The sun was shining, the pitch was in pristine shape, and conditions were perfect for Championship football — yet an unmistakable air of melancholy hung around Celtic Park on Sunday.

Ambrose Rogers, Conor Laverty and Championship debutant Niall Madine has been named in the Down team for Sunday's Ulster SFC quarter-final against Derry at Celtic Park (throw-in 2pm).

Cavan 1-12 Down 0-06

Down 1-17 Cork 3-12

Donegal 0-12 Down 0-7

There will be players tasting Allianz League action for the first time on both sides when Down host Ulster rivals Tyrone in Newry tomorrow night (throw-in 7pm).

When a team concedes 3-18 in a senior inter-county Gaelic football match at this stage of the season, questions have to be asked.

1. Big statement from the eventual winner

DOWN may have made history on Saturday, but manager James McCartan still believes the sooner the dreaded six-day turnaround is put out to grass the better – and fairer – it will be for losing provincial finalists.

All week they have been watched suspiciously.

Jim McGuinness reckons history will treat these Donegal players kindly now.

Donegal 2-18 Down 0-13

Putting together previews, the considerations are form, class, home advantage (if any) and team news.

James McCartan joked that he had a taxi ordered and the engine was running.

Benny Coulter has vowed to play through the pain barrier in order to fulfil his dream of winning an Ulster SFC title.

The outcome of a poor game was effectively decided in the ninth minute when Daryl Keenan was given a straight red card, which ended Fermanagh’s hopes of pulling off an Ulster championship shock yesterday.

Danny Hughes is confident that Down are serious contenders for the Ulster SFC title this summer, but knows not to underestimate the challenge Fermanagh will pose in their quarter-final clash on Sunday, June 3.

Influential midfielder Ambrose Rogers has been chosen as captain of the Down senior footballers for the 2012 Championship.

Benny Coulter will miss Down's Ulster SFC opener against Fermanagh on June 3 after sustaining a broken ankle on Monday night.

Benny Coulter has been ruled out of Down’s championship campaign after suffering a suspected broken ankle on Monday night.

The run of double-digit defeats came to an end but there was still that familiar chasm on the scoreboard between Cork and Down at the final whistle in Croke Park yesterday.

A productive week for Cork football then.

Down’s Greg McCartan feels his county’s recent poor run of results against Cork is largely down to their players being dwarfed by Conor Counihan’s totemic side.

Larry Tompkins has criticised the new Division 1 structure which sees semi-finals take place in Croke Park this weekend.

Laois 0-10 Down 2-11, Portlaoise

After a nightmare week for Armagh, there was more than a touch of irony about Ciarán McKeever’s late heroics which helped the Orchard county snatch a precious league victory on Saturday night.

Armagh 1-14 Down 0-16

Pat Gilroy pointed to a lack of intensity as the reason why Dublin slipped to a second Allianz League defeat yesterday.

Down 0-15 Dublin 1-10

A game that began with Mayo as overwhelming favourites to maintain their unbeaten record ended with Down tearing up the form book and the referee being escorted from the field by local stewards.

Mayo 0-11 Down 1-13

Down 0-08 Kerry 0-14

The 2012 M Donnelly-sponsored Interprovincial Football and Hurling Championship was launched today by GAA President Christy Cooney at Croke Park.

The margin separating the teams when they clashed in the 2010 All-Ireland final was wafer-thin but since then the chasm between the footballers of Cork and Down has increased substantially.

SEÁN CAVANAGH has warned that the 2012 football season could be ugly and believes the GAA will have to combat the growing physicality and defensiveness of the game when more teams follow the lead of sides like Dublin and Donegal.

A provisional 31-man training panel for the International Rules series tour of Australia has been announced today.

ALL STAR Down forward Danny Hughes has questioned Cork’s ability to put back-to-back All-Ireland titles together and predicted that Kerry will ultimately reign supreme this year.

Down manager James McCartan said that his side were on the end of 'a footballing lesson' at times during yesterday's All-Ireland qualifier loss to Cork.

Cork 2-20 Down 0-14

Down are set to field an unchanged team when they clash with Cork in tomorrow's All-Ireland SFC fourth round qualifier at Croke Park (throw-in 6pm).

James McCartan has acknowledged that the manner of last year's All-Ireland SFC final defeat will provide motivation for Saturday's rematch with Cork.

Down 3-13 Antrim 0-10

Gerard McCartan and Caolan Mooney will start for Down in their All-Ireland SFC third round qualifier against Antrim at Casement Park (throw-in 7pm).