Tailteann Cup, R3
Longford v Down
Sunday, 6pm, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, Longford
By Peter McGrath Jnr
Down travel to Longford this Saturday as they look to respond in a positive manner to their defeat against Offaly a fortnight ago.
For their part, Longford are on a high after dumping Clare out of the competition in their last outing. Oran Kenny and Dylan Farrell, two of their inside forward line, scored 2-11 of the 2-17 they bagged in total and keeping a close eye on the danger men close to goal will be high on Down’s priority list. They also scored 2-17 in their loss to Fermanagh in the game before and, with the exception of the Louth game which they lost in Leinster, have been consistently hitting hefty totals.
They do, however, give up goals. Longford have conceded 27 across league and championship this year and kept only three clean sheets in the process (London and Tipperary in the league and Louth in the championship). Down will know chances will be there and, if they can show a more ruthless finishing spark than they mustered against Offaly, they could propel themselves well down the road to winning the game.
Looking back on the Offaly defeat, the series of missed goal chances stand out like a sore thumb. Conor Laverty’s side also conceded three goals in a championship game for the second time this season (Armagh being the other one) and, with the exception of that Armagh game, Offaly’s total of 3-22 was the most Down had conceded since losing to Galway in the 2025 All-Ireland series. That indicates it wasn’t just the attacking side of the gameplan that faltered.
Down will now look to their players with experience, their leaders. Pierce Laverty, Daniel Guinness, Odhran Murdock, Pat Havern and others of that ilk need to be the players ensuring standards are higher in Pearse Park than they were in Tullamore.
While the minors won in Longford on Saturday last and, in 2009, a Down U-20 side beat Mayo there, it’s a ground that has been a footballing graveyard for Down teams of the past. The current crop will be keen to ensure their legacy isn’t defined by a defeat here.
A win will push Down into an away quarter-final but Longford, and their manager Mike Solan, won’t make things easy for them.
If Down can get ahead, Longford have a tendency to lose discipline when chasing a game. Against Louth they had Cormac Flynn sent off and picked up three other yellow cards and in their loss to Fermanagh, Daniel Reynolds was black carded.
Down will be targeting a fast start and a clinical showing to banish the ghosts of Tullamore. If they get those two things, the win will follow.
