2013 Down county football team season

Down county football team

2013 season
Manager	James McCartan Jnr
Stadium	Páirc Esler, Newry
NFL D1	8th (relegated)
All-Ireland SFC	Round 2 qualifier
Ulster SFC	Semi-finalist
Dr McKenna Cup	Semi-finalist
2013 O'Fiaich Cup	Group stage (3rd)
←  2012 2014  →

The following is a summary of Down county football team's 2013 season.

Kits

McKenna Cup and National League kits

Home

Away

Championship kits

Home

Away

Competitions

  Win  Draw  Loss  Postponed/Cancelled

Dr McKenna Cup

Main article: 2013 Dr McKenna Cup

Down made a strong start to their 2013 campaign with McKenna Cup group victories over Cavan and neighbouring county Armagh. Queen's University withdrew from the competition over a row regarding player availability and the fixture was simply written off. Down progressed into the latter stages of the McKenna Cup but fell short, against Monaghan, of a place in the final.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Home	Score	Away	Ground
6 Jan	Group	Cavan	0-12 v 1-11	Down	Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan
13 Jan	Group	Down		Queen's	Páirc Esler, Newry
16 Jan	Group	Down	2-11 v 1-10	Armagh	Páirc Esler, Newry
20 Jan	Semi-final	Down	0-13 v 1-12	Monaghan	Athletic Grounds, Armagh

Queen's withdraw from the McKenna Cup over a player availability dispute. ^[1]

Table

  Qualified for next round

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Down	3	2	0	0	3–22	1-22	6	4
Cavan	3	1	0	1	3–21	2-22	2	2
Armagh	3	0	0	2	2–21	5-21	-8	0

	Semi-finals					Final
	Monaghan		1-12
	Down		0-13			Monaghan		1-10
	Tyrone		2-09			Tyrone		4-11
	Fermanagh		0-07

Results

6 January 2013

14:00

Group

Cavan	0-12 — 1-11	Down
M Dunne (0-9), G McKiernan (0-3)	Report	P McComiskey (1-0), C Harrison (0-3), R Kelly (0-2), L Doyle (0-2), B Coulter (0-2), R Boyle (0-1), D Savage (0-1)

Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan

Referee: N Cullen

16 January 2013

19:30

Group

Down	2-11 — 1-10	Armagh
P McComiskey (1-5), C Laverty (0-2), C Harrison (0-2), B Coulter (0-1), L Doyle (0-1), K McKernan (1-0)	Report	S Forker (0-6), G McCooey (1-1), M Stevenson (0-2), C McKeever (0-1)

Páirc Esler, Newry

Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone)

20 January 2013

14:00

Semi-finals

Monaghan	1-12 — 0-13	Down
Conor McManus 1-7, Darren Hughes 0-2, Dick Clerkin 0-1, Owen Duffy 0-1, Paul Finlay 0-1.	Report	Mark Poland 0-4, Donal O'Hare 0-3, Connaire Harrison 0-2, Ryan Mallon 0-1, Keith Quinn 0-1, Arthur McConville 0-1, Danny Savage 0-1.

Athletic Grounds, Armagh

Referee: Noel Mooney

National Football League Division 1

Main article: 2013 National Football League (Ireland)

Down looked deserving relegation favourites in the National Football League Division 1, as they lost their first three games, two of which were at home. Down looked close to beating Cork at home but fell to a very late goal. A comeback looked on the cards as Down went out and beat Mayo at Páirc Esler; however, defeats to Kerry and Dublin sealed Down's fate and relegation was a certainty despite an impressive 3–13 to 1-12 hammering of Kildare in Newry.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Home	Score	Away	Ground
2 Feb	Group	Down	1-08 v 1-11	Tyrone	Páirc Esler, Newry
9 Feb	Group	Donegal	0-12 v 0-07	Down	MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
3 Mar	Group	Down	1-17 v 3-12	Cork	Páirc Esler, Newry
9 Mar	Group	Down	0-13 v 0-11	Mayo	Páirc Esler, Newry
16 Mar	Group	Kerry	0-11 v 1-05	Down	Austin Stack Park, Tralee
23 Mar	Group	Dublin	1-15 v 0-09	Down	Croke Park, Dublin
7 Apr	Group	Down	3-13 v 1-12	Kildare	Páirc Esler, Newry

