Cavan 0-13 Down 1-09
Cavan struck in the fourth minute of injury-time as Mickey Graham's reign got off to a winning start with a one-point victory over Down in the first round of the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup.
Graham, who is also preparing Mullinalaghta for an All-Ireland club semi-final, will be pleased with how his team edged a game that was nip-and-tuck for large portions, with Conor Madden proving to be the match winner at Kingspan Breffni park.
At half-time, the sides were dead-locked at 0-06 apiece, but it was the Mourne men who had made the brighter start to the contest.
Rory Mason, Aaron McClements, Rory Burns and Pat Havern gave the visitors the early advantage before the home side reeled off five of the final seven scores of the half. Goalkeeper Raymond Galligan knocked over two frees and Pierce Smith also raised a white flag after spending time in the sin bin for a black card.
Galligan moved upfield to score from play after the break, while a Madden score in the 54th minute propelled Mickey Graham’s side into a five-point lead before a Havern penalty two minutes later brought Down right back into it.
Ciaran Harney reduced the gap to the bare minimum as both sides exchanged wides.
Down's Conor McGrady levelled matters yet again mid-way through the five minutes of additional time before Madden had the final say.
Donegal 0-21 Queens University Belfast 0-11
An experimental Donegal side proved far too strong for Queens University Belfast in the same section as Cavan and Down.
The home crowd at Ballybofey saw their team settle well and led by 0-05 to 0-01 before a quarter of an hour was played.
Back to Business.
— Sportsfile 🎄 (@sportsfile) December 30, 2018
Former Mayo manager - and now Donegal selector - Stephen Rochford prepares the warm up before the Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup match against QUB in Ballybofey today.
📷 @sportsfileollie https://t.co/qtDnaUOabg pic.twitter.com/L3clGqcOxl
Ciaran Thompson, Caolan McGonagle and Eoin McHugh kept the scoreboard ticking over, while two points in the closing minutes of the half meant the students retired at the interval eight points in arrears.
Queens kept plugging away, but Declan Bonner’s side were a cut above, particularly in attack, where man-of-the-match Thompson, Lorcan Connor, Martin O’Reilly and Michael Langan added to their tally in a comfortable 10-point victory.
