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2024 Allianz Football League Division 3 – Down 3-15 Clare 1-10

March 24 @ 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Down defeated Clare by 3-15 to 1-10 in Round 7 of the Allianz Football League Division 3 on Sunday March 24th at Páirc Esler Newry.

Down trip a step too far for Clare who stay in third tier

AFL Division 3: Down 3-15 Clare 1-10

Report by Brendan O’Brien for the Irish Examiner newspaper

No rebound back to Division Two for Clare. Mark Fitzgerald’s visitors were hanging on to Down’s coattails for pretty much all of this one and were finally shaken off with the concession of two goals in as many minutes in the third quarter.

The Banner travelled north knowing that a win would see them make that immediate return to a second tier they called home for seven years before last term’s relegation but Down had been the form team on this rung of the ladder and proved it again here.

Conor Laverty’s side went unbeaten through the campaign and have now secured their place in the top half of the league structure for 2025 and, with it, a say in the running for the Sam Maguire later this year.

Clare can still join them in that latter pursuit if they can get past Tipperary or Waterford in a Munster semi-final and, while they fell short here, they put in a more competitive league portfolio than many expected after losing a string of players and Colm Collins as manager.

Down grabbed this by the scruff of the neck at the first whistle with a goal from defender Ceilum Doherty franking that excellent start and giving them 1-2 on the board before Clare had even found their feet.

That footing came shortly after for the visitors with Manus Doherty playing Aaron Griffin in on goal and the forward, taking advantage of a defender’s untimely slip, produced a superb finish when one-on-one with the keeper.

There were other goalmouth scrambles at both ends in the first-half without either side managing another three-pointer, but Down held the whip hand for most of the period and made half-time with a 1-7 to 1-4 lead for their troubles.

Some of their scores in the first quarter came a tad too quickly for Clare’s comfort and, with Pat Havern missing a few frees at the other end, there was a chance that this one could get away from Clare and their promotion hopes with it.

It didn’t. Havern began to find his mark from dead balls and Clare, intent on pressuring their hosts from one end of the pitch to the other, kept the game very much alive before finding the pace too fast for their liking after the interval.

The definitive break came with an Odhran Murdock penalty after 45 minutes that was followed up immediately from the kick-off by a Danny Magill tap-in. That left it 3-10 to 1-5 in the blink of an eye and all the serious work for the day done.

Scorers for Down: P Havern (0-5, 0-3 frees); C Doherty (1-2); D Magill (1-2); L Kerr (0-3). O Murdock (1-0); M Rooney, D Guinness, R Johnston (all 0-1).

Scorers for Clare: A Griffin (1-0); C Downes (0-3, 0-2 frees); E McMahon (0-2 frees); M McInerney (0-2, 0-1 free); S Ryan, D Coughlan, D O’Donnell (all 0-1).

Down: J O’Hare; P Fegan, R McEvoy, C Doherty; M Rooney, P Laverty, D Guinness; J Flynn, O Murdock; D Magill, L Kerr, R Johnston; F McElroy, P Havern, J Guinness.
Subs: J McGovern for J Guinness (19); O Savage for McGovern (39); S Ainnett for McElroy (58); C Francis for Rooney (65); R Magill for Kerr (64).

Clare: S Ryan; M Doherty, R Lanigan, M Garry; I Ugweru, A Sweeney, D Walsh; B McNamara, G Murray; E McMahon, C Downes, D Coughlan; C Rouine, A Griffin, C Murray.
Subs: J McGann for Murray (HT); M McInerney for Murray (54); T Kelly for Sweeney (59); D O’Donnell for McMahon (62); S Griffin for A Griffin (65).

Referee: D Coldrick (Meath).

Team News

Clare (AFL v Down): S Ryan; M Doherty, R Lanigan, M Garry; I Ugweru, A Sweeney, D Walsh; B McNamara, G Murray; E McMahon, C Downes, D Coughlan; J McGann, A Griffin, C Murray
Subs: T O’Callaghan, C Rouine, D Bohannon, M McInerney, D Nagles, J Stack, F Ginnane, S Griffin, D O’Donnell, T McDonald, T Kelly

Match Coverage

Details

Date:
March 24
Time:
2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Venue

Páirc Esler, Newry

GAA Units

Clare GAA
Cork GAA
Kerry GAA
Limerick GAA
Tipperary GAA
Waterford GAA
US GAA