Louth 0-11 Down 1-14
Down comfortably defeated neighbours Louth in the opening round of the Allianz Football League Division 2 campaign in the Gaelic Grounds, Drogheda.
Connaire Harrison picked up from where he left off last season in a sparkling performance, where the dynamic full forward notched 1-03 in a display of the highest quality.
His goal came at the death to seal the win for the travelling side, where he smashed the ball into the net off the deck, after his first effort was blocked down.
The Glasdrumman man’s presence on the edge of the square gave the hosts plenty of problems throughout the tie, with his brother Shane also lining out for Down in goals.
Last year's Ulster finalists stamped their authority on proceedings with the assistance of the wind in the opening half.
Both sides put men behind the ball and the defensive shape of each side created the platform for a modern-day chess match of lateral hand-passing.
Two William Woods frees gave Louth an early numerical advantage, while Down utilised their wind advantage to kick four long-range scores from Niall Donnelly, Aaron Morgan, Caolan Mooney and Shay Millar, to give them a lead they would not relinquish.
Woods again was on hand to keep the Wee County in touch, with a score after 22 minutes. Eamonn Burns' side however, showed their experience in the lower divisions, outscoring Louth four to one as half-time approached.
Kilcoo’s Darragh O’Hanlon added a free, before Tommy Durnin broke the opposition's momentum to get a much needed score after patiently bursting through the Down cover.
However, another point from Morgan helped to press Down's advantage, while the lively Harrison snatched his first score of the afternoon to give the game an air of inevitability at the interval.
Midfielder Durnin tried to lift Louth’s spirits with the first score of the second half. But his efforts were in vain as Down wing-back O’Hanlon punished Louth’s indiscipline from frees.
Burns then emptied the bench, with replacements McKernan and O’Hare tagging on further points to push Down into a six-point lead.
To their credit, Pete McGrath’s side persisted with a mini revival, hitting four points on the trot from captain Andy McDonnell, Derek Maguire and two frees from Woods.
Harrison, however, had the final say and finished with a flurry of a goal and two points to give the scoreline a more fitting look.
Louth: Craig Lynch; John Bingham, Emmet Carolan, James Craven; Darren Marks, Bevan Duffy, Anthony Williams; Tommy Durnin (0-02), Andy McDonnell (0-01); Derek Maguire (0-02), Jim McEneaney, Conall McKeever; Gerard McSorley, William Woods (0-06, 0-05f), Declan Byrne.
Subs: James Stewart for C McKeever (34), Conor Grimes for J Stewart (56), Ronan Holcroft for D Byrne (57), Tadhg McEneaney for G McSorley (67)
Down: Shane Harrison; Colm Flanagan,Gearárd McGovern, Brendan McArdle; Darragh O’Hanlon (0-03, 0-03f), Niall McParland, Anthony Doherty; Conor Poland, Niall Donnelly(0-01); Shay Millar(0-01), Conor Maginn, Caolan Mooney(0-02); Aaron Morgan (0-02), Connaire Harrison (1-03), Sean Dornan.
Subs: Donal O’Hare (0-01) for S Dornan (HT), Kevin McKernan (0-01) for C Maginn (41) Darren O’Hagan for A Doherty (45) David McKibbin for D Donnelly (49).
Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath).
