Tailteann Cup Final: Clarke tells Down to 'grab golden ticket to Sam Maguire Cup'

Meath edged out Down in the Tailteann Cup group-stages contest between the sides at Parnell Park last month

Down assistant boss Marty Clarke says the "golden ticket" of a guaranteed place in next year's Sam Maguire Cup will be a "huge prize" in Saturday's Tailteann Cup Final against Meath.

Amazingly, Down are chasing a first piece of senior football silverware since the 1994 All-Ireland triumph.

But the by-product of a guaranteed Super 16s spot next year is even bigger for Down admits Clarke.

"It would be massive for us to be in there next year," Clarke added.

"We've made no apologies, we wanted to play in the Sam Maguire this year and we failed in the two chances that we had so it's a huge, huge prize."

After putting an astonishing eight goals past Laois in the semi-finals three weeks ago, Conor Laverty's side look in fine fettle going into the decider, even though they are taking on a Royal County line-up that edged them out by two points in the group stage of the competition.

Former Down and Aussie Rules star Marty Clarke is part of the management team of Mourne County boss Conor Laverty

However, Clarke labels the semi-final result, when Liam Kerr's hat-trick contributed to the Mournemen recording an 8-16 to 2-12 triumph, as something of a "freak".

"Of course the boys played well, their first day out in Croke Park, we put in a couple of goals early.

"It was just one of those days where everything was going over and of course it was great to get eight goals but we're fully aware that it's going to be a much different game come the 15th."

Down started 2023 hoping to secure a promotion to Division Two that would have had an outside chance of securing a Sam Maguire Cup spot although the way the permutations fell in the provincial championships, both Fermanagh and Cavan missed out on the Super 16s despite filling the top two spots in Division Three.

That left Down's only possible avenue to the top-tier championship as reaching the Ulster Final and while they impressively defeated struggling Donegal in their provincial quarter-finals, a 4-10 to 0-12 defeat by Armagh meant Tailteann Cup football for Laverty's squad.

"We're still a work in progress", continued Clarke.

"There's plenty of things that we would have felt that we didn't get right as a management team and Conor will be the first to admit that.

'Failure to get promotion still hurts'

"The failure to get out of Division Three still hurts. Yes we got to 10 points but we didn't get promoted.

"Then the Armagh defeat in Ulster was a really difficult experience but potentially an important one for us."

Two weeks after that Clones defeat, Down defeated Waterford 2-14 to 1-6 in their Tailteann Cup opener and after a further thumping win [2-18 to 0-6] over Tipperary, they were edged out 1-11 to 1-9 by Meath in the Group Two decider although it was a game the Mournemen should have won after they hit 17 wides.

That left Down having to play a preliminary quarter-final at home to Longford which they duly won 1-20 to 1-12 but their Tailteann campaign really ignited a week later when they deservedly defeated competition favourites and last year's inaugural beaten finalists Cavan 1-17 to 0-15 at Kingspan Breffni.

Psychologically the victory seemed a big moment for a Down side that had collapsed to defeat against Cavan in their most recent championship meeting when they lost a 1-9 to 0-4 interval lead in the 2020 Ulster semi-final.

But unlike Down's nerve three years ago, their resolve remained firm on this occasion as Danny Magill's late goal helped close the game out.

Their extraordinary semi-final demolition of Laois set up a decider against Meath that inevitably will bring back memories of the 1991 All-Ireland decider between the counties, when Barry Breen's second-half goal helped the Mournemen earn a 1-16 to 1-14 win as the county clinched a fourth Sam Maguire Cup triumph.

Danny Magill's goal helped Down surprise competition favourites Cavan in the Tailteann Cup quarter-finals

In Colm O'Rourke's first year in charge after Andy McEntee's departure, Meath narrowly avoided joining Down in Division Three as they lost four of their five last games which meant that the seven-time All-Ireland winners suffered the indignity of dropping into the Tailteann Cup after their Leinster SFC campaign ended abruptly at the quarter-final stage following a 1-11 to 0-11 defeat by Offaly.

Despite mounting pressure, O'Rourke insisted that he would continue with his efforts to encourage his team to play an expansive, kick-passing brand of football and the Tailteann Cup has given the team the opportunity to attempt to bed-in that philosophy.

Prior to edging the concluding Group Two win over Down, Meath had comfortable victories over Tipperary and Waterford.

The Royals then had 17 points to spare as they outclassed Wexford in the quarter-finals before holding off a late Antrim comeback to beat the Saffrons 2-16 to 2-14 three weeks ago.

Skipper Donal Keogan remains an accomplished defender for Meath while midfielder Conor Grey was particularly impressive against Antrim.

However, the big plus from Meath's semi-final was the 2-10 accumulated by full-forward trio Aaron Lynch, Matthew Costello and Jordan Morris which the Down management will surely be mindful of.

Meath make two changes for the game with Ronan Jones and Daithi McGowan replacing Cathal Hickey and Jack Flynn, while Down are unchanged from the win over Laois.

Down: Niall Kane; Patrick McCarthy, Pierce Laverty, Anthony Doherty; Miceal Rooney, Ceilum Doherty, Daniel Magill; Daniel Guinness, Odhran Murdock; Shealan Johnston, Liam Kerr, Rory Mason; Eugene Branagan, Pat Havern, Ryan Johnston.

Subs: John O'Hare, Shane Annett, Ryan McEvoy, Ross Carr, Patrick Branagan, Donach McAleenan, Gerard Collins, Andrew Gilmore, Conor Poland, Peter Fegan, Ryan Magill.

Meath: Sean Brennan; Adam O'Neill, Ronan Ryan, Harry O'Higgins; Donal Keogan, Padraic Harnan, Sean Coffey; Ronan Jones, Conor Gray; Daithi McGowan, James McEntee, Jack O'Connor; Jordan Morris, Mathew Costello, Aaron Lynch.

Subs: Harry Hogan, Ciarán Caulfield, Cillian O'Sullivan, Cathal Hickey, Jack Flynn, Eoghan Frayne, Michael Flood, Donal Lenihan, Diarmuid Moriarty, Keith Curtis, Ben Wyer.