Down stage remarkable late comeback to fell Fermanagh at the death

Ulster SFC quarter-final: Fermanagh 0-23 Down 2-19

Down produced a stunning late rally as they came from seven points down with eight minutes to play to see off Fermanagh in this thrilling Ulster Championship quarter-final encounter at Brewster Park.

Fermanagh appeared to be in firm control as a dominant second-half display had seen them deservedly push into a seven-point lead.

However, momentum swung in Down’s favour as midfielder Daniel Guinness rattled over a two-point effort, and moments later he followed it up with a superb goal to quickly cut the gap back to two points.

And it was all Down in the closing stages as Pat Havern landed two points before Ryan McEvoy fired to the net in the 70th minute to snatch the victory for the Mournemen.

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The sides shared the opening 10 points of the contest and Down were grateful to the contribution of their goalkeeper Ronan Burns during this spell as he pulled off several critical saves.

Down appeared to take a grip on matters after this as Daniel Guinness, Odhran Murdock, Celium Doherty and Danny Magill tagged on points while Burns also added a 45 after a fine Seán McNally save from James Guinness.

A black card for Down’s Pierce Laverty saw Fermanagh gain a foothold over the remainder of the half and Garvan Jones and Josh Largo Elis were among the points to leave three in it at half time, 0-11 to 0-8.

However, Fermanagh dictated the exchanges over the opening 25 minutes of the second half with Conor Love outstanding in attack. The Enniskillen forward rifled over five points from play while Lee Cullen powered over a wonderful two-point effort as Fermanagh moved into a commanding 0-20 to 0-13 lead.

The gap remained seven as the contest moved into the last seven minutes but Down came with that late surge led by Daniel Guinness as his two-pointer, followed by a slaloming run through the Erne defence for a goal, gave the Mournemen the impetus late on. McEvoy then popped up with the decisive goal at the end to seal victory for the away team.

FERMANAGH: S McNally (0-0-3, 3 45s); C Cullen, L Cullen (0-1-0), O Smyth; J Cassidy (0-0-2), D McCusker (0-0-1), F O’Brien (0-0-1, f); J McDade, D McGurn (0-0-2); C McGee, R Lyons (0-0-1), P Breen; J Largo Elis (0-0-1, G Jones (0-0-4, 1f), C Love (0-0-5).

Subs: S McGullion for Breen (14 mins); R McCaffrey (0-0-1) for Lyons (53); S Cassidy for McGee (58).

DOWN: R Burns (0-0-1, 45); P McCarthy, P Fegan, C Doherty (0-0-1); R Magill, P Laverty, M Rooney; D Guinness (1-1-2), R McEvoy (1-0-1); D Magill (0-0-2), O Murdock (0-0-2), E Branagan (0-0-2); J Guinness, P Havern (0-0-4, 3f), J McGeough (0-0-1).

Subs: A McClements for Rooney (47 mins); S Millar (0-0-1) for Magill (49); C Mooney for Branagan (51); C McCrickard for J Guinness (54); P Brooks for McGeough (61).

Referee: J Henry.