orange flags raised one each from Havern, Miceal Rooney and Daniel Guinness. But it wasn't enough against the Royals who won 1-18 to 0-24.

There was some confusion during that game regarding aspects of the new rules and a two point score awarded to Meath that was well inside the arc, but hat mattered little in the end. But with teams starting to adjust to the new rules, the advantages and disadvantages are beginning to show.

The wind, is one factor that has made a big difference in games in terms of two-point scores and that has been highlighted by a number of managers. Teams have been building up big scores and leading by huge margins that can equally be wiped out in a matter of minutes – especially on windy days. Laverty has said that overall he feels changes were overdue as the game had become somewhat stagnant.

“I think that football needed tweaked. In a way it had become boring and it had become very safe and very lateral and that’s not how we grew up watching the game and how we would all like to play it.” he said after the Meath defeat.

But two matches later with losses to Louth 2-17 to 0-22 and then Cavan where they were denied a late equalising two-point score from Havern that was deemed wide, Down's weaknesses were beginning to tell.

Laverty has said that he is continuously scouring the county for big players given that Down are lacking in that department and coach Mickey Donnelly also addressed that issue after the Cavan defeat when it was pointed out that the division is extremely tight with close finishes.

“I think it's no consolation that the teams that are coming out on the positive side of those games have marquee forwards. Louth's two-pointer last week by Sam Mulroy was the difference. Gairoid McKiernan kicked a massive two-pointer today – it was a massive point. Roscommon have four or five of them, that’s just where it's at and that's where we're at. We’re well aware of the situation we're in. We were well aware when Conor took the job at the very start.”

Westmeath have a new manager this year with former Cavan player Dermot McCabe replacing Dessie Dolan but things haven't been going well for the Lake County.

The great John Heslin announced his inter-county retirement after 14 years of service and with a big turnover of players Westmeath have struggled in the league.

They will feel somewhat hard done by however as a close contest against their neighbours Meath ended in a three-point victory for the latter with a goal from Conor Duke with the very last kick of the game the difference in the end.

They also had a close encounter with Cork losing by a solitary point despite notching up a big score of 3-17.

So, with so much at stake, Westmeath will certainly be looking for a result in Newry, while a win is also essential for Down.