Kilmartin’s double propels The Downs to easy victory

The Downs 4-12, Tyrrellspass 0-7

By Paul Hughes

Without ever playing at their best, The Downs sauntered to a 17-point win over Tyrrellspass in TEG Cusack Park last Saturday evening, further setting out their stall as the leading candidates to knock St Loman’s, Mullingar off their perch in 2025.

Tyrrellspass, playing keep-ball for long stretches of the first half, couldn’t make any inroads as their opponents, showing poor form themselves for much of the opening 30 minutes, led 1-5 to nil at the break with a superb Dean Egerton goal the highlight.

The Tidy Town, under the stewardship of club and county legend Ger Egan, settled into the game after the restart but it was still 41 minutes before they registered a point from play – their second of the game. Six minutes later, they were eight adrift but one felt that a Tyrrellspass goal would have lifted the game at this stage.

Instead, The Downs’ Andrew Kilmartin fired the first of three more goals and effectively killed off the contest. Dermot Power’s troops lost Conor Coughlan to a black card on 56 minutes but this only seemed to spur them on, and they scored a further 2-2 to close out the game as comfortable winners and consign Tyrrellspass to a second consecutive heavy defeat.

It took eight minutes of an uninspiring first half for The Downs to open the scoring, when Dean Egerton curled the ball over the bar after a determined run. Some minutes earlier, Tyrrellspass almost claimed the first goal of the game when Adam Flanagan drew an impressive save out of The Downs netminder Trevor Martin.

Martin’s kickouts had a crucial influence on his side’s fortunes but the black and ambers suffered for want of end product. The superb Joe Moran, frequently pushing forward from his defensive position, tacked on a second point after 11 minutes but aside from that, The Downs were lacklustre in the final third and posted a number of wides.

Then, on 16 minutes, a handpass from Luke Loughlin teed up Lorcan Mullen for a certain goal, but he failed to connect adequately for the finish and had no more luck on the rebound. At the other end, Tyrrellspass had no luck, passing the ball around laterally but to no avail, with Evan Connell, Conor Slevin and Dean McNicholas all missing the target.

On 20 minutes, The Downs added a third point, with Conor Coughlan showing great vision to pick out the inrushing Kevin O’Sullivan, who slotted over the bar. Two minutes later, a foul on Andrew Kilmartin led to Luke Loughlin converting a free, and the black and ambers were four ahead.

With 24 minutes gone, the first goal of the game arrived in spectacular fashion when O’Sullivan, after a sublime catch from a Tyrrellspass kickout, ventured forward with purpose and shipped left to Dean Egerton, who rattled the net with a terrific left-footed shot.

Tyrrellspass almost had the perfect response two minutes later, but the well of luck was dry. A Jamie Corcoran punt from the right flank dropped dangerously near the back post, but the inrushing David Lynam couldn’t connect to nudge it over the line.

At the other end, the Tidy Town narrowly avoided disaster just before the break. An inventive kickout from Trevor Martin led to Andrew Kilmartin charging through the centre. Kilmartin probably should have taken a shot but unselfishly handpassed to Dean Egerton, who dodged a defender and forced a save out of Tyrrellspass ‘keeper Joe Hyland.

At the break, The 2022 champions led scoreless Tyrrellspass by eight, after Luke Loughlin finished the half with a free.

Tyrrellspass emerged in positive fashion after the restart, with Dean McNicholas successfully dispatching a free before going narrowly short with a two-point effort.

Normal service resumed for The Downs and they went on outscore their opponents 0-5 to 0-1 in the next ten minutes, with Loughlin, Ian Martin (after a patient move), Joe Moran (after Billy Moffatt did well to keep the ball in on the opposite flank), Conor Coughlan and Tom Tuite all contributing scores. Tuite narrowly missed a goal in the meantime, while on 41 minutes, Adam Flanagan posted Tyrrellspass’s first point from play.

By the 47th minute, the Tidy Town might have entertained some hope after McNicholas converted a two-point free, minutes before sub Nigel Harte finished off a decent run with a point. Though 1-10 to 0-5 adrift, one felt that an out-of-the-blue Tyrrellspass goal might have rescued the contest.

However, four minutes later, the black and ambers put any such hopes to bed when Tom Tuite ran at the Tyrrellspass defence and fed Andrew Kilmartin, who finished with aplomb to put 11 between the sides. The Downs never looked back from there, and Tuite, increasingly the chief provider, teed up Ian Martin for his second point.

The winners suffered a small setback on 56 minutes when Conor Coughlan, one of their standout performers, was black-carded for a reckless tackle as Tyrrellspass broke downfield.

But this only seemed to spur The Downs on, and barely a minute later they had the ball in the net for a third time when Philip Martin picked out Luke Loughlin, who managed to tuck the ball in the bottom corner despite having his back to goal and being closely marked.

Peter Clarke and Evan Connell added late scores for the men in sky blue but it was scant consolation, as their 14-man opponents conjured a fourth goal in stoppage time to underline the gulf between the sides. Philip Martin was again the architect, setting up Kilmartin for a low finish.

Scorers - The Downs: L Loughlin 1-3 (0-2f), A Kilmartin 2-0, D Egerton 1-1, T Tuite (1f), I Martin and J Moran 0-2 each, K O’Sullivan and C Coughlan 0-1 each. Tyrrellspass: D McNicholas 0-3 (1f, 1 2ptf), A Flanagan, N Harte, P Clarke and E Connell 0-1 each.

The Downs: Trevor Martin; Éanna Burke, Peter Murray, Liam Faulkner; Conor Coughlan, Ciaran Nolan, Joe Moran; Kevin O’Sullivan, Dean Egerton; Lorcan Mullen, Billy Moffatt, Ian Martin; Luke Loughlin, Andrew Kilmartin, Tom Tuite. Subs used: Philip Martin for I Martin (53).

Tyrrellspass: Joe Hyland; Conor Slevin, Jamie Gonoud, Kai Harte; Cormac Monaghan, Jamie Corcoran, Peter Clarke; Adam Flanagan, Evan Connell; Christopher Daly, Dean McNicholas, Cathal Dunne; Neale Pierson, David Lynam, Mikie Mullen. Subs used: Nigel Harte for Mullen (40), Peter Pierson for Daly (40), Daire Earley for Lynam (40), Eoin Corcoran for Slevin (52).

Ref: Barry Pierce (St Mary’s, Rochfortbridge).