2017 Down county football team season

Down county football team

2017 season
Manager	Éamonn Burns
Stadium	Páirc Esler, Newry
NFL D2	6th
All-Ireland SFC	Round 4 qualifier
Ulster SFC	Finalist
Dr McKenna Cup	Group Stage (3rd)

The following is a summary of Down county football team's 2017 season.

Kits

Home

Away

Competitions

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed/Cancelled

Dr McKenna Cup

Down started 2017 with a win against Queen's University, their first win since beating St Marys in the 2016 McKenna Cup competition. Down followed it up with a win against Derry at Páirc Esler, their first back to back win in nearly two years and first inter-county win since beat Laois in the National Football League on 4 April 2015. Down's McKenna Cup campaign ended with a defeat away to Armagh which sent Derry into the semi-finals on points difference.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Home	Score	Away	Ground	Ref
8 Jan	Group	Down	1-11 v 1-08	Queens University	Páirc Esler, Newry	[1]
15 Jan	Group	Down	0-15 v 0-14	Derry	Páirc Esler, Newry	[2]
18 Jan	Group	Armagh	1-15 v 2-08	Down	Athletic Grounds, Armagh	[3]

Table

  Qualify for Division 2 final and automatic promotion to Division 1   Automatic relegation to Division 3

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Galway	7	5	1	1	12-99	6-86	31	11
Kildare	7	5	0	2	11-102	3-94	32	10
Meath	7	4	1	2	11-107	5-91	34	9
Cork	7	2	3	2	4-90	6-86	-2	7
Clare	7	2	1	4	9-78	6-99	-12	5
Down	7	2	1	4	3-85	10-85	-18	5
Derry	7	2	1	4	8-79	11-104	-34	5
Fermanagh	7	2	0	5	1-87	12-85	-31	4

• Clare, Down and Derry finished on five league points and are ranked by score difference.

National Football League Division 2

Main article: 2017 National Football League (Ireland)

Down played in Division Two of the National Football League in 2017 following relegation from Division One in 2016. Down had a dismal start to their campaign suffering a defeat at home to Fermanagh followed by an away defeat to Clare. Reports began to circulate that Eamon Burns was facing a mass walk out from players in the squad,[4] this was later denied by Burns and Down went on to win their next two games.

The two wins in a row proofed to be crucial as Down went on to lose another two games leaving their Division Two status hanging in the balance. Down finished their Division Two campaign with a surprise draw away to Cork, which resulted in them retaining their place in Division Two for 2018.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Home	Score	Away	Ground	Ref
4 Feb	Group	Down	0-10 v 1-16	Fermanagh	Páirc Esler, Newry	[5]
12 Feb	Group	Clare	2-11 v 0-11	Down	Cusack Park, Ennis	[6]
25 Feb	Group	Down	1-13 v 0-14	Meath	Páirc Esler, Newry	[7]
5 Mar	Group	Derry	1-07 v 1- 15	Down	Celtic Park, Derry	[8]
18 Mar	Group	Down	0-10 v 2-09	Kildare	Páirc Esler, Newry	[9]
26 Mar	Group	Down	1-13 v 3-15	Galway	Páirc Esler, Newry	[10]
2 Apr	Group	Cork	1-10 v 0-13	Down	Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork	[11]

Table

  Qualify for Division 2 final and automatic promotion to Division 1   Automatic relegation to Division 3

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Galway	7	5	1	1	12-99	6-86	31	11
Kildare	7	5	0	2	11-102	3-94	32	10
Meath	7	4	1	2	11-107	5-91	34	9
Cork	7	2	3	2	4-90	6-86	-2	7
Clare	7	2	1	4	9-78	6-99	-12	5
Down	7	2	1	4	3-85	10-85	-18	5
Derry	7	2	1	4	8-79	11-104	-34	5
Fermanagh	7	2	0	5	1-87	12-85	-31	4

• Clare, Down and Derry finished on five league points and are ranked by score difference

Results

4 February 2017

19:00

Round 1

Down	0-10 - 1-16	Fermanagh
Alan Davidson 0-5 (2fs, 1 45), Shay Millar, Conail McGovern, Kevin McKernan, Joe Murphy, Aidan Carr 0-1 each	Report	Tomas Corrigan 0-8 (7fs), Eoin McManus 1-0, Aidan Breen 0-2, Sean Quigley, Eddie Courtney, Paul McCusker, Barry Mulrone, Cathal Beacom, Ryan Lyons 0-1 each.

