Downings captain Ben McNutt says Division 1 is 'where we’ve always wanted to be'

There may have been an element of fortune about Downings’ first win in the top-flight of the All-County Football League in a generation but at this stage they’ve earned their own luck.

Three first half goals against reigning league champions Kilcar on Saturday - the first of a personal brace coming after 16 seconds from Keelan McGroddy before Callum Cullen netted a third - preceded a backs-to-the-wall second half.

In injury time, Kilcar substitute Ryan McShane pelted over what many thought was an equaliser, only to learn that Martin Coll, the match referee, had already blown for time and the scoreboard stated a home win on a 3-2 to 1-7 scoreline.

Only Paul McGroddy managed to score for Downings in the second half - with a peach of a point - with substitute Mark Sweeney popping over two for the visitors, who had dominated possession. Everything that either side got late on, was hard-earned.

“We had a great home record last year - and in recent years - and that’s something that we pinpointed at the start of the season,” Downings captain Ben McNutt said. “Keelan’s goal got us off to a great start and it’s one of plenty of things we’ve worked on in training so thankfully it came off. To get a goal like that, straight away against Kilcar is what you need. It settled the nerves and it got us going, so it was a perfect start for us.

“Even for us, the wind can be hard down here. It’s always difficult to predict and as we train here night after night, sometimes you think you have a handle of where to shoot but it doesn’t always work out like that. It can be hard for visiting teams."

The Atlantic bellows into plenty of GAA grounds in Donegal, although that doesn’t make it any more predictable and at Pairc na nDúnaibh on Saturday there was no blueprint to follow. A sunny morning had changed into a grey, blustery afternoon and the wind, when the scores were reassessed, came easier against the elements.

Delight for Downings with win over Kilcar - first top flight win in a generation

Keelan McGroddy netted after only 16 seconds for Downings against Kilcar, who thought they had levelled the content in injury time only to learn the final whistle had been blown seconds before Ryan McShane fired over

“At half-time the message was just to keep going,” McNutt said of the team talk with his side two points up - 3-1 to 1-5 - at the interval. “It was a matter of defending hard and we knew Kilcar were going to come at us in their droves and they did. It felt like we barely got out in the second half and we were just defending for our lives at the end there. I thought they were in there at the end.”

Downings went down on a trip to another seaside venue, Bundoran, in the opening game and left with a few regrets following a 2-13 to 1-11 loss.

“We felt we let that one away in a sense because we were leading at half-time,” McNutt added of week one. “We didn't come out in the second half. We were missing a few bodies but that’s no excuse really. We had the team there to do a job. We were disappointed and we needed to lift ourselves against Kilcar.”

Next up for Downings is the short trek over to Falcarragh and a clash against a Cloughaneely team who are well-established now in Division 1. For Downings, their trek has been one of note, too.

In the old Division 4 as recently as 2018, they have scaled impressively a won Division 2 in the most dramatic of fashion last year with Johnny McGroddy’s last-gasp free-kick goal against Malin, made a provincial final and enjoyed their appearances in the Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta in that time, with