Down hoping to keep momentum going in front of big home crowd
Allianz Football League Division 2. Saturday February 15 (6pm) at Pairc Esler: Down v Meath
The two matches that Down have played so far under the new rules in the Allianz League have both been thrillers, with score-lines reflective of the system and one result going their way and the other not.
Down led by five points with 1-14 on the board at half-time against Roscommon in Dr Hyde Park – six of those shots from outside the arc, three of them from Pat Havern.
Still, the wind played a big roll and the Rossies had it in the second half to battle back and win 3-21 to 1-20.
There were mistakes from both teams too with the 3 v 3 rule breached at both ends and proving costly with frees awarded.
One of the big lessons from that game was the ability for scores to build up quickly and no better player than Havern to help in that department with three two-pointers from his 0-8 tally in the one-point victory over Cork last match.
James Guinness also raised orange flags in both games and Ryan McEvoy and Danny Magill scored maximums. Scoring 2-39 in both games is a sizeable tally for Conor Laverty’s side and with their pace and players still to come back in the panel, the Roscommon performance and the Cork result were impressive.
The last time Down and Meath played was in the Tailteann Cup final in 2023 in Croke Park, where Meath won 2-13 to 0-14 but Down have improved since then claiming the Tailteann Cup last year and Laverty has brought new promising young players into the fray, including 19-year-old Drumgath goalkeeper Ronan Burns who nailed a ‘45 against Cork.
A week’s rest and another home game on the back of the thriller against Cork should bring out the supporters too, which is something the players crave as Ryan Magill stated after that game.
“We just want the crowds to come out and support us,” said Magill.
“As long as we've been under the management of Conor Laverty and Marty [Clarke] and [Ciaran] Meenagh, we're still yet to lose here so it means everything to us.
“We want to make it a fortress. We want to bring the big boys – the Kerry's, the Dublin's, the Tyrone's to Newry and give them a good rattle.”