Natasha Ferris puts three-in-a-row Down on their way to an Offaly important victory

Lidl National Football League 2024, Division 3 Round 5

Offaly 0-4 Down 0-13 (Ferbane GAA grounds, Offaly)

Match report by Paul Devlin

DOWN were too strong for an Offaly side looking to use home advantage to get back on level terms with the league leaders while in-form Down had to win to keep them within touching distance of the top two and leave them with any chance of promotion.

Natasha Ferris opened the scoring for Down from a free that was quickly cancelled out by Offaly’s Elle McEvoy converting a free of her own. Bredagh’s Vivienne McCormack finished off a well worked move to put Down ahead once more but again McEvoy levelled from a free.

Laoise Duffy did well to get her shot off and put the Mourne ladies ahead once more, but for the third time in the half the impressive McEvoy levelled with a free. Despite McEvoy causing problems for the Down backline, it was the away side that started to take control of the game.

Clara Mulvenna who was excellent throughout the game, alongside captain Meghan Doherty, controlled the centre of the pitch and started to dictate play. Annaclone’s Niamh McClorey was working hard in the half forward line with Niamh Scullion on the left and especially Niamh King on the right, giving Down good width, and they exploited this to great effect. A ball played into space on the right was collected by King who beat her marker and had a lovely score from a tight angle. The Castlewellan forward was now causing all sorts of problems to the Offaly defence and added another two scores to her tally. Offaly welcomed the half time whistle to give them a chance to regroup and try to get a foothold back into the game.

Half time: Offaly 0-3 v Down 0-6

Offaly needed a quick start to the second half but struggled to get past a hard working Down defence, superbly marshalled by Saval’s Ciara Byrne. Natalie McKibben and Orla Duffy worked tirelessly at wingback, winning back ball and setting up attacks as Down once again took control of the game.

Two more King frees extended the Down lead to five. Laoise Duffy, who was in top form, added to her total by putting the ball over after a strong run. Ferris got her second score with a powerful shot that cleared the bar.

With Down well on top, managers Caoibhe Sloan and Peter Lynch took the chance to give their talented squad some match time and rang the changes. Highly rated Rostrevor forward Niamh Rice, another product of the successful Down Minor set up, came off the bench and cleared the black spot; after collecting a lovely hand pass from club mate Niamh Scullion.

Another converted free from King brought her tally to 0-6 in the match. Rice added a second to her tally shortly after, collecting a great pass from Niamh King and cooly finished. With almost the last kick of the match, Offaly got their only score of the second half when midfielder Amy Gavin Mangan drove forward and finished well.

This was a well-deserved win for Down who were good value for their nine-point win and made it three wins in a row. Eyes now turn to Sunday, March 17 when Down take on Louth in Burren, in another must win match for the Mourne ladies.

Final Score: Offaly 0-4 Down 0-13

Down Team: 1.A.McGivern, 2.A.Greene, 3.O.Boyle, 4.P.Smyth, 5.N.McKibbin, 6.M. Doherty (C), 7.O.Duffy, 8.C.Mulvenna, 9.A.Laverty, 10.N.Scullion, 11.N.King (0-6), 12.L.Duffy (0-2), 13.A.O’Higgins, 14.N.Ferris (0-2), 15.V.McCormack (0-1), 16.N.McClorey, 17.E.Fitzpatrick, 18.E.Sands, 19.K.Howlett, 20.N.Loudon, 21.A.Cull, 22.A.Smyth, 23.C.Byrne, 24.C.McGeough, 25.E.Sloan, 26.N.McGrath, 27.N.Rice (0-2), 28.S.Dougherty, 29.S.0’Neill, 30.A McAlea.

Offaly Team: 1.K.Cunningham, 2.A.Graham, 3.M.Mann, 4.K.Farrelly, 5.N.Buckley, 6.E.Hand, 7.N.Farrelly, 8.A.Gavin-Manigan (0-1), 9.E.McEvoy (C) (0-3), 10.F.Dempsey, 11C.Sheridan, 12C.Walsh, 13.E.Hackett, 14.M.Byrne, 15.K.Furey, 16.L.Dunne, 17.S.Fitzgerald, 18.S.McGuinness, 19.A.Stafford, 20.E.Kelly, 21.A.Moore, 22.C.Milner, 23.E.Enright, 24.F.Quinn, 25.S.Doyle, 26.R.Ennis, 27.M.Doyle. 28.E.Maher.