Down made to work hard for victory by battling Offaly

The Faithful finished the game a man down but performed admirably throughout.

Down manager Conor Laverty rang the changes. Pic: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

TAILTEANN CUP: DOWN 2-22 OFFALY 3-13 

There was nothing at stake but pride at Kingspan Breffni this afternoon, but for the first time in this Tailteann Cup campaign Offaly at least came away with that much, having pushed Down right to the wire before very late goals from Oisín Savage and Ryan Magill clinched Down’s third win in three games.

Down manager Conor Laverty took advantage of the “free hit” with top spot in the group already secured, making wholesale changes. They didn’t lose a step however, even after conceding an first minute to Offaly’s Daire McDaid, rattling off the next six points of the game. In total the Mourne men had 15 different scorers, 11 in the first half, as they cut through the Offaly defence with ease to lead by 0-16 to 1-6 at the break.

A red card for Offaly midfielder Eoin Carroll shortly after half-time piled yet more pressure on the beleaguered midlanders, but a goal from Cormac Egan after 43 minutes breathed life into their challenge and much like the league, where they arrived in Newry winless and played a key role in a shootout, they started to play without fear.

John Furlong got forward to add another goal after 51 minutes, and when Jonny Flynn was sent off in the 66th minute, the sides were level both on the scoreboard and in personnel.

Two minutes later Oisín Savage struck a goal, forcing Offaly to chase the game one more time. They almost managed it too, but Cormac Egan couldn’t quite get there as he bore down on goal and with Offaly committed forward, Down were able to capitalise and seal their win with a Ryan Magill goal of their own.

Scores for Down: P Quinn 0-4 (0-2f), C McCrickard 0-3 (0-1m, 0-1f), O Savage 1-0, R Magill 1-0, G McKibben 0-2, D Magill 0-2, J Guinness 0-2, S Annett 0-2, P McCarthy 0-1, S Johnson 0-1, B McConville 0-1, R Mason 0-1, M Rooney 0-1, C Mooney 0-1, J McCartan 0-1.

Scorers for Offaly: N Dunne 0-4 (0-2f), D McDaid 1-1, J Furlong 1-0, C Egan 1-0, K O'Neill 0-2 (0-1f), J Bryant 0-2, D Dempsey 0-1, L Pearson 0-1, C Flynn 0-1, J Hayes 0-1.

DOWN: J O'Hare; F Murdock, R Magill, P McCarthy; G McKibben, D Magill, S Johnston; J Guinness, J Flynn; R Mason, S Annett, B McConville; P Quinn, C McCrickard, M Rooney.

Subs: C Mooney for Murdock (39), J Doran for McConville (46), E Brown for Magill (46), O Savage for Quinn (51), J McCartan for Mason (57).

OFFALY: I Duffy; D Finneran, D Dempsey, J Furlong; C Egan, P Cunningham, L Pearson; E Carroll, C Donoghue; D McDaid, C Flynn, Jordan Hayes; N Dunne, K O'Neill, J Bryant.

Subs: K McDermott for O'Donoghue (HT), J McEvoy for Bryant (55), A Sullivan for Dunne (60).

Referee: Kieran Eannatta (Tyrone).