McCartan must mourn for what might have been

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.

While the warm weather was welcomed, it also brought back memories of the epic encounter in 1994. In ’94 the game between Derry and Down was effectively the All-Ireland final. Rarely has a first- round game had such significance.

However, no one was under any illusions about Sunday’s fixture. Everyone understood perfectly where this game stood in the bigger picture and this perhaps explained the lack of simmering tension that accompanies Championship games of real importance.