Underdogs Down bite back

Shades of summers past in Casement Park yesterday as Down, urgent and rampant, crushed their border rivals in another Ulster derby.

The common perception had been that Down was a county on the slide, and afterwards the players admitted that the widespread dismissals of their worth had been an incentive. They outshone Tyrone on a blazingly warm afternoon and walked away with their reputation as championship pirates dipped in gold.

The remarkable aspect of their performance was that it was essentially confined to the second half, and overall they could actually have been found guilty of profligacy - Mickey Linden fired a one-one-one chance at Finbarr Caulfield on 30 minutes and overall, the forwards blasted 15 wides. That Tyrone shot four was due less to their economy as to the meagre percentage of possession they were forced to live with.

Timid and lacklustre in their approach over the first 20 minutes, Down grew visibly more bold as the half-time break approached and reeled off a succession of scores which established the platform for the second-half blitz.

The catalyst for what was a stark reversal in momentum occurred after Peter Canavan, sleeves rolled and shaping for another dazzling afternoon, was robbed by Finbarr Caulfield, whose clearance led to a Ross Carr free to leave Tyrone trailing 0-6 0-9.

That sequence of play seemed to exorcise whatever doubts Down may have had and they hunted with keen imagination after that, winning the next ball and freeing Paul Higgins who lofted a fine point before the break.

Although Brian Dooher seemed to steady Tyrone with a fine score seconds after the throw in, Down were on the verge of utter domination. Caulfield bottled Canavan for the remainder of the game and Sean Ward dropped back to silence Mattie McGlennan, who had proven thorny for Michael Magill over the first 20 minutes.

Magill seemed to relish life and moved well with an impressive halfback unit which aided the midfield duo of Brian Burns and Alan Molloy in constantly leaving the Tyrone defence back-pedalling.

Shane Mulholland, overcoming something of a free-kicking crisis, was hugely influential in the loose, scavenging for ball and threading precise passes for the free-roaming Linden, Shane Ward and CiarEight minutes into the second half, Mulholland linked with Linden and McCartan before steaming through to fire low. Finbarr McConnell deflected the shot but McCabe seized on his rebound and smashed the ball low into an empty net. Level at 0-10 to 1-7, Down were suddenly singing with conviction.

Linden danced free for another point from the kick-out and McCabe added another free and skipped through to chip a point from play.

Tyrone were now the mirror image of Down in the first 20 minutes. They kept in touch through the dead ball abilities of Cush and Eoin Gormley, but as a force, they looked withered.

Canavan cut a remote figure, isolated up front. Cush and Gormley, devastating against Fermanagh in the previous round, never got ticking. While Gerard Cavlan and Ciaran Gourley broke forward in the initial period, they were confined to trying to mop up the waves of Down attacks in the second half.

Again, the defence gave. Gerard Deegan chased a stray ball, slipped a quick pass to Shane Ward, and he looped a handpass through for McCabe, who again fired past McConnell.

Up two clear goals with 11 mintues remaining, Down visibly relaxed and fired a series of optimistic wides which didn't bother them unduly.

Tyrone pulled the deficit back to four points with as many minutes remaining but it was, perhaps appropriately, Ross Carr who provided the day's final flourish.

Dogged in his contributions all day, he collected a sideline ball from Shane Ward and drew delighted gasps as he arced a point with the outside of his boot.

Afterwards, the players remained muted in their reflections. Down are in their first Ulster final since 1994. Recent history suggests that when they stay till about late July, it is with purpose.

They may yet confound us all again.