ULSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL:DOWN AND Donegal are always so closely matched in the Ulster football championship that the slightest edge can make the difference between winning and losing.
Down could claim to have that edge going into Sunday’s quarter-final in Ballybofey given they now boast the services of former Donegal manager Brian McIver, who has come on board this season as a selector under manager James McCartan.
Donegal’s star forward Michael Murphy reckons McIver’s presence in the Down dressingroom gives them a definite edge.
Murphy, who helped Donegal reach the All-Ireland under-21 final earlier this month only to lose out to Dublin, has nothing but high praise for his former manager, who actually first brought him on to the senior team.
“That is going to get a lot of attention,” he says. “Brian brought me in a couple of years ago to the Donegal team. Any dealings I had with him were first class. He is a top drawer man, a very nice man too. And Down are going to be very well prepared for the game because of that.”
However, Down midfielder and captain Ambrose Rogers is not so sure: Rogers is still a doubtful starter for Sunday’s game having only recently had a cast removed from his foot, after he sustained a stress fracture, and reckons Down will be more focused on their game rather than on what McIver can tell them about Donegal.
“I think with most games nowadays on TV, everybody knows what’s happening in other teams,” he says. “He (McIver) managed them and hopefully if he can give us something, it’ll help. But we’ll just try to worry about ourselves.”
McIver’s football brain is certainly well respected, as he also led Ballinderry to an All-Ireland club title before managing Donegal.
He’s part of McCartan’s backroom team, which also includes Paddy Tally, former fitness trainer with Tyrone, and Jerome Johnson, of Down football champions Kilcoo – and together they have orchestrated definite progress with Down during the national league, resulting in promotion to Division One.
Rogers will be a definite loss should he fail to start, although the likelihood is he will play at least some part. The foot injury was another setback for the player who two years ago ruptured his spleen in a life-threatening incident on the field.
However, Down do have strength in numbers now, with Kalum King playing a big role at midfield, Marty Clarke back from Australia and Dan Gordon also back on board.
“He (King) has been very, very good. Really a man who’s played well in every game he’s played. That’s very good for us and hopefully he can carry that through the championship. James wants everybody to express themselves and it suits him to be back helping out defence, putting in the tackles.
“He’s a great knack for getting in tackles when he doesn’t have a right to get in there. That’s a fantastic thing that not too many players have. Competition is good and you need that if you’re going to do anything. Dan’s return was huge as well. You can’t do without your top players and no county can do without a guy like Dan. We’re just really glad he’s back. Hopefully he’s ready to go now for championship.”
And whatever pressure is on Clarke to deliver, Rogers reckons he can handle it: “Big players deal with those situations and Marty has shown that already this season. I’m sure he’s going to relish playing in the championship. That’s what he came home to do. So I don’t think there’s any massive pressure on him.”
Really all the pressure on Sunday is on Donegal; playing in front of their home crowd, having already lost to Down in the league. Murphy accepts Donegal haven’t enjoyed the best of times in Ulster in recent years, but that has given them a great hunger to make amends.
“Down are going to be a massive proposition for us,” he says. They have had a very good league campaign and have a very good squad and team there at the moment, with a number of very talented players so it is something we are really going to have to improve our game to compete with them.
“It is massive just to get back to winning ways in Ulster. The last two years getting beat by Antrim and Derry in our own back yard in Ballybofey were two big disappointments for us so the only way to get over that and progress in the championship is to try and win in Ballybofey.”
