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Down have drawn Mayo in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-finals after they made history in Mullingar on Saturday.
James McCartan's Mournemen became the first losing provincial finalists to beat the dreaded six-day turnaround when they outclassed Tipperary.
Driven on by a goal from Benny Coulter, Down put the disappointment of that 11-point loss to Donegal in the Ulster final behind them with a morale-boosting dispaly against their in-form rivals and go into Saturday's showdown with Connacht champions Mayo in Croke Park (5pm) with confidence restored.
Speaking after the win over Peter Creedon's Tipp, McCartan said he was delighted with the resolve shown by his players.
“Everybody was tipping this for the upset of the weekend," said the Burren man.
"We were determined it wasn’t going to be the case. It wasn’t pretty at times we know, but we said coming into this game that it was going to be about character and a wee bit of mental strength.
“Playing well [against Tipperary] wasn’t really part of the equation – it was putting your heart on your sleeve and putting pride in the jersey because obviously we shipped a lot of criticism last week and we felt for three-quarters of the game [against Donegal] we did a whole lot right.
“The guys get no credit for three-quarters of the match – it’s the last quarter of the match that everybody remembers, and rightly so."
Meanwhile, Mayobridge star Coulter is rapidly regained full fitness and got 70 vital minutes under his belt last Saturday.
“I feel great," he said after the win over Tipperary.
"Thankfully James kept me on; it will bring me on and I’ll be ready next week [against Mayo].”
Tickets for the All Ireland Quarter Final Down v Mayo will be on sale this week at the following Times at the Down GAA Office at Pairc Esler
Tuesday 9.30 am to 12.30pm
Wednesday 9.30 am to 12.30pm and 7.00pm to 9.30pm
Thursday 9.30am to 12.30 pm
Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm and 7.00pm to 9.30pm
Saturday 9.00am to 11.00am
