Eoin Bradley drags nervy Derry over the line

Derry 0-12 Down 0-11: When a team hasn’t won in a while, it can forget how to, and in the second half at Celtic Park yesterday, Derry were certainly struggling with the concept of victory.

A four-point lead and an extra man advantage, following the straight red card dismissal of Down sweeper Conall McGovern after half time, should have been enough to give Derry comfortable passage to an Ulster SFC semi-final against Armagh or Donegal.

However Down’s decision to go man-for-man after the loss of their sweeper, allied to Derry collapsing and failing to score for 21 minutes, combined to produce an exciting second half, which either side could have won.