Páirc Esler, Newry

Referee: F Kelly (Longford)

12 February 2017

14:00

Round 2

Clare	2-11 - 0-11	Down
D Tubridy (1-3), K Sexton (1-1), E Cleary (0-3, 1f), J Malone (0-3), S Collins (0-1)	Report	C Magee (0-3, 2f), B O'Hagan (0-2, 1f), R Johnston (0-2), D O'Hagan (0-1), A Carr (0-1), S Millar (0-1), P Havern (0-1)

Cusack Park, Ennis

Referee: Noel Mooney (Cavan)

25 February 2017

19:00

Round 3

Down	1-13 - 0-14	Meath
D O'Hanlon (0-4, 3f), K McKernan (0-2), B O'Hagan (0-2), R Johnston (0-1), J Johnston (0-1), C McGovern (0-1), A Carr (0-1), C Maginn (0-1), J Murphy (1-0)	Report	D Lenihan (0-8, 6f), J Toher (0-2, 1f), G Reilly (0-2), B McMahon (0-1), D Keogan (0-1)

Páirc Esler, Newry

Referee: Padraig O'Sullivan (Kerry)

5 March 2017

14:30

Round 4

Derry	1-07 - 1-15	Down
Emmett McGuckin (1-2), Conor McAtamney (0-2), Mark Craig (0-1), Benny Heron (0-1), James Kielt (0-1, 1f)	Report	Darragh O Hanlon (0-6, 5f), Ryan Johnston (1-1), Caolan Mooney (0-3), Barry O'Hagan (0-3), Conor Maginn (0-1), Joe Murphy (0-1)

Celtic Park, Derry

Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)

18 March 2017

19:00

Round 5

Down	0-10 - 2-09	Kildare
D O'Hanlon (0-04f), B O’Hagan (0-02), C Mooney (0-02), K McKernan (0-01), J Johnston (0-01)	Report	D Slattery (2-00), K Feely (0-05f), M Donnellan (0-01, 45), O Lyons (0-01), T Moolick (0-01), P Cribbin (0-01)

Páirc Esler, Newry

Referee: N Cullen (Fermanagh)

26 March 2017

15:00

Round 6

Down	1-13 - 3-15	Galway
D O'Hanlon (0-8, 5f), B O'Hagan (1-0), C Mooney (0-2), R Johnston (0-2), S Millar (0-1)	Report	E Brannigan (2-1, 1-0pen), S Walsh (1-3), G Sice (0-3, 1f), B McHugh (0-3, 2f, 1'45), G O'Donnell (0-2), D Kyne (0-1), M Farragher (0-1), P Conroy (0-1f),

Páirc Esler, Newry

Referee: Paddy Neilan (Roscommon)

2 April 2017

14:00

Round 7

Cork	1-10 - 0-13	Down
R Deane (1-01), C O’Neill (0-06, 0-04 frees), P Kerrigan (0-02), O’Rourke (0-01)	Report	J Johnston (0-05, 0-04 frees, 0-01 45), C Mooney (0-02), R Johnston (0-02); B O’Hagan (0-01), S Millar (0-01), M Cunningham (0-01, free), D O'Hanlon (0-01, free)

Páirc Uí Rinn, Cork

Referee: J Molloy (Galway)

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship

Down vs Armagh, 4 June 2017

The draw for the 2017 Ulster Senior Football Championship took place on 14 October 2016 with Down being drawn at home to Armagh.[12] This was Down's first home draw in the Ulster Championship in 12 years since they faced Tyrone at home in the 2005 Ulster Championship.

Down edged out Armagh in a close, physical encounter at Páirc Esler sending them into the 2017 Ulster Championship semi-finals to face Monaghan at the Athletic Grounds in Armagh on 24 June 2017. Down produced a memorable display in a close semi-final as they pulled off arguably the shock of the 2017 Ulster Championship by beating Monaghan and earning themselves a place in the 2017 Ulster final against Tyrone on 16 July in Clones.

Down suffered a heavy defeat in the Ulster final, meaning they entered the All-Ireland series in round 4.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Team 1	Score	Team 2	Ground	Ref
Sunday 4 June	Quarter-final	Down	0-15 v 2-07	Armagh	Páirc Esler, Newry	[13]
Saturday 24 June	Semi-final	Down	1-14 v 0-15	Monaghan	Athletic Grounds, Armagh	[14]
Saturday 16 July	Final	Down	0-15 v 2-17	Tyrone	St. Tiernach's Park, Clones	[15]

Bracket

	Preliminary round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Final
						Derry		0-11
						Tyrone		0-22
											Tyrone		1-21
											Donegal		1-12
						Donegal		3-19
						Antrim		1-9
																Tyrone		2-17
																Down		0-15
						Down		0-15
						Armagh		2-7
											Down		1-14
											Monaghan		0-15
						Cavan		0-15
	Monaghan		1-20			Monaghan		1-15
	Fermanagh		1-11

