The Down View: Can Conor Laverty’s men keep the faith and cause another massive Ulster upset?

Write Down off at your peril. Donegal found that out the hard way last week, but the burning question is, do the Division 3 champions have enough in them for another big upset?

Conor Laverty’s men prepared for Donegal to the nth degree, with an intense 10-day training camp including a challenge match against All-Ireland champions Kerry. RTE can also be thanked in a way for Down’s success, by naming Armagh v Donegal in a published graphic for the semi-final - weeks before the quarters were played. Laverty kept it as a screensaver on his phone, looked at it every day and used that disrespectful image to further motivate his players.

But the most important thing for the Mournemen, along with brutal hard work, was sheer belief. The manager believed his side could beat the Division 1 and Ulster champions and by half-time his players were right there with him in that belief.

It was no fluke beating Donegal by six points. Down were simply better on the day.

And then of course there was captain and Man-of-the Match Odhran Murdock, who Donegal boss Jim McGuinness called one of the best players in the country. He will no doubt be a handful for Armagh in midfield but there's far more than the powerful Burren star to contend with. Pat Havern who was the highest scorer across all divisions in the league, misses little from the dead ball, including from beyond the arc. He showed no signs of letting up against Donegal with an 0-9 tally. There's the powerhouse Daniel Guinness who hit 1-3 last Sunday, and Rostrevor's Caolan Mooney, who made his championship debut in 2011, and showed just why he came out of retirement last week with a terrific performance. The Kilcoo players: Ceilum Doherty, Ryan McEvoy, Callum Rogers and double goal-scorer Miceal Rooney have been superb. They, like their manager have another common denominator with Armagh in Conleith Gilligan who was assistant to Mickey Moran when the Magpies won the club All-Ireland crown in 2022 and was Kilcoo joint-manager before he joined Kieran McGeeney's backroom team in 2023.

“There are a lot of connections. A lot of boys went to school together and obviously Deets [Gilligan] in the Armagh management would know us really well, and we know Deets really well," said Rooney.

Then there's the young contingency like Pearse McPolin, Shane Annett, and Adam Crimmins who was immense with 0-4 against Donegal. John McGeough is always a danger in front of goal, and while the likes of Pierce Laverty and the ever-reliable Peter Fegan helped shore up the defence, possibly the most influential player Down have right now is goalkeeper Ronan Burns, who turned 21 last Monday. The Drumgath netminder has been superb all season and his pinpoint precision and bravery in the number 1 position, was hugely instrumental in the win against Donegal.

"Ronan Burns has got a good wee bit of credit over the last 12 months, but by God, he's some keeper, said Down coach Mickey Donnelly last week.

"We've challenged our lads over the last couple of weeks at times, we've left him hanging in terms of not moving for him and giving him options, but if you give him options, he'll find you, you know, he's a brilliant young fella."

There are absentees, like Clonduff's Barry O'Hagan who just can't seem to get a good run without picking up knocks, since returning from long-term injuries, and Burren's Danny Magill who is side-lined while recovering from a knee operation – but both are named subs.

As for Armagh, despite losing five starters through injury before their quarter-final against Fermanagh, they still ran out comfortable winners and have star power all over the pitch – not to mention on the bench. Back-to-back All-Star winner and 2024 Young Footballer of the Year, Oisin Conaty will no doubt be a nightmare, as will others like Andrew Murnin, Oisin O’Neill, Ross McQuillan, Conor Turbitt and Jarly Og Burns to name but a few.

There's no doubt, the challenge will be massive for Down in Clones. They last reached the Ulster final in 2017 while Armagh have been there for the past three years in a row - losing in extra time on all three occasions.

Since being appointed in 2022, Laverty has not had any success against the Orchard County who they lost to by a point in the 2024 Ulster semi-final, while Armagh went on to lift the Sam Maguire Cup. Down suffered a soul-destroying 10-point defeat at the same stage in Clones the year before that, while most recently Armagh beat them in the 2026 Bank of Ireland McKenna Cup in Pairc Esler - the result overturned due to the fielding of ineligible players.

Armagh will be hungry to get their hands back on the Anglo Celt Cup that they haven't won since 2008, while it's been a drought since 1994 for Down.

But reaching the final means so much more than that for Laverty's side as they will be guaranteed a place in the All-Ireland competition if they do, while if they don't Down will be counting on Kildare beating Westmeath in the Leinster Championship semi-final - also on Sunday - or it's back to the Tailteann Cup.

They will be the underdogs again on Sunday and on paper Armagh should win. But this up-and-coming Down side have massive support and momentum behind them, and a belief in themselves that can’t be squashed. So it would be foolish to write them off.