DOWN manager Derek Dunne was understandably happy after he watched his charges brush Meath aside at St Tiernach’s Park on Saturday.
The Mournewomen will now go on to play Antrim in an all-Ulster decider on December 5, after their neighbours cruised to a 0-14 to 0-3 triumph over Laois in Inniskeen.
Down always held the upper hand, showing real grit and an outstanding work rate against a side that had played at senior level for the past two seasons.
“It was a tough, tough match”, Dunne said afterwards. “From one to 15 though, everyone in the field performed. In fairness to the girls, they dug deep.
“We knew what we were coming in for. Meath are a good side, a couple of years up in the senior, coming down. They were going very well, they were the team to beat in the championship. But we need to put our head back down to earth and get ready for two weeks’ time.”
Down lost to this year’s senior sensations Westmeath in agonising fashion at the same Clones venue 15 months ago. Only a point separated them at the end, but there was no fear of bad memories impacting on them on this occasion as Dunne explained.
“It was funny. I remembered we won the Ulster Championship on one side and we lost to Westmeath on the other. You can’t be thinking like that. It’s about the preparations that you put in and trusting the girls. And the girls trusting themselves.
“Do you know what? There’s very little you can do on the line when you’re in a game like that. In fairness, they took the game themselves and drove on with it.
“It was a dogged battle and it was who stood up the fittest got us over the line.”
“It’d be class to end with silverware. There’s a lot of people stuck in, a lot of people not well, you’ve mental health and everything.
“To be able to get out on the field on a Tuesday, a Thursday and weekends, it’s brilliant, to be honest with you. We’ve another two weeks together anyway, which is great.”
Fionnuala Carr, who won the player of the match award, said that after the team’s near misses of the last few years, they were determined to go all the way this time around.
“We talked about last year a lot. We were disappointed in last year’s performance. It was one of those games which haunted us,” she said.
“Coming up against Meath, we knew it would be such a hard task, but we just focused on our own task, working hard, and our own performance. We weathered a storm there late on. We have an excellent goalkeeper and were defending a lot.”
She added: “Not to concede a goal was huge. We knew they were a good team at running from deep. We knew if we kept the goals down, we would be in with a good chance.”