Allianz NFL Division Three Round Five – Down 1-18 Fermanagh 1-15
FERMANAGH’s hopes of preserving their Division Three league status look perilously slim after they suffered their fifth straight defeat at the hands of a strong Down side at Newry on Saturday evening, writes Pauric McGurn.
The Erne men will need to beat Laois and Limerick, while hoping Sligo lose both remaining games and Limerick don’t make it to four points.
Then Fermanagh will have to dramatically improve a scoring difference that sits at -32, if they’re to have any chance of avoiding the drop to Division Four.
Down made a strong start to the game with Pat Havern from Saval kicking over two quick points at Páirc Esler.
Adam Crimmins quickly added his first of the day, before registered their first score through Ronan McCaffrey, with Darragh McGurn then pointing for the Erne men.
Down clicked into gear and they raced into a five point lead with scores from Havern (2), Kilcoo’s Ceilum Doherty and Callum Rogers, as they took control of proceedings in Newry.
With 17 minutes on the click, Cian O’Brien replied with a free for Fermanagh. But Down then struck for their goal when Odhran Murdock finished neatly to push their advantage to 1-07 to 0-03.
Murdock extended the lead with a point, while Fermanagh had goalkeeper Seán McNally to thank after he pulled off two good saves to deny Conor Laverty’s side another goal.
McGurn and Conor Love replied with scores for Fermanagh, but Havern and Crimmins then hit back with further scores for the home side.
Declan Bonner’s charges finished the half on top with Declan McCusker and Garvan Jones leaving six between them at the break, 1-10 to 0-07.
After the restart, Murdock and Love traded points for their sides.
Crimmins then made it 1-12 to 0-08 on 40 minutes, but Fermanagh hit a purple patch and points from Jones (free), Ciaran Corrigan and a two pointer from Darragh McGurn left three between the sides.
Down stopped the rot though with Crimmins and sub Eamon Brown pointing to extend the Mourne advantage.
Havern then made it a six point game, with McGurn and substitute Mattie McDermott hitting points for the Fermanagh side.
Heading into the final quarter, Havern and Callum Rogers added further scores as Laverty’s side firmly took control of the game.
Luke Flanagan struck over a nice score for Fermanagh, but the Erne men were dealt a big blow when McGurn was shown a black card with six minutes left to play.
McCaffrey and boss Bonner were also shown second half yellow cards, with Liam Kerr kicking over a nice free for the Erne men.
With normal time up, Fermanagh managed to hit the net when McCaffrey charged forward and drilled low to the back of the Down net.
Fermanagh weren’t able to close the gap further though, meaning they now need a miraculous finish to the league if they’re to maintain their Division Three status.
Teams
Down: Ronan Burns, Peter Fegan, Pierce Laverty, Callum Rogers (0-02), Shane Annett, Ryan Magill, Daniel Guinness, Odhran Murdock (1-02), Ryan McEvoy, Adam Crimmins (0-04), Ceilum Doherty (0-01), Miceal Rooney, Tom Close, Pat Havern (0-07 2f), John McGeough. Subs: Eamon Brown (0-01, 1 mark) for M Rooney (28), Liam Kerr (0-01, 1f) for J McGeough (51), Barry O’Hagan for T Close (60), Ruairi O’Hare for P Havern (66).
Fermanagh: Seán McNally, Jonathan Cassidy, Oisin Smyth, Luke Flanagan (0-01), Shane McGullion, Ronan McCaffrey (1-01), Josh Largo Elis, Brandon Horan, Darragh McGurn (0-05 1 x 2p), Joe McDade, Shaun McCarron, Aogan Kelm, Cian O’Brien (0-1, 1f), Garvan Jones (0-02, 2f), Conor Love (0-02). Subs: Declan McCusker (0-01) for S McCarron (21), Ciaran Corrigan (0-01) for A Kelm (34), Mattie McDermott (0-01) for C O’Brien (46), Conor McGee for B Horan (54), Conor O’Hanlon for C Love (67).
Referee: Sean Lonergan (Tipperary)
