Down earn back respect but McCartan rues slow start

It ended, as expected, with a Donegal victory, but almost everything that preceded the final whistle in Cavan yesterday afternoon deprived us of our preconceptions about James McCartan’s team.

Pegged as a weak link in Division 1 earlier this year, their relegation to the second tier only confirmed us in our prejudices. An 11-point defeat to Donegal in last year’s Ulster final reinforced the security of those views yesterday morning.

If Tyrone could not cope with Donegal then what hope a Down side that has leaked players like milk from a sieve since the 2010 All-Ireland final and one which had rarely displayed a nous for the gruel of the modern game?