By Shaun Casey

WITH 40 minutes played, Down’s hopes of a National League title looked well and truly dashed but Ronan Sheehan never lost faith in his men and they rallied to come good see off Kildare by seven points.

Two goals at the start of the second half from the Lilywhites left Down eight adrift but the Mourne men sprang into life and rattled off four majors of their own to land the Division Two title.

Down, along with Kildare, had already secured promotion and the pair will look forward to plying their trade in Division 1B next year, but for now, the Ulster outfit are savouring their successful season.

“What Saturday showed was how this group have matured and developed,” said Sheehan. “The way that they responded to the Kildare goal in the first half, they came back and got three points before half-time to put themselves in a winning position.

“We conceded two very quick goals (in the second half) which in other years might have rocked them on their heels but they responded brilliantly and in many ways they dominated that last 20 minutes of the game.

“All the shots from play were from Down and we saw out the victory. Tim (Prenter) clinched it with his goal with the last puck game and when Tom McGrattan got the first goal, I thought all the momentum was with us.

“I thought that when we had them on the ropes, we didn’t let up and we drove on to victory which was great to see and a great sign of the development and maturity of this group over the last number of years.”

All eyes will be on the Joe McDonagh Cup now as the championship commands all the attention. “The reality is, every team in the McDonagh Cup can beat each other so you can very easily be looking at a final or possibly a fight to stay up,” added the Down boss.

“It’s cut throat and there’s been very good team that have been relegated out of the McDonagh Cup. Offaly are out of it and they’re up in Division 1A now, Kildare have gone out of it, Meath have gone out of it.

“We’ve been there for five years and our focus is very much to retain our McDonagh Cup status and anything after that will be a bonus. Staying there for the last five years has been critical for the growth of this group, it’s a fantastic competition.”