Carlow made it three wins from three in the Joe McDonagh Cup despite a nervy second half which saw Down cut a 10-point deficit to almost clinch a miraculous comeback victory in Ballycran on Saturday afternoon.
The Barrowsiders started the stronger with the breeze at their backs, striking a couple of scores inside the first three minutes after a 65' from Martin Kavanagh floated between the uprights, and directly from the Down puck-out, James Doyle retrieved the slíotar and drilled a crisp strike over the black spot for an early lead.
Down replied through late addition and Under-20s star, Cahal Coleman, who managed to grapple possession from Paul Doyle and despite the tight angle, the young corner forward made no mistake to earn a white flag.
The hosts soon levelled the tie as Daithí Sands clipped an effort from inside the 30-yard line as the game turned into a great battle in the middle of the park.
The final 10 minutes of the half saw the game spring into life for the Leinster county as they managed to make amends for their early inefficiency in front of the posts.
Chris Nolan powered a terrific effort from the middle of the park, before Jack Treacy and once again, James Doyle, all tallied for the men in white, and the home side looked to be staring down the barrel of a defeat.
Kavanagh continued to star in the opening half, firing over another couple of great points to take his tally to four with a perfect conversion rate.
On the stroke of the half, a killer blow was taken to Down’s hopes of regaining the momentum, and Carlow showed their emphatic goal threat as Martin Kavanagh attached himself to the full-forward line and managed to latch onto a loose ball, before fizzing an effort past Pearse Smyth and the net rippled.
Carlow led by seven, but Down knew they’d be able to aid with the breeze in the second period in their pursuit of the Leinster side.
Instantly after the restart the away side looked to be cruising to a comfortable victory after Ciaran Whelan managed to secure the ball after a short puck-out from Smyth and found James Doyle who buried his effort for Carlow’s second goal.
The game sprung into life and the home side showed terrific resilience to combat and get themselves back into the game.
Down found scores from McCrickard and McGrattan but a major momentum changer came when Donal Hughes continued his Midas touch in front of the net as he buried Down’s first goal just moments after Carlow had managed the same.
The hosts rallied following the break, and Prenter and Hughes kept the scoreboard ticking over and eventually Tom McGrattan had the game within the minimum by the hour mark.
The Mourne County looked to be set for a miraculous comeback victory when Pearse Óg McCrickard drilled his shot from the edge of the D and the net bulged, flipping the scoreline in favour of Down.
Martin Kavanagh’s prowess from a dead ball stopped the momentum flowing and eventually Carlow would restore parity in the game.
Subs combined to put Carlow back in the lead just before added time, as Jake Nolan’s attempt for a score was held up in the wind, but the Down net-minder switched off and Paddy Boland pounced to bat the ball into the net.
Kavanagh maintained his excellency from the dead ball and his tally stretched to 1-10 as the whistle sounded for full-time.
Down: Pearse Smyth; Tom Murray, Ruairí McCrickard, Ben Teggart (0-01); Barry Trainor (0-01), Caolan Taggart, Niall McFarland; Donal Hughes (1-02), Liam Savage; Daithí Sands (0-02), Finn Turpin, Pearse Óg McCrickard (1-04, 4f); Tom McGrattan (0-03), Tim Prenter (0-03), Cahal Coleman (0-01)
Subs: Marc Fisher on for Liam Savage (39), Ronan Beatty on for Tim Prenter (55), Nolan Smyth on for Tom Murray (60), Paul Sheehan on for Ben Teggart (64), Shea Pucci on for Cahal Coleman (67)
Carlow: Brian Tracey; Paul Doyle, Dion Wall, Jack McCullagh; Fiach Ó Toole, Kevin McDonald, Fiachra Fitzpatrick; Jon Nolan, Ciaran Whelan; Jack Treacy (0-01), Martin Kavanagh 1-10 (1 65', 7f), James Doyle (1-02); Donagh Murphy (0-03), Conor Kehoe, Chris Nolan (0-01)
Subs: Evan Kealy on for Fiach O’Toole (44), Paddy Boland (1-00) on for Donagh Murphy (52), Jake Nolan on for Jack Treacy (60)
Referee: Eamonn Furlong
