Down boss Conor Laverty has made some brave choices in his first two games, but they have paid off. That’s the analysis of well-respected Down coach Frank Dawson, who says that the Mourne county manager’s decision to test out younger players has been impressive.
“They don’t learn inter-county football sitting on the bench, and Conor is showing remarkable trust in these young players. Conor is giving game time and trusting players he has coached at U-20. I think that is the most important thing at the moment. That is a great building block for the future. It is a big step up from Down U-20 to senior. He has managed to do that and win at the same time.”
Frank, who was part of the Down U-20 management since 2023, said he has been impressed by Pearse McPolin, Finn Murdock, Adam Crimmins, Shane Annett, Donagh Scullion, and Jamie Doran when they featured in the county’s first two games, wins against Clare and Limerick. But he said the younger players have been helped by others.
“Odhran (Murdock) is always great, as are Ryan McEvoy and Daniel Guinness. Those experienced players are helping them bed in.”
Frank added that defensively, Down look very good. “Peter Fegan and Pierce Lavery were marking two of Limerick’s best forwards, and I thought they had very steady games. I watched Paddy McCarthy in the first match against Clare. I have watched him many times. He was back to his best. He is a brilliant one-on-one defender, but he has picked up an injury.”
Down opened their league campaign with a 2-19 to 2-14 win over Clare. The win was characterised by a strong finish. Frank said, “For most of that match, Clare were ahead, but Down stuck at it. I thought Clare were much better than I thought they would be. My thoughts after the first game were that it was important to get the win, but Clare are a very good side. So that was a good win.”
In their second game, they needed a late two-pointer from Shane Annett to secure the win, 0-18 to 1-14. “Going to Limerick, I thought that they would beat Limerick. It was a difficult game. People will say that Down were lucky to win by a point. But Down were five or six points ahead each time and missed quite a lot. But if they had lost that game, it would not have been a true reflection of that game. They cut Limerick open. But in this game, because of this game, five or six-point leads are not big leads anymore.”
In the full story Frank goes on to explain why he thinks Down can beat Westmeath this weekend.
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