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In what was a strange quirk from the fixture Gods, Antrim v Down faced each other in both the senior men’s and women’s games on Sunday, 18 February, barely a half mile apart in Belfast.
In this Division 3 Round 4 game of the Lidl National Football League following last week’s win in Sligo the Down ladies would have been hoping to keep their winning run going against a high scoring, dangerous Antrim team.
Down quickly got into gear, with the impressive Niamh King creating some great chances. Natasha Ferris converted a free after a King run was halted by a foul. Down missed a good goal chance when Aine Smyth raced through on goal only for the Antrim keeper to make a great save. Antrim levelled the scores when midfielder Lara Dahunsi put the ball over from distance.
Laoise Duffy put Down back in front after a good run from Captain Meghan Doherty. Down were awarded a penalty after 14 minutes when Doherty again drove into the Antrim defence and played in Niamh McClory, however as the Annaclone forward was about to shoot the goalie was adjudged to have made a foot block. Natasha Ferris dispatched the ball into the net from the spot to give the Mourne ladies a four point lead.
Two more Natasha Ferris scores and a Niamh King point were answered by a single score from Antrims Ciara Brown, getting a lovely score from distance. Down were well on top now with Clara Mulvenna and Aoife Laverty driving them on in midfield. Downs second goal soon followed. Fantastic work on the right wing from King & Ferris, cut through the Antrim rear guard and Orla Duffy had a simple palmed finish from King's pass to further extend the lead.
Antrim, who were struggling to contain the Down kick out now pressed forward causing the Down defence problems. A Blaithin Ni Cahail free for Antrim was quickly followed by another two Brown scores. However when the highly impressive Antrim midfileder Dahunsi was shown a yellow five minutes before halftime momentum switched back to the visitors and Down soon had another penalty awarded to them when Vivienne McCormack was hauled down in the box. However, Antrim were relieved when the normally deadly Ferris put the ball wide of the post, in what was the last action of the half. Half time score: Antrim 0‐5 v Down 2-5
As the wind picked up in the second half, Antrim would have been hoping to use this in their favour. Rostrevor's Niamh Scullion was working hard for Down, making up an extra defensive player when needed but the Down back line of Green, Boyle & Smyth never put a foot wrong throughout the game and were exceptional on the day. It was the Down forward Ferris, who got the first point of the half, doing well to get a quick shot away after pressure from three Antrim defenders.
King got another score, collecting a great pass from Meghan Doherty. Laoise Duffy scored again this time from a tight angle on the right. Antrim fought back with Lara Dahunsi having a great impact on the game and cleared the bar three times from distance. Vivienne McCormack kept the score board ticking over for Down. Two more Antrim points were cancelled out by two Natasha Ferris frees to keep Down well on top. Antrim did get the goal their display deserved and it was the best goal of the match. Fast interchanging hand passes from the O'Neill sisters opened up the Down defence for the first time in the match and was finished in style by Clara McKenna. The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for substitute Sarah Dougherty. Sarah is back from a serious injury having had surgery 359 days ago. This was her first game, and she completed the scoring for Down from the penalty spot in the dying seconds. Antrims Dahunsi scored another point with the last kick of the match ,but it was little consolation for the Antrim team. Down played their best football of the season and will be looking to continue this good form when they face Offaly next time out.
Final score: Antrim 1-11 (14) v Down 3-12 (21)
Down Team: A McGivern, A Greene, O Boyle, P Smyth, N McKibbin, Meghan Doherty (C), O Duffy, C Mulvenna, A Laverty, N Scullion, N King, L Duffy, A O’Higgins, N Ferris, N McClory, K McKay, E Fitzpatrick, E Sands, K Howlett, N Loudon, V McCormack, C Byrne, A Cull, A Smyth, C McGeough, N McGrath, N Rice, E Sloan, S Dougherty & S O’Neill.
Antrim Team: S Murphy, D Coleman, E Ferran, N McArdle, C McKenna, C Brown, H Donaghy, A Mulholland, L Dahunsi, A Sheehan, L Agnew, C Logan, B Ni Cahail, E Rogers-Duffy, E Murphy, L Adams, A Kelly, C Finucane, N McKinley, G McGroarty, S Tennyson, M O’Neill, S O’Neill, C Austin, G Shannon, G McAllister, N McAllister & E Daye.
