USHC Derry v Down

[Lecale2]

Minor result: Antrim 2-14 3-08 Down. Level going into injury 3 late points from Hamill won it for Antrim.

[Lecale2]

Latest: Derry 0-06 2-01 Down after 20 minutes.

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Result: Derry 1-15 5-16 Down
Guinness Ulster SHC semi-final replay

Saturday - Casement Park

Derry 1-15 5-16 Down

bbc.co.uk

[Syd]

Derry started ok but Conway had a nightmare at FB on Johnson before he was moved. Derry keeper was atrocious. At fault for at least 3 goals.

[whiskeysteve]

who played well for derry?

[Syd]

who played well for derry?

Convery kept them in it with frees but didnt contribute much from general play. Hinphey tried hard but didnt get much support.

[Whitehair]

The senior match was atrocious, probably the worst standard of a match i've witnessed between down/derry/antrim. The game was littered by poor lifting, ground striking and on too many occasions players were taking the ball on their stick instead of in the hand and then getting dispossed. Nearly all six goals came from errors from the opposition instead of good play, which says alot! Convery scored 1.9, pointed a penalty for derry, Magic scored 2goals as did eoin clarke, think paddy coulter got the other as well as a few points. Down must improve alot for next week, in the first half they missed about five scoreable dead ball chances. Had derry not conceded those first two soft goals they had the game there for the taking.(Micky Conway should have been sent off in the first half after playing poorly, lifted Eoin Clarke who has on the ground into the air by his helmet before dumping him.)

Hard luck to the down minors who made a great comeback from being roughly 12 points down at one stage to nearly snatching a draw. Darren Hamill scored about 1.6 for antrim, think hippy donnelly got the other, Padraig flynn did an admirable job on him when switched after antrims early onslaught. Downs goals came from james coyle, aidan clarke and a conor woods penalty, paul keith hit two or three good points from play. Must commend Desy Mc Nally the antrim keeper who pulled off a brilliant save from nearly the last puck of the ball to prevent a replay.

[Lecale2]

Down 5-16 Derry 1-15
Saturday, 26 May 2007 19:19

Down won through to next weekend's Ulster SHC final with a well-merited 5-16 to 1-15 replay win over Derry at Casement Park.

Full-forward Gareth 'Magic' Johnson certainly lived up to his nickname as he collected 3-05 in an eye-catching display.

The Mourne men led 3-05 to 0-08 at half-time, with Johnson netting twice and corner-forward Eoin Clarke also scoring a goal.

Derry were over reliant on free-taker Ruairi Convery, who finished with 1-10. Convery found the net, three minutes after the break, but Down, with Clarke scoring 2-02, replied strongly to set up a decider against champions Antrim.

It was Down's ability to find goals and take their scores from play that ultimately proved.

Derry made the perfect start to the contest with points from Davin McSorley and Convery (0-02) to take a 0-03 to 0-00 lead after seven minutes, but Down were not without their own chances - Ger Coulter's side had three missed efforts from full-forward Johnson before the Ballygalget clubman notched a blistering goal to level the contest in the 14th-minute.

However, Derry were soon back in the ascendancy with two fine points from play from Convery and Sean Leo McGoldrick before Convery converted his third point of the game from a free.

Down were adding to their wides tally but responded well with their first point of the game, midway through the half, which 'Magic' Johnson rifled over.

Derry were forced to pay for a mistake in defence by their goalkeeper Joe McEldowney, which allowed Eoin Clarke to break through for the first of his brace of goals in the 19th-minute.

Down were certainly in spritely form at this stage and added a point before Johnson found the back of the net for a second time after a mistake by Derry full-back Michael Conway - the goal opened up a five-point gap for the Mourne men.

A foul on Gareth O'Kane by Stephen Murray offered Derry a 25th-minute penalty but ace attacker Convery failed to send the ball to the net, instead creaping his shot over the bar.

Tension grew with Derry half-back Stephen Henry and Down's Eoin Clarke both receiving yellow cards, before Jerome Trainor was involved in an off-the-ball incident. A subsequent point from Brendan McGourty kept Down ticking.

Down turned around with a 3-05 to 0-08 buffer and although Convery found the back of the net, three minutes after the break, to cut the deficit to three points, Down excelled with Johnson firmly on song to complete his hat-trick of goals by the 51st-minute.

Despite some rallying scores from Convery, including a well-taken goal, Down progressed to the final as they continue their hunt for a first Ulster senior title since 1997.

DOWN: Graham Clarke; L Clarke, S Murray, F Conway; G Clarke, A Dynes, M Ennis; A Savage, B McGourty (0-3); P Coulter (0-1), K Courtney (0-4), J Trainor; E Clarke (2-2), G Johnson (3-5), E Trainor (0-1).

Subs used: P Hughes for Dynes (42 mins), C McManus for E Clarke (64).

DERRY: J McEldowney; S McCullagh, M Conway, R McCloskey; P O'Kane, L Hinphey, S Henry; K Hinphey, R Convery (1-10, 1-7f, 0-1 pen); G O'Kane, C Quinn, R Kennedy; G Kelly, D McSorley (0-2), SL McGoldrick (0-2).

Subs used: S McBride for Conway (45 mins), M Craig (0-1) for Kennedy (56).

Referee: Fergus Smith (Meath)