Downings prevail against Malin to win Intermediate Championship crown

Downings bridged a 30-year gap to win their fourth Donegal Intermediate Football Championship, holding away against Malin to take hold of the Cathal McLaughlin Cup.

Downings 0-11 Malin 0-9

Downings were never behind during a contest that had the audience on the edge of their perches throughout.

Downings’ totemic front trio of Johnny McGroddy, Lorcan Connor and Paddy McElwee accounted for all bar one of the scores as Kevin 'Cookie' Gallagher's men - Junior champions only two years ago - booked their tickets back to the senior championship.

After wins in 1981, 1988 and ’93, Downings go now to the top of the IFC roll of honour.

Not before going through the mill at times, With over seven minutes of added time already played, Malin’s Conor O’Neill floated a free into the mix. Brendan McLaughlin seized on the breaking ball, but volleyed wide of Aaron McClafferty’s goal.

Enda McClafferty was a 23-year-old journalism student on the Downings panel of 1993 and, now BBC’s Northern Ireland Political Editor, was among the big crowd in Letterkenny for this one.

Downings’ family ties between ’93 and now include five father-and-son combinations.

They included top scorer and man of the match McGroddy, whose father Joe played thirty years ago. His son joins him now in the pantheon by Sheephaven Bay.

Three times the sides were level in the opening 15 minutes, McGroddy stroking over a couple of delightful frees for Downings with a delicious Christopher McLaughlin effort from play among the early Malin highlights.

McGroddy, Paddy McElwee and Lorcan Connor, bending over a beautiful score from out the left, hit three points in as many minutes to put Downings 0-6 to 0-4 in front in the 25th minute.

Malin needed something and Matthew Byrne - a former Republic of Ireland amateur international footballer - found the inspiration with a majestic point off the outside of his foot.

Bryne’s brother Michael might’ve been a surprise choice as manager at Connolly Park, but their surge to the Division 2 League final - won by Downings thanks to a McGroddy goal with the game’s final play - offered optimistic shoots.

Byrne’s was the last score of the first half, but when a Sean O’Neill free dropped down in the square moments later, Downings momentarily looked panic, but survived the scare to take a 0-6 to 0-5 lead to the dressing room.

Malin lost finals in 1999 and 2001 at the hands of Na Rossa and Glenfin, but a strong League finish saw them play in the senior championship from 2003 for 16 years. During that time, they flirted at times with the ultimate glory. Semi-final appearances in 2013 and 2016 would end in defeat, however.

Two minutes into the second half, Shaun Kelly - a survivor from the ’01 panel - was brought into the action - and a brace of Christopher McLaughlin swiftly brought Malin onto a level footing; the fifth time there was parity. The second of McLaughlin’s points saw him work a sideline free short with Byrne before arrowing over on the return.

No sooner had McLaughlin equalised, but Shane Boyce restored a slender advantage for Downings with McGroddy posting another to widen the margin to two.

McGroddy’s sixth of the afternoon, the fifth from a razor-sharp free, had Downings three to the good after a Paul McLaughlin ball around the house at the other end cause all sorts of angst.

O’Neill tapped over a free with four minutes to go and Malin went in search of a goal to tip the scales - and history.

In the closing moments, Conor Farren saw red for a second booking as Downings held firm and their odyssey continues.

Downings scorers: Johnny McGroddy 0-6, 4f; Paddy McElwee 0-2, 1f; Lorcan Connor 0-2; Shane Boyce 0-1.

Malin scorers: Christopher McLaughlin 0-4, 1f; Sean O’Neill 0-3f; Terence Doherty, Matthew Byrne 0-1 each.

Downings: Aaron McClafferty; Hugo Davis, Ben McNutt, Allen Pasoma; Keelan McGroddy, Ronan Gallagher, Dean McBride; Oisin Boyce, Shane Boyce; Ben McBride, Kevin Doherty, Conor Boyce; Johnny McGroddy, Lorcan Connor, Paddy McElwee. Subs: Paddy McGinty for Gallagher (46), Ronan Passoma for B.McBride (46), Ethan Cullen for McElwee (60+3), Tiarnan McBride for C.Boyce (60+7).

Malin: Daniel Mullarkey; Gary Farren, Ciaran Doherty, Sean Byrne; Taylor Bonner, Conor Farren, Paul McLaughlin; John Gerard McLaughlin, Daniel Houghton; Josh Conlon, Matthew Byrne, Christopher McLaughlin; Conor O’Neill, Terence Doherty, Sean O’Neill. Subs: Shaun Kelly for C.Farren (32), Brendan McLaughlin for Byrne (41), Seamus Houghton for T.Doherty (44), Conor McGeoghegan for Conlon (57), Terence Doherty for S.O’Neill (60+4).

Referee: Kevin McGinley (Naomh Columba).