Sport

Down deserve it

Down's greater hunger and sharpness carried them to a Dr McKenna Cup triumph in front of a 5,000-strong crowd at the Athletic…

Mon Apr 27 1998 - 01:00

Down's greater hunger and sharpness carried them to a Dr McKenna Cup triumph in front of a 5,000-strong crowd at the Athletic Grounds, Armagh, last night.

Down's control at midfield, where Conor Deegan and Gregory McCartan imposed their authority, and the craft up front offered by Ross Carr and Micky Linden were decisive factors.

Yet Armagh got off to a whirlwind start with a Diarmuid Marsden goal in the third minute before Down had even started to settle. The Mournemen responded with three points from Aidan Quinn and two from Ross Carr and led by 0-6 to 1-2 at the break.

When Aidan Quinn popped away an opportunist goal early in the second half, Down threatened to move into overdrive. But Armagh managed to stay in touch.

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When midfielder Jarleth Burns was pulled back as he was bearing down on goal, Cathal O'Rourke lashed the resulting penalty to the roof of the net.

In a frenetic finish, the outstanding McCartan flashed over what proved to be the winning point.

Down: P Travers; F Caulfield, E O'Hagan, A Molloy; P Higgins, M McGill, S Poland; C Deegan, G McCartan (0-2); R Carr (0-3), Sean Ward, S Mulholland (0-2); G Deegan, M Linden (0-1), A Quinn (1-3). Subs: Shane Ward (0-1) for G Deegan; G McMahon for Poland.

Armagh: M Campbell; K Hughes, G Reid, M McNeill; A McCann, J McNulty, E McNulty; P McGrane, J Burns; K McGeeney, B O'Hagan, J Byrne; M Toye (0-1), N Smyth, D Marsden (1- 4). Sub: M McQuillan for A McCann; C O'Rourke (1-0) for Toye; O McConville (0-3) for O'Hagan; J Rafferty for McNeill.

Referees: B Crowe (Cavan) and R Doone (Antrim).

Kildare had little trouble defeating visitors Sligo 0-11 to 0-4 in a Senior Football challenge tie at Carbury yesterday evening. The home side never looked back after Martin Lynch opened their account and Sligo had to wait until shortly before half time for their first score.

Kildare led by 0-6 to 0-2 at the start of the second half and although Sligo started well, scoring twice, they made little impression. Kildare hit three unanswered points to emerge convincing winners of a one-sided tie.

Scorers: Kildare (N Buckley 0-5, E McCormack 0-3, M Lynch 0-2, D Earley 0-1), Sligo (J Kenny 0-2, S Davey, D Walsh 0-1 each).