Ulster champions almost downed

THE one consolation that might have comforted underdogs Down in the lead-up to this Bank of Ireland Ulster football championship tie was the unpredictability of these preliminary round matches.

Two years ago they lost their All-Ireland title to Donegal at the same stage of the competition.

Reigning champions Tyrone. chasing a third title in succession, were the team nearly stung this year. After a match which started slowly but quickened considerably towards a riveting conclusion, both teams will have been warily content to have survived the battle.

There were complaints on both sides and some bizarre refereeing contributed to feelings of grievance, but neither side fully deserved to win and the result accurately reflected the run of play.

Down had the greater cause for complaint, although both sets of supporters booed referee Michael McGrath off the pitch. In the dying moments of the match, both John Treanor and James McCartan were denied what looked like valid frees and against the backdrop of some softly-won awards at the other end which helped rehabilitate Tyrone, Down had reason for feeling sore.

It's been a lively few weeks for McGrath, whose handling of the All-Ireland under-21 semi-final enraged the normally stoical Kerry supporters after their narrow defeat by Meath

Yesterday he booked eight players in the first half, four of them within six minutes of the throw-in.

The sending off of Peter Withnell in the 46th minute was another matter of contention. But in the view of most observers the Down man had been lucky to stay on the field in the 12th minute after kicking out at Noel Donnelly. His eventual fate was triggered by a comparatively trivial offence which earned him a second booking.

Given both counties' low spirits over the last two months or so, the result will have perked them up considerably and whoever eventually emerges will have recovered a reasonable level of self-esteem.

Looked at positively, the match will indicate to Down that there's still some life in their ageing attack. Whereas the finish was frequently poor, their combination play and penetration was impressive.

Mickey Linden played well, and had two well-taken points from play, and Shorty Treanor's free-taking was reliable. Veteran Greg Blaney's contribution was subdued, but newcomer Gerard Deegan took his goal with exuberance and precision.

Midfield was solid and at the back, Down were resilient rather than watertight. Gary Mason's utility value was underlined by his competent stab at the impossible task of marking Peter Canavan.

The corner back also managed to get up the field for a point as well as demonstrating his accomplished place-kicking with a flawlessly-dispatched penalty in the first half.

Canavan did enough to confirm his continuing rehabilitation with a four-point tally including two irrepressible first-half strikes from the corner.

Down's Sean Ward and Liam Howlett, the debutants in the other full back line positions, had difficulties. Ward was caught for two points by a roving Stephen Lawn in the critical second-half exchanges whereas Howlett struggled to contain Ciaran McBride although, to be fair, not much damage ensued.

Down's half hacks had better fortune with only Adrian Cush posing a consistent danger until the belated introduction of Brian Dooher revived Tyrone's offensive in the final quarter.

Tyrone manager Danny Ball will be concerned by a couple of aspects of his team's performance. Defence was alarmingly porous, although Down's inaccuracies helped disguise the fact. The full back line was stretched, with debutant Paul O'Neill enthusiastic and effective on his own man, McCabe, but prone to fouling. Chris Lawn had trouble with Gerard Deegan, particularly for the goal, and was substituted shortly after a heated communication with the bench.

Gerard Cavlan's siting at mid-field never really took off and the player looked less than a two per cent fit before his 53rd minute substitution.

The important thing for Tyrone was that they survived the match. Short a number of quality players because of injury and suspension yesterday, they will be in a better position for the replay. Sean McLaughlin's suspension will be finished but Pascal Canavan will not be available.

Dooher's introduction suggested that he is not far off the pace and a place in the starting line-up may follow. Adrian Cush also looked good on his comeback after a nasty. car accident. His place-kicking, with one exception, was fine.

In the first half, Tyrone looked capable of doing more than they did but were still in a strong position towards the end of it. Leading by 0-6 to 0-3 after 23 minutes, they had the chance to finish off Down. Instead, a penalty converted by Mason changed the course of the match and Down should have had another goal by the break after Conor Deegan ghosted through the middle of Tyrone's defence only to drive the ball wide of a yawning goal.

Trailing by a point at half-time, the champions were widely regarded as being in trouble and that was the evidence of the third quarter where painfully-contrived equalisers were countered by the concession of points in swift reply.

In the 55th minute, Down engineered the score of the match. Treanor played a free to Blaney, whose kick ahead was marvellously flicked on by Treanor into the path of Gerard Deegan who raced in before thunderously dispatching the ball to the top of Finbar McConnell's net.

Tyrone's revival may have been assisted by some dubious frees but the side showed composure in playing their way back into a match in which a four-point deficit looked fatal. Canavan, Cush (twice) and Dooher tied up the match. Treanor and Cush swapped frees in the closing six minutes and despite alarms - a missed free by Cush and the non-award of a free to McCartan - that was the end of it.