Remember me
There was some confusion about the exact scoreline after Dublin’s Division 1B demolition of Down at Parnell Park.
Most reporters had Down with a 0-19 tally, as did Down’s social media channels, though whether they lost by 31 or 32 points, at this stage, may be immaterial.
If Carlow beat Kildare on Sunday afternoon then Down are relegated anyhow. And if Carlow lose in Newbridge, leaving the possibility of Carlow, Antrim and Down potentially all finishing the campaign on two points? Well then Down would need to have beaten Antrim in their final group game on March 21 by a giant margin and then hope it is enough to edge out the other two on scoring difference.
Down were in this penultimate round game for half an hour or so, when they trailed by just six points, before being burned off by a formidable Dublin side that finished with half a dozen goals and a dozen different scorers.
In fact, we ended up with that rarest of scenarios where the game finished at almost the same time as Dublin’s scoreline; 6-32.
John Hetherton netted twice for Dublin, just like he did against Wexford, and finished with 2-3 while Dara Purcell blasted 1-5 and proved almost unmarkable.
Darragh Power’s midfield masterclass laid the platform for the giant win and the Fingallians man added four points.
Diarmaid Ó Dúlaing, Paddy Dunleavy and Fergal Whitely registered the other goals as Dublin’s own scoring difference ballooned. Their final game of the group is against Carlow, away, on March 21 though they need a favour - namely Clare to beat Wexford on Sunday afternoon - to leapfrog into the top two spots themselves.
None of which will bother Down much as they reflect on their fifth, and biggest, loss of the Division 1B campaign.
Initially at least, it looked as if the Joe McDonagh side might give the Leinster SHC side a game of it.
Tim Prenter opened the scoring with a tidy point for Down from beneath the main stand, 25 seconds in. And with Prenter continuing to get on plenty of ball and to ask questions of a Dublin defence under notable pressure, Down can’t say they didn’t have their chances.
Finn Turpin and free taker Paul Sheehan converted 0-5 between them in the opening 33 minutes, leaving the visitors 0-10 to 1-13 behind at that stage. They didn’t look like winning the game, but they didn’t look like getting pulverised by 32 points either.
In fact, had they not drilled seven wides, the gap would have been significantly tighter.
“I thought their back six were causing us problems, across our half-forward line for 15 or 20 minutes,” said Dublin manager Niall Ó Ceallacháin. “But we got a hold of that and our back six were kind of dominant then. A few of our forwards really put their hands up too.”
Dublin turned the screw in the final minutes of the opening half, outscoring Down by seven points to turn that six-point lead into a 3-15 to 0-11 advantage at the interval.
Down struggled to deal with man mountain Hetherton, particularly under the high ball, and he drilled his second goal in the 34th minute, quickly followed by the Ó Dúlaing goal.
Down needed a miracle to haul themselves back into the game but could only add seven more points as Dublin took over completely.
Purcell nailed Dublin’s fourth goal five minutes after the restart and defender Dunleavy was fed by Hetherton for the fifth in the 45th minute.
Whiltely struck Dublin’s sixth goal late on with sub Paddy Doyle assisting that one.
Brendan Kenny had the biggest impact of Dublin’s subs, the Kilmacud Crokes man firing three points in what was also his first activity of 2026 though he pulled up late on with what looked like a hamstring injury.
Daithí Sands did his best to take the fight to Dublin in the second half, drilling two points and winning a free for Sheehan to convert.
Down’s challenge now is to wipe the slate clean and to finish the campaign on a pre-Championship high with a home win over Antrim on March 21, the team they also face in their Joe McDonagh Cup opener next month.
Dublin: E Gibbons; J Bellew, C McHugh, C Kennedy; C Burke (0-1), C Crummey (0-1), P Dunleavy (1-0); D Power (0-4), C Ó Riain; F Whitely (1-2), D Burke (0-8, 6f), J Madden; Dara Purcell (1-5), J Hetherton (2-3), D Ó Dúlaing (1-2).
Subs: P Doyle for Madden (h/t), D Keogh (0-2) for O Riain (h/t), B Kenny (0-3) for D Burke (48), S Gallagher (0-1) for Crummey (51), D Lucey for McHugh (60).
Down: P Smyth; B Teggart, R McCrickard, N McFarland; B Trainor, C Taggart (0-1), L Savage (0-1); D Hughes, T Prenter (0-1); P Sheehan (0-7, 5f, 1 65), F Turpin (0-3), D Sands (0-3); T McGrattan (0-1), S Pucci (0-1), E Pucci.
Subs: M Fisher for Teggart (24), M Dorrian for McGrattan (h/t), B Christie for Prenter (51), C Coleman for E Pucci (51), C Cassidy for McCrickard (60) M McCabe for Sheehan (71, inj).
Ref: C McDonald (Antrim).
