Last gasp point sees Down win dramatic high-scoring affair at Pairc Esler

A last-gasp score from Adam Crimmins saw Down pick up a crucial win at home to Westmeath this evening.

Whilst the Mayobridge man was the hero, Pat Havern was the best player on the pitch and finished the game with 0-13, and Odhran Murdock dominated the kick-outs in the second half.

The result sees Westmeath relegated back to Division 3, whilst Down have given themselves a real fighting chance of staying up, heading into the final round of games.

Level at the break

The first half was evenly contested with neither side leading by more than three points. It was a battle between the two number 14s for the most part with Havern and Luke Loughlin each finishing the half with 0-6.

Miceal Rooney got Down up and running, but his one-pointer was answered by a two-point free from Luke Loughlin, before Havern got his first of the day. The Saval men was then called upon to do some defensive work, as he got back to block shots from Ronan Wallace and Robbie Forde.

Westmeath then hit three points on the spin via Forde, a Loughlin free and Brian Cooney, but Havern responded with his second of the day. The visitors restored their two-point advantage when Down were called for having too many players across halfway, and Loughlin tapped over.

But with 17 minutes on the clock, the home side finished off a well-worked move with a goal. It was Down football as we’ve come to expect, as a lightning-fast fist passing move saw Odhran Murdock feed Ceilum Doherty, and his palm across goal was finished into the net by John McGeough.

From that point on in the first half it was tit-for-tat with McGeough and Loughlin cancelling each other’s scores out, before a Cooney two-pointer was answered by a Havern score of the same ilk.

Havern added to his tally from a free and Ryan McEvoy split the posts from range with the point of the half, but the Leinster men continued to chip away with Forde and Matthew Whittaker finding the target.

Points from Havern and Murdock left Down in a good position heading towards the break, but Westmeath levelled the game at 1-10 to 0-13 at the interval with scores from Whittaker and Loughlin – the latter coming after the hooter, which is a new tweak to the rules which means the ball must go dead to end the half.

Down win it in dramatic circumstances

The away side were fast out of the blocks in the second half and hit four of the first five points via Sam McCartan, Wallace, Danny McCartan and Whittaker, with a Rooney point for Down in between.

James Guinness hit the next score of the game, before both sides had goal chances. Down’s Ronan Burns denied Enda Gaffney, whilst Conor McCormack saved Murdock’s effort but could only push it up and over the bar for a point.

Havern then levelled from a free, to which Danny McCartan replied. Shay Miller made a great impact off the bench for Down and he hit two points within minutes of coming on, either side of scores for Westmeath’s Cooney and Down’s James Guinness.

Wallace levelled the game once more, before Burns made another save, this time denying Cooney. Westmeath took the lead via a Loughlin free, but two two-pointers from Havern in quick succession put Down three ahead.

That didn’t last long however, as Forde scored a one-pointer before Loughlin nailed what Down manager Conor Laverty described as a ‘special, special kick’ to tie the teams at 1-21 to 0-24 with five minutes to go.

The madness was only starting though, as Cooney hit a two-pointer in between Down scores for Crimmins and Miller, before a Forde free nudged the visitors ahead.

Havern landed a monster two-pointer late on to put Down back in control, but with time dying out Forde tied it up – with a draw not doing either side many favours in terms of their survival hopes.

However, there was enough time left on the clock for the Mourne men to launch one final attack, and they paid it off with Crimmins fisting the ball over the bar with the last action of the game.

Down will now be following the result from Cork v Louth tomorrow closely, with a Louth victory seeing them jump the rebels heading into Round 7.

Laverty’s men travel to Clones to take on Monaghan next weekend, where they may need another win to ensure their safety. Monaghan will be promoted to Division 1 tomorrow if they defeat Meath and Roscommon defeat Cavan.

MATCH STATS

Down: Ronan Burns; Peter Fegan, Pierce Laverty, Ceilum Doherty; Ruairi McCormack, Daniel Guinness (0-1), Patrick McCarthy; Miceal Rooney, (0-2) Ryan McEvoy (0-1); Aaron McClements, Odhran Murdock (0-2), James Guinness (0-1); Donal Scullion, Pat Havern (0-13, 2tpf, 2tp, 3f), John McGeough (1-1).

Subs: Adam Crimmins (0-2) for Scullion (HT), Danny Magill for McCormack (44), Eugene Branagan J Guinness (44), Shay Miller (0-3) for McGeough (51), Caolan Mooney for McClements (60).

Westmeath: Conor McCormack; Jamie Gonoud, Jack Geoghegan, Conor Dillon; Stephen Smith, Ronan Wallace (0-2), Sam McCartan (0-1); Ray Connellan, Fionn O’Hara; Danny McCartan (0-2), Brian Cooney (0-6, 2tp), Matthew Whittaker (0-2); Robbie Forde (0-6, 1f), Luke Loughlin (0-9, 2tpf, 3f), Brandon Kelly.

Subs: Joseph Moran for O’Hara (27), Enda Gaffney for Smith (HT), David Giles for Geoghegan (37), Daragh Lowry for Kelly (51), Nigel Harte for Gaffney (68).

Referee: Brendan Cawley (Kildare).