Down set for start

Down set for start

22 January 2025

DOWN’S footballers are now just days away from their return to Allianz National League Division 2 and will be hoping to build on their success from last season.

Conor Laverty’s squad are in game mode as they make the final preparations for their season opener away to Roscommon at Dr Hyde Park on Sunday.

They had a lot to cheer about last season, having secured promotion from Division 3 and going on to lift the Tailteann Cup at Croke Park.

Roscommon, on the other hand, had a season to forget as they suffered relegation from the top division.

However, Down will have to contend with the not too distant memory of missing out on the title, after they lost to Westmeath in the divisional final.

They will aim to make amends against the Lake County, in what promises to be a testing season, with strong opponents in Monaghan and Cork also lying in wait.

Monaghan offer high level opposition following their relegation from Division 1 and Cork have a point to prove, having succumbed to Armagh and Donegal in the hunt for promotion last term.

Forty-time Ulster champions Cavan join Louth and Meath in completing the list of opponents as Down aim for further glory.

The fixture list does not end there either. Last year’s Tailteann Cup triumph qualified the Mourne men for the Sam Maguire series, while an Ulster Senior Championship quarter-final tie with Fermanagh also begins to hove into view.

However, before any of that comes to the fore, the priority is navigating Sunday’s tricky opening match.

Roscommon may have struggled last season, but they were playing at the highest level and will fancy their chances in the lower division.

Whatever confidence they do have is supported by the fact that they enter the new campaign tipped as the favourites to claim the title and they could see Down as their first victim en route to doing so. 

If Down are to come away with a positive result, they will need their players to be firing on all cylinders.

They are not short of star-quality, especially considering they had five players named in the Tailteann team of the year.

Captain Pierce Laverty and backs Daniel Guinness and Ryan McEvoy all made the cut amongst the tournament’s top performers, but two men that stand out in particular are Odhran Murdock and Pat Havern.

Murdock was named man of the match in June’s cup final victory over Laois and Havern hit 0-7 in the semis, before being crowned Tailteann footballer of the year.

Whatever happens, there will be a long way to go in the season and with three competitions to fight  for, glory could return to Down once again.

Throw-in on Sunday is at 2pm.