County Derry Post

Derry 2-19
Down 3-14
Sometimes you just don’t see it coming. All the eventualities that ran through the mind before throw-in at Banagher were ones that concluded with a Down victory and, after just five minutes, it looked like being a Down whitewash.

Cahair O’Kane reports from Fr. McNally Park, Pictures by Mary K Burke

By that stage, Ruairi Convery’s first minute free had been cancelled out by a goal from Gareth ‘Magic’ Johnson before Gerard Coulter added a second, with points from Ruairi McGrattan, Brendan McGourty and Patrick Coulter giving Down a 2-03 to 0-01 lead.
That looked like being an unconquerable challenge for Derry and, even though they restricted the damage and trailed by just 0-09 to 2-11 at half-time, it was hard to see them getting back into the game.
But you get the feeling there was an Al Pacino moment in the home dressing room at half-time. No bawling, no throwing tea-cups (as if they would have tea-cups anyway), no disheartening rants at young players, no panic. Passion and calm exuded in equal measure, just as they were on the field in the second half.
Even when their hearts looked to have been ripped out by Gareth Johnson’s sensational run and scrappy finish on the very cusp of the three added minutes, the young heads remained undeterred and, guided by experienced leads around the pitch, they fought back to deservedly steal both points from Down thanks to Ruairi Convery’s sensational late winner.
If you had watched the first 25 minutes, you would have argued that the Derry performance deserved little and was going to earn nothing. Perhaps the end result did have something to do with Down taking the foot off the gas in the final ten minutes of the first half but, in truth, to suggest that would border on being harsh to the victors.
Because, while the Down side looked much slicker and quicker in the opening quarter, they never matched Derry for effort over the 70 minutes and that will be of great concern to their manager Jim McKernan.
Once Derry got the bit between their teeth in the second half, they pummelled the visitors and the longer time went on and the more the Down lead disintegrated, the more Derry grew in stature and confidence. With fifteen minutes to go, those wearing red and white on Banagher’s bumpy second pitch looked like changed men from those who had witnessed such a poor start.
With Darrell McDermott out injured, Derry showed just one change from the side which had provided great entertainment in Keady just a week previous, while Down boasted an almost full-strength side, minus Paul Braniff, who had suffered with a dose of flu in the run-up to the game but came off the bench for the final ten minutes.
As Gareth Johnson headed for the pitch, he took a wrong gate that led him into the stands, with one Derry man suggesting that he stay off the greenery in order to afford the Oak Leafers a chance. That would have been a general forethought of most of the 100-odd fans prior to throw-in.
And with a minute gone, with a Convery free opening the scoring, Johnson gave Adrian McGill the unwanted first action of picking the ball out of his net when his low drive found the bottom corner.
Ruairi McGrattan landed a point seconds later and Gerard Coulter had a second Down goal in the 2^nd minute, driving low to the other corner from close range after his run took him easily past Cathal Brunton.
Brendan McGourty and Patrick Coulter both pointed to given Down a 2-03 to 0-01 lead after just 4 minutes and it looked like being a long day in the Feeny sunshine.
The breeze was strong in Down’s favour and by the 11^th minute, Johnson, McGourty, Savage and Stephen Clarke had all kept the scoreboard ticking over, with the only Derry response a Diarmuid Brunton point off his left side.
Between the 17^th and 22^nd minutes though, two Paddy Henry frees, a lovely score from Kevin Hinphey and an excellent point under pressure from Patrick McCloskey helped reduce the arrears to 2-07 to 0-06.
But those four unanswered scores were replied to in kind before the 28^th minute, with James Coyle leading the way to extend the gap to 11 points once more.
The topsy-turvy nature of the game continued until the break and, despite having been the better side for most of the half, Down were punished in the final five minutes as the sides went in off the back of scores from Henry, Convery and another beauty from Patrick McCloskey that left the scoreboard reading 2-11 to 0-09.
After the game, Brian McGilligan described the stiff breeze as a ‘ten point’ wind, though in fact it was a 2-10 breeze as the Oak Leafers began their assault on the Down goal from the opening seconds, even if Ruairi McGrattan had pointed inside a minute of the restart.
Convery landed a free and a 65’, Coyle replying before Derry took complete control, with Stephen Henry particularly impressive at centre-half back and the likes of Ruairi McCloskey, Oisin McCloskey, the hard-working Sean McCullagh, Patrick McCloskey and speedy corner-forward Paddy Henry turning in excellent individual performances.
Kevin Hinphey began a 1-05 unanswered streak with a fantastic score off his right hand side from the left wing before Patrick McCloskey was tripped inside the area after an excellent catch and, be it deliberate or not, Ruairi Convery’s strike was helped immensely by hopping up off the turf and into the roof of the net.
Oisin McCloskey added to the list of brilliant individual points from the right wing before another Convery free and two from Paddy Henry, who really came into his own with a superb performance in the second half, dragging the sides level for the first time at 1-16 to 2-13.
But, not for the last time, Down responded sharply and a James Coyle free from the left wing gave them back their lead.
However, it didn’t last long as Brunton and Convery twice gave Derry the lead for the first time since the 1^st minute with just two minutes to play at 1-19 to 2-14.
But that was far from the end of the drama. After 69 and a half incredible minutes, the vocal Derry fans were stunned when Gareth Johnson ran forty yards and had his shot acrobatically beaten off the line by Ruairi McCloskey, only for the clearance to rebound back off ‘Magic’ and into the back of McGill’s net.
The honeymoon suite at Heartbreak Hotel looked like being Derry’s for sure. Having fought so valiantly, they found themselves two points behind with the game almost up.
But their character shone through and Patrick McCloskey fed Ruairi Convery to drive at Clarke, who repelled the shot only for the Swatragh man to scramble home the rebound and ensure everyone with Derry blood coursing through the veins leapt in delight.
Even then, it still wasn’t over. Johnson again wrestled through on the left wing and hit the net from a tight angle – unfortunately for him, it was the side netting that the ball rattled as Derry celebrated an incredible win over their Ulster rivals.
Derry: Adrian McGill; Ruairi McCloskey, Cathal Brunton, Cathal McQuillan; Philip McGlade, Stephen Henry, Conor Quinn; Ruairi Convery (2-07, 1-00 pen, 0-05f, 0-01 65’), Kevin Hinphey (0-02); Oisin McCloskey (0-01), Sean McCullagh, Diarmuid Brunton (0-02); Paddy Henry (0-05, 2f), Patrick McCloskey (0-02), Gavin Kelly.
Down: Graham Clarke; Liam Clarke, Fintan Conway, Patrick Hughes; Michael Ennis, Kieran Courtney, Gabriel Clarke; Andy Savage (0-01), Ruairi McGrattan (0-02); Brendan McGourty (0-02), Gerard Coulter (1-00), Patrick Coulter (0-03); Stephen Clarke (0-01), Gareth Johnson (2-02), James Coyle (0-03, 1f).
Subs used: Brendan Ennis for P Coulter (Blood-sub, 27, reversed HT), Stephen Murray for M Ennis (HT), Emmett Trainor for P Coulter (54), Paul Braniff for Gabriel Clarke (62).
Referee: John Devlin (Tyrone).