Results

4 June 2017

14:00

Quarter-finals

Down	0-15 - 2-07	Armagh
M Cunningham (0-01, f), (0-04, 2f), C Mooney (0-02); C Maginn (0-01), S Millar (0-01); J Johnston (0-01, f), C Harrison (0-02), R Johnston (0-01), B O'Hagan (0-01), for Harrison (52), D McKibben (0-01)	Report	P Hughes (0-01); A McKay (0-01), M Shields (1-00); S Sheridan (0-01), A Forker (0-01), J Clarke (0-01, f), A Murnin (1-00), Vernon (42), A Duffy (0-01), G McParland (0-01, f)

Páirc Esler, Newry

Attendance: 16, 168

Referee: Conor Lane (Cork)

24 June 2017

19:00

Semi-finals

Down	1-14 - 0-15	Monaghan
M Cunningham (0-1'45); D O'Hanlon (1-5, 1-0pen, 0-5f), K McKernan (0-2), C Maginn (0-1), S Millar (0-1); C Harrison (0-3), D O'Hare (0-1)	Report	R Wylie (0-1); K Hughes (0-1), D Hughes (0-1); O Duffy (0-1); C McCarthy (0-1), J McCarron (0-3, 2f), C McManus (0-7, 3f).

Athletic Grounds, Armagh

Attendance: 13, 396

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath). Replaced by Paddy Neilan (Roscommon) at half-time.

16 July 2017

14:00

Final

Tyrone	2-17 - 0-15	Down
T McCann (0-1), P Hampsey (0-3), P Harte (0-2, 1f), C McCann (0-1), D Mulgrew (0-1), N Sludden (0-1), M Bradley (0-2), S Cavanagh (0-2, 1f), M Donnelly (0-3), L Brennan (0-1)	Report	M Cunningham (0-1f), D O'Hanlon (0-4, 3f), C Mooney (0-3), N Donnelly (0-1), C Maginn (0-1), S Millar (0-1), R Johnston (0-2), J Murphy (0-1), D McKibbin (0-1)

St Tiernach's Park, Clones

Attendance: 31, 912

Referee: Joe McQuillan (Cavan)

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2017 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Down entered the All Ireland in Round 4 of the qualifiers following their defeat to Tyrone in the Ulster final. Down were matched once again with Monaghan however in this encounter Down fell short and ended their championship season in Round 4.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Team 1	Score	Team 2	Ground	Ref
Saturday 29 July	Round 4	Down	1-16 v 1-24	Monaghan	Croke Park, Dublin	[16]

Results

29 July 2017

5.00 PM

Round 4B

Down	1-16 - 1-24	Monaghan
D O'Hanlon (0-02, 0-02f), C Mooney (0-01), K McKernan (0-02), C Maginn (0-02), S Millar (0-01), C Harrison (1-04), J Johnston (0-03, 0-01f), D McKibbin (0-01)	Report	F Kelly (1-00), R Wylie (0-01), K Hughes (0-03, 0-01f), D Hughes (0-03), C McManus (0-10, 0-08f), O Duffy (0-01), J McCarron (0-02), C McCarthy (0-04)

Croke Park, Dublin

Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

References

1. "Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup round 1 Report". 9 January 2017.
2. "Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup round 2 Report". 16 January 2017.
3. "Bank of Ireland Dr McKenna Cup round 3 Results & Semi-final Fixtures". 18 January 2017.
4. "Down facing mass walkout as players lose faith in management".
5. Official Down GAA [@OfficialDownGAA] (4 February 2017). "Allianz Leagues Division 2 Rd 1 full time Down 0.10 Fermanagh 1.16" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
6. Official Down GAA [@OfficialDownGAA] (12 February 2017). "Allianz League Division 2 Rd 2 Full time Down 0.11 Clare 2.11" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
7. "Royals account for Down in Navan". 29 March 2014.
8. "Burns pleased as Down record back-to-back wins". 5 March 2017.
9. Official Down GAA [@OfficialDownGAA] (18 March 2017). "Allianz league div 2 result from Páirc Esler Kildare 2.09 Down 0.10" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
10. Official Down GAA [@OfficialDownGAA] (26 March 2017). "Allianz GAA Football League Division 2 Full time Down 1.13 Galway 3.15" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
11. "Down secure status with Cork draw". 2 April 2017.
12. "2017 Ulster Championship Draw". 14 October 2016.
13. Mooney, Francis (4 June 2017). "Down edge out wasteful Armagh at Pairc Esler".
14. Mooney, Francis (24 June 2017). "Down withstand Monaghan comeback to reach Ulster final".
15. Mooney, Francis (16 July 2017). "Tyrone retain Ulster title with routine win over Down".
16. Keane, Paul (29 July 2017). "Monaghan hit their groove to ease past Down".