Down impress in Newry as Armagh suffer defeat once again | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Down impress in Newry as Armagh suffer defeat once again

It was mixed fortunes for Down and Armagh this weekend as Down all but secured their Division One status, while Armagh found themselves deep in relegation trouble.

Down hosted 2011 All Ireland Champions Dublin in Newry and put in their most impressive performance this year taking the lead early on and keeping it until the final whistle. Aidan Carr in particular put in a fantastic performance scoring 4 of Down’s 8 first half scores to help the Mournemen to a 0-8 – 0-4 half time lead.

Dublin upped their game in the second half as Kevin McMenamin hit an early goal to narrow the gap between the sides. However, Down battled and continued to hit impressive scores. The final score in Newry was Down 0-15 Dublin 1-10, which means Down have all but secured their place in Division One and may even have one eye on the National Football League final with their remaining fixtures against relegation-troubled sides. Speaking after the game, manager James McCartan said, “The boys put in a battling performance and it looks like we are safe in Division One.”

A huge crowd turned up in Newry as Down took on Dublin

It was a different story for Armagh who came up against fellow relegation strugglers Laois and fell to their third defeat in a row. The Orchard County found it hard against Portlaois and matters were made worse when Ciaran McKeever saw red following an incident in the tunnel before the second half. Armagh got a goal thanks to Finian Moriarty, and even went on to hit several points on the trot afterwards, however Paul Cahillane sealed the win for the home side.

The result means Armagh have a huge fight on their hands to stay in Division One next season with their remaining fixtures against rivals Down and Ulster Champions Donegal. Manager Paddy O’Rourke acknowledged their situation and admitted the next two games are crucial, “We are in trouble but it is still all to play for. We have to try to win our last two games.”

Final scores:
Down 0-15 Dublin 1-10
Laois 1-15 Armagh 1-10

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Posted by on Mar 19 2012. Filed under Sport. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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