By Geoffrey Gillis
REJUVENATED Down will be hoping to maintain the current trend of Ulster giant killing acts, when they host reigning Champions Tyrone in Saturday evenings eagerly awaited replay, at Páirc Esler, but Liam Doyle doesn't believe that its advantage Down.
The Liatroim club man was a key performer on Sunday, as the Mourne men overturned a seven point deficit with a sterling second performance laced with character, self belief and good honest endeavour.
The standard of football may not have pleased the purist, but no one in the capacity crowd could fault the efforts of the two teams, who once again highlighted the unpredictability of the Anglo Celt Cup.
Tyrone looked to be cruising following goals from Colm McCullagh and Sean Cavanagh, but Down combined with some astute substitutions seized control in the middle third of the field to starve a potent Tyrone forward line of possession.
Doyle featured in the Down defence, and he played his part with two pointed frees. Speaking on Tuesday afternoon, the Quantity Surveyor admitted that the game will have brought Down on a bagful , but he refuses to accept that the momentum has swung in Ross Carr's favour.
"There is no doubting that the game has done us the world of good, but Tyrone will have taken a lot from it as well. They had Brian McGuigan and Brian Dooher out for so long, and they have got their first games behind them. We are pleased with the way we responded, but when all is said and done it is back to square one for Saturday."
Doyle acknowledged that Down's bench played a massive role in turning the game in their favour, and the competition for places in the team was bringing the best out of everyone.
"There is a lot of healthy competition for starting places, and that can only be good for Down football. There were a lot of disappointed players, who didn't start the last day, namely the four men, who came on. They all had something to prove to Ross (Carr) and DJ (Kane) and I think they showed their worth."
Liam claimed that Down will have to sustain their work rate, if they are to end a long losing streak to Tyrone. "To be fair to Tyrone, they maybe took their foot off the gas, when they went seven points up, but we came out for the second half determined to prove ourselves.
" Our work rate wasn't up to scratch in the first half, and we didn't want to go out of the Ulster Championship on our first half performance. I thought we battled well and given our effort we deserved to level the game, at the end."
Tyrone could be forced to make wholesale changes to the team for Saturday's replay given a number of injuries to players such as Enda McGinley and Colm Cavanagh, while Down may be sweating on the availability of their inspirational captain Dan Gordon. The Loughinisland man turned in a man of the match display on Sunday, and his absence would be seen as a massive blow to a Down side eager to make further progress this weekend.
"People will say Down have home advantage and the momentum is with us having came back to draw, but I don't know about that. Tyrone don't become a bad team overnight. They have a lot of players throughout the field, who have two All-Ireland medals, and they are a very experienced team.
"I was reading somewhere today that Tyrone have a very impressive record in replays. In the last ten drawn games they have only lost once or twice. We drew with them in 2003 and everybody knows what happened in the replay," he remarked.
Liam concluded by saying that it was still all to play for this weekend and a bumper Newry crowd could be treated to a feast of quality football. "Mickey Harte is an expert at getting the best out of his players. They will know what they have to improve on, and they will pose a very serious threat to us again.
" We don't want to repeat the mistakes of last week or in the 2003 replay. This is not a week for exertion or serious preparation. Both teams are in good shape and the week will be about recovery. Whoever recovers the most will win."
