One last push as Down must give it their all in Clones

Down manager Conor Laverty was 'very, very proud' of his players after they came from behind to snatch a win against Westmeath in Pairc Esler last weekend and the 'character' his men have displayed many times under the cosh in their Division 2 league campaign is something else he has praised.

“Whenever their backs are against the wall , they have shown character over the past number of years,” he said after the 1-26 to 0-28 Westmeath victory.

Those players will need to go deeply to the well again on Sunday in Clones where at least a point will be required against Monaghan who top the table with just one defeat to Roscommon along the way. Still, nothing is guaranteed in Division 2 ahead of the last day apart from Westmeath's relegation.

The likelihood is that Monaghan will be promoted but Roscommon, Meath and Cavan are still in the mix and as far as the team that will join Westmeath for the drop, it won't be known if it will be Cork Louth or Down until Sunday's results are in.

Monaghan's league performances have been impressive with high-scoring games, evidenced by their 33 points difference. Conor McCarthy, Micheal Bannigan and Rory Beggan have been prominent and they will be looking for more of the same at home on Sunday.

For Down, Pat Havern has been notching up big scores including plenty of two-pointers, with Odhran Murdock, James Guinness, Miceal Rooney, Danny Magill and Ryan McEvoy also contributing well on the scoreboard, with others chipping in. And while they have just two wins from six games, the team have been performing well as a unit. The defence has been stellar at times, including Ronan Burns in nets and they have shown good battling qualities that will no doubt be needed in Clones.

Down currently have four points on the board, as do Louth but having lost to them Down will finish below Louth unless they better their result against Meath on Sunday in Iniskeen .

At the same time, Cavan play Cork, who have six points at present, with a win for the Breffni side the desired outcome for Down. Should Down, Louth and Cork all finish on six points, Down’s points difference will likely be good enough to keep them out of the bottom two.

Regardless, all of the permutations should be left to the punters, while the players and management will undoubtedly be focussed firmly on getting a result that will keep them in Division 2 next season.