'Pressure is off us now' as Down make step up with impressive win in Clare

The Ulster side were playing their first All-Ireland SFC game in six years.

Emmet McMahon of Clare has a shot on goal during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Round 1 match between Clare and Down at Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chíosóg in Ennis. Pic: Tom Beary/Sportsfile

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Round 1: Down 3-27 Clare 1-16 

Manager Conor Laverty was a player when Down last won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship tie outside of Newry in 2012.

However, having taken over the reigns of his native county in 2022, Sunday’s 17 point pummeling of hosts Clare in Zimmer Biomet Páirc Chiosóg seemed like a graduation of sorts for the Tailteann Cup champions according to assistant manager Mickey Donnelly.

"It was a great result as ultimately this current group have waited three years to play at the top table in the All-Ireland series so now that we’re there we want to make the best out of it.”

It was certainly worth the wait as they threatened Clare’s goal from the outset and maintained that relentless drive for the entire 80 plus minutes to run out facile victors.

Ryan McEvoy just missed the target after only twenty seconds but while Clare actually opened the scoring with an Emmet McMahon free, Down’s devastating response would be a 1-9 to 0-1 surge over the next twenty minutes.

“Ryan was unlucky to miss that chance and might have even taken a point just to settle us down but we got big scores at big times after that to really put ourselves in a commanding position.”

That was an understatement as a brace of two-pointers each for Pat Havern and Danny Magill were accentuated by goals at either end of the half to power 2-17 to 1-06 clear by the break.

John McGeough got in on the end of a Odhran Murdock delivery to flick the ball over the line in only the sixth minute while after Brian McNamara was denied a home reprieve by a Ryan Magill block at the half hour mark, Down would magnify that stop with a second major three minutes later.

It stemmed from a Daniel Guinness interception from a Clare attack that saw the Carryduff midfielder carry possession from his own ’45 before playing a one-two with Murdock and finishing spectacularly past the despairing Eamon Tubridy at 2-13 to 0-05.

To their credit, Clare had matched it with a back-to-front goal of their own for Aaron Griffin a minute later but with chief marksman Havern grabbing his 19th two-pointer of the year in injury-time, Down bounded into the break 14 points clear.

The only way was up for Peter Keane’s Clare who did inevitably rally with the aid of the conditions on the resumption. Mark McInerney kicked five points while Emmet McMahon was denied a guilt-edged goal chance by Pierce Laverty as the Home side could only lessen the damage to ten by the three-quarters mark at 2-20 to 1-13.

Having weathered that mini-storm, Down got a boost from the bench to handsomely flesh out the final margin as substitute Caolan Mooney’s 56th minute goal put the result beyond any remaining doubt.

“I think the most pleasing thing from a management perspective is that we played to the end as the subs all came in and made an impact so that’s all very encouraging,” admitted Donnelly. “Despite the scoreline, the lads played to the death and I think that’s a reflection of what we’ve done all year.

“We felt a bit aggrieved that we were relegated from Division 2 and were just a bit unlucky as 95 per cent of our games this year have come down to the last play.

“We’re obviously delighted with today but we’ll face a much different challenge in a fortnight’s time. Louth, on the crest of a wave, are coming to Newry so we’re under no illusions that they’re going to have some bounce in their step after winning their first Leinster title in 68 years.

“But the pressure is off us now. Louth already beat us in the league and we’re aware of the quality that they have. They won a Leinster Championship last week in front of 60,000 people.

"They played in and won a lot of big games this year so we’re just delighted to be going into that game with two points on the board.”

Scorers for Down: P Havern 0-9 (1tp, 1tpf, 3f); D Magill 0-7 (2tp); J McGeough, D Guinness 1-1 each; A Crimmins 0-3; C Mooney (1-0); J Guinness, O Murdock (1f) (0-2 each); M Rooney, R McEvoy (0-1 each).

Scorers for Clare: M McInerney (0-6, 1tp, 1f, 1’45); E McMahon (0-5, 1tp, 2f); A Griffin (1-1); D Coughlan (0-2); E Cleary, J Stack (0-1 each).

Down: R Burns; P McCarthy, P Laverty, R Magill; M Rooney, P Fegan, C Doherty; D Guinness, D Magill; J Guinness, O Murdock, R McEvoy; J McGeough, P Havern, A Crimmins.

Subs: C Mooney for Doherty (35+2, inj), P Brooks for R. Magill (45), S Millar for McEvoy (54), F Murdock for J. Guinness (60), C McCrickard for McGeough (62), D Scullion for O. Murdock (67).

Clare: E Tubridy; R Lanigan, C Brennan, M Doherty; C Rouine, I Ugwueru, C Meaney; B McNamara, E McMahon; G Murray, E Cleary, D Coughlan; M McInerney, K Sexton, A Griffin.

Subs: A Sweeney for Brennan (15, inj), D Walsh for Murray (35+2), F Kelleher for Meaney (HT), S Griffin for (60, inj), J Stack for Cleary (63).

Referee: P Neilan (Roscommon).