Table

  Compete in Division 1 semi-finals  Automatic relegation to Division 2

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Dublin	7	5	1	1	8-105	5-75	39	11
Tyrone	7	5	0	2	6-87	4-85	8	10
Kildare	7	4	0	3	10-74	8-93	-13	8
Mayo	7	3	0	4	2-87	5-75	3	6
Cork	7	3	0	4	6-73	4-85	-6	6
Kerry	7	3	0	4	2-66	7-70	-19	6
Donegal	7	2	1	4	3-78	4-75	0	5
Down	7	2	0	5	6-72	6-84	-12	4

¹Mayo, Cork and Kerry are ranked by points difference.

Results

Down v Tyrone

2 February 2013Round 1	Down	1-08 — 1-11	Tyrone	Páirc Esler, Newry
19:00	R Mallon (0-2), B Coulter (0-2), C Harrison (0-1), D O'Hare (1-3)	Report	S O'Neill (0-3), N Morgan (0-2), S Cavanagh (0-2), C McAliskey (0-2), C Clarke (0-2), Mark Donnelly (1-0).	Referee: Barry Cassidy (Derry)

Donegal v Down

9 February 2013Round 2	Donegal	0-12 — 0-07	Down	MacCumhaill Park, Ballybofey
19:00	M Murphy (0-6), D Walsh (0-1), L McLoone (0-1), R Kavanagh (0-1), C McFadden (0-1), R Wherity (0-1), D McLaughlin (0-1).	Report	D O'Hare (0-5), K McKernan (0-2).	Referee: M Duffy

Down v Cork

3 March 2013Round 3	Down	1-17 — 3-12	Cork	Páirc Esler, Newry
14:00	D O'Hare (0-9), C Harrison (1-1), M Poland (0-2), R Mallon (0-1), A Carr (0-1), P McComiskey (0-1), K McKernan (0-1); C Laverty (0-1).	Report	A Walsh (0-5), C Sheehan (1-1), D O'Connor (0-3), M Cunningham (1-0), T Clancy (1-0), P Kerrigan (0-1), C O'Neill (0-2)	Referee: Maurice Deegan (Laois)

Down v Mayo

9 March 2013Round 4	Down	0-13 — 0-11	Mayo	Páirc Esler, Newry
19:00	D O'Hare (0-9), R Mallon (0-1), C Laverty (0-1), M Poland (0-1), P McComiskey (0-1).	Report	J Doherty (0-4), C Carolan (0-3), K O'Malley (0-1), B Moran (0-1), K McLoughlin (0-1), M Conroy (0-1).	Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

Kerry v Down

16 March 2013Round 5	Kerry	0-11 — 1-05	Down	Austin Stack Park, Tralee
19:00	B Maguire (0-2), J Lyne (0-1), Buckley (0-5), Declan O'Sullivan (0-3).	Report	D O'Hare (1-2), C Harrison (0-1), B Coulter (0-1), A McConville (0-1).	Referee: R Hickey

Dublin v Down

23 March 2013Round 6	Dublin	1-15 — 0-09	Down	Croke Park, Dublin
19:00	P Mannion (0-5), D Connolly (0-4), P Andrews (0-2), S Cluxton (0-1), N Devereux (0-1), C O'Sullivan (0-1), B Cullen (0-1); K McManamon (1-0).	Report	D O'Hare (0-3), M Poland (0-2), B McArdle (0-1), K McKernan (0-1), P McComiskey (0-1), D Savage (0-1).	Referee: F Kelly

Down v Kildare

7 April 2013Round 7	Down	3-13 — 1-12	Kildare	Páirc Esler, Newry
15:00	K McKernan (1-3), D O'Hare (0-4), E McCartan (2-0), N Madine (0-2), P Devlin (0-1), B Coulter (0-1), R Boyle (0-1), R Mallon (0-1).	Report	J Doyle (0-5), P Cribbin (0-2), E O'Flaherty (0-2), P Kelly (0-1), P O'Neill (1-0), E Callaghan (0-1), A Smith (0-1).	Referee: David Gough (Meath)

Ulster Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship

Fixtures

The draw for the 2013 Ulster Senior Football Championship took place on 4 October 2012. ^[2]

Having got to the 2012 Ulster final, Down started their Cup run away to Derry at Celtic Park. In what was regarded as one of the games of the summer, Down came out victors having been five points down at half-time. The semi-final paired last year's finalists again in what would be a closely fought affair. Donegal maintained a two-point lead throughout the match and eventually won 12 points to 9.

