Last gasp Donal Hughes goal gives Down win over Antrim in Joe McDonagh Cup
DOWN ON THE UP: Down's Donal Hughes with Eoin O'Neill and Ryan McNulty of Antrim. Pic: ©INPHO/Grace Halton.
LIGHTNING struck twice for Down as they managed an injury time goal from Donal Hughes to clinch an away victory over Ulster rivals Antrim at Pearse Park in Dunloy on Saturday afternoon.
Antrim led the tie at the break despite only seeing 50 per cent of their first half strikes ending in a score after they rallied in response to Tom McGrattan’s opening score for Down inside a minute.
The hosts soon replied and would take the ascendency with a concession of three scores courtesy of Seaan Elliot, the Dunloy native turned the marksman on his home turf after he struck three frees with no reply from the away side.
Down were determined to keep the game scrappy as the scoreboard remained unharmed for the next five minutes with the game playing out in the middle of the park. Antrim usually retained possession before firing efforts the wrong side of the uprights but eventually Elliot found his and Antrim’s fourth point with their first from play on the quarter hour mark.
Unlike the league contest between the two, goals were certainly a scarce entity in the first half with neither side troubling the opposition shot-stopper. Eventually the Mourne county got into the game with a first for Pearse Óg McCrickard and Daithi Sands soon followed suit.
The first half homecoming rang true when the Dunloy cohort on the panel all found their shooting range as Conal Cunning, Eoin O’Neill and Keelan Molloy fired scores from play as the half played out.
Down did answer some of Antrim’s questions and narrowed the gap to two scores after McCrickard and McGrattan struck for raised white flags, but the late tally from Ryan McCambridge and Paul Boyle kept the away side at arm’s length from their Ulster rivals.
The away side got up and running again as they looked to mount a comeback with Tom McGrattan striking first before James McNaughton found his second score of the afternoon.
Scores from Coleman and Hughes kept Down reducing the deficit as they hoped to continue to pile home the scores.
Antrim kept them at bay with Elliot’s free taking, but the Saffrons fell within themselves to allow the away side a glimmer of hope that looked far-fetched as the final ten minutes approached.
Lightning would strike twice as the same man, Donal Hughes, would score in injury time to see off their rivals in a huge opening victory for Down which could give them momentum to strive for glory in the Joe McDonagh Cup.
Late efforts from Gerard Walsh and Ruairi Donaghy proved ineffective in finding the winner for the Saffrons, and Antrim will have to lick their wounds and quick as they face Laois in a weeks’ time.
S Elliot 0-11 (10f), J McNaughton 0-3, R McCambridge, K Molloy, C Cunning 0-2 each, P Boyle, E O’Neill, J McCloskey 0-1 each.
P Óg McCrickard 0-8 (8f), D Hughes 1-1, T McGrattan 0-4, D Sands 0-2, C Taggart, L Savage, C Coleman, M Fisher, O McDermott, Ben Teggart, F Turpin 0-1 each.
C McFadden; O Donnelly, N O'Connor, S Rooney; R McNulty, P Burke, J Maskey; E O'Neill, P Boyle; K Molloy, R McCambridge, C Cunning; J McNaughton, R Donaghy, S Elliot.
G Walsh for E O’Neill, C Bohill for P Boyle, J McCloskey for C Cunning.
P Smyth; T Murray, R McCrickard, B Teggart; B Trainor, C Taggart, N McFarland; D Hughes, L Savage; D Sands, F Turpin, P Óg McCrickard; T McGrattan; T Prenter, S Pucci.
M Fisher for L Savage, C Coleman for T Prenter, R Beatty for S Pucci, R Smyth for N McFarland, O McDermott for F Turpin.
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