Conor McManus: Following up on a big surprise is a different challenge for resourceful Down

Looking at Conor Laverty after Down had shocked Donegal, he was talking about how he doesn’t believe in negative motivations like ‘everyone wrote us off’. In fairness, he was measured about the whole business, but then he pulled out the phone to show an RTÉ mistake that left his team out of a TV schedule. He was realistic in acknowledging that they weren’t expected to win and quite bullish in saying how he believed in his squad and finally got them believing in themselves. I was thinking that there’s no better place to be than taking plaudits after a game you were so widely expected to lose. Down competed all the way and when Jason McGee kicked a two-pointer for Donegal with 13 minutes left on the clock to level it up at 1-15 each, you instinctively thought you knew where it was going. But Down didn’t let up and went back up and took the lead again. The performance was so accomplished that it got people talking about Down and their swagger. I was thinking about it and their ability to go for goals—go for your throat—when they get you in a position like that. This is what they did in Letterkenny. They were going for goals late on even when a point was the percentage option, but Miceál Rooney just went for the kill. They do seem to have that ability even in leaner years to find a one-off, big performance, and we were on the receiving end in the 2017 Ulster semi-final. The previous year, we beat them by 19 points, and five weeks after our 2017 loss, we won by eight in the qualifiers, but that afternoon in June we were pipped by them in Armagh. The flip side is that the swagger isn’t guaranteed. Over the past 16 years since they last got to an All-Ireland, there has been plenty of hard times for a county with such a proud tradition. I doubt if Conor Laverty spends much time worrying about the Down swagger when he is trying to build something a wee bit more long-term and introduce a bit more consistency. Down’s Daniel Guinness and Donegal's Caolan McColgan. They didn’t get long to rest on their laurels and it’s off to Clones on Sunday. In the meantime, they will have been trying to put all that behind them and focus on a very different tactical challenge in terms of how Armagh attack and where those attacks originate. When you look at Donegal, more of the threats are coming from their forward line: Michael Murphy, Shane and Conor O’Donnell, and Oisín Gallen. With Armagh, you can’t say tying down certain players up front will win you the game. They have a spread of scorers and their attacks come from all over the field. In the half-backs, Ross McQuillan is nearly guaranteed to get two or three points on Sunday; Jarly Óg Burns, the same. Tiernan Kelly will also pop up and get scores. Jason Duffy got 1-2 the last day from midfield. Ethan Rafferty even came out of goal and kicked a two-pointer. Oisín Conaty plays with number 15 on his back but operates all over the field. He’s going to get scores. Conor Turbitt, too. Oisín O’Neill coming off the bench has become the new Soupy Campbell—reliably productive when he comes into a game. One issue that has placed Down in a difficult position is that they may need to win to guarantee a place in the Sam Maguire but won’t know until just before throw-in, when they learn the winners of the Kildare v Westmeath semi-final in Tullamore. This is a relatively straightforward system but very hard on teams finding out so late, especially when All-Ireland draws have already been made. Westmeath themselves got terrible news during the week that Luke Loughlin, who has been exceptional for them, is out injured for the year. It’s a desperate blow for the team and obviously for Luke.