Date	Round	Team 1	Score	Team 2	Ground
2 June 2013	Quarter final	Derry	1-15 v 2-17	Down	Celtic Park, Derry
23 June 2013	Semi final	Donegal	0-12 v 0-09	Down	Breffni Park, Cavan

Rounds

	Preliminary Round					Quarter-finals					Semi-finals					Ulster final
	Cavan		1-15
	Armagh		1-11			Cavan		0-13
						Fermanagh		0-11
											Cavan		0-12
											Monaghan		1-10
						Antrim		0-06
						Monaghan		0-11
																Monaghan		0-13
																Donegal		0-07
						Tyrone		0-10
						Donegal		2-10
											Donegal		0-12
											Down		0-09
						Derry		1-15
						Down		2-17

Results

2 June 2013

14:00

Quarter-Final

Derry	1-15 - 2-17	Down
J Kielt (0-5), M Lynch (1-1), E Bradley (0-4), B Heron (0-2), E Lynn (0-1), B McCallion (0-1), C Kielt (0-1)	Report	D O'Hare (1-4), K McKernan (0-4), M Poland (1-2), N Madine (0-3), J Johnston (0-1), A Rogers (0-1), K King (0-1), D Rooney (0-1)

Celtic Park, Derry

Attendance: 10,509

Referee: David Coldrick (Meath)

23 June 2013

14:00

Semi-Final

Donegal	0-12 - 0-09	Down
M Murphy (0-5), C McFadden (0-5), R Kavanagh (0-1), P McBrearty (0-1)	Report	D O'Hare (0-6), M Poland (0-1), J Johnston (0-1), D Savage (0-1)

Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan

Attendance: 21,715

Referee: Eddie Kinsella (Laois)

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Main article: 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship

Down entered the 2013 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in the round 2 qualifier stage. The draw for the second round took place on Monday 1 July 2013 and once again had Down travelling to Celtic Park, Derry. Down produced a poor display in this repeat fixture as they failed to score from open play in the entire second half and lost the game by five points.

Fixtures

Date	Round	Team 1	Score	Team 2	Ground
6 July 2013	Round 2	Derry	0-13 v 1-05	Down	Celtic Park, Derry

Results

6 July 2013

17:00

Round 2

Derry	0-13 - 1-05	Down
R Bell (0-6), J Kielt (0-2), E Bradley (0-2), E McGuckin (0-2), L Kennedy (0-1)	Report	D O'Hare (1-4), A Rogers (0-1)

Celtic Park, Derry

Referee: Cormac Reilly (Meath)

O'Fiaich Cup

On 27 November 2013, it was announced that the O'Fiaich Cup would return for the first time since the late 1990s. ^[3]

Fixtures

Date	Round	Home	Score	Away	Ground
5 Dec	Group	Armagh	2-15 v 1-17	Down	Athletic Grounds, Armagh
8 Dec	Group	Down	1-10 v 1-11	Derry	St. Oliver Plunkett Park, Crossmaglen
13 Dec	Group	Louth	0-10 v 4-21	Down	Athletic Grounds, Armagh

Table

  Qualified for final

Team	Pld	W	D	L	F	A	Diff	Pts
Derry (Q)	3	3	0	0	8-38	5-33	14	6
Armagh (Q)	3	2	0	1	4-42	7-40	-7	4
Down	3	1	0	2	6-48	3-36	21	2
Louth	3	0	0	3	4-27	7-46	-28	0

References

1. "Queen's pull out of McKenna Cup" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
2. GMT (4 October 2012). "BBC Sport - Donegal to face Tyrone in 2013 Ulster SFC first round". BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
3. "O'Fiaich Cup's return ensures busy winter period" – via www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk.