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Round 5 of the Ulster U14 Festival of Football saw Down lose out to Tyrone and Cavan in their games at Breffni Park last weekend.
Down Vs Tyrone
Down faced off Tyrone knowing that only two wins would move them from silver Ulster level to gold. The Mourne county started the game much the brighter of the two, showing some lovely interchanges of play scoring two points despite playing into a stiff breeze. Tyrone hit back with a point of their own. When a looping shot dropped into the Down goals to extend Tyrone's lead, Down didn't drop their heads, and came forward to score another point. Tyrone finished the half the stronger of the two with another goal and a point. 2-3 to 0-3 at HT.
Down had the wind behind their backs in the second half and started to reduce the deficit immediately with a couple of good points. This was followed with great work by the half forward line, keeping the ball alive, leading to a fantastic team goal. Tyrone replied with a couple of points but by then the momentum was with Down as they pressed home their dominance with another goal and 2 points to take a 2 point lead with minutes left.
Tyrone came back with another 2 points to level the game. Tyrone were then awarded a free in the Down half and with the last kick of the game scored the point to win the match. A very exciting game with Down unlucky to be on the wrong side of the result.
Full time Down 3-5 Tyrone 2-9
Down Vs Cavan
Down were straight back in action Vs Cavan for their second game of the day. There wasn't much between the sides at the start of the first half as both counties exchanged some good scores. Then a clearance under pressure went straight to a Cavan player who ran through to score a fine goal. Down battled bravely to steady themselves, however two quick fire goals by Cavan was a blow to the Down team. Down showed great character and finished the half strongly with a goal & a point for a HT score of 3-2 to 1-2.
The second half started in the same vein as the first, with both teams exchanging points but Cavan extended their lead with two points and a goal midway through the second half which extinguished any realistic hopes Down had of coming back into the game. The final score was 4-8 to 1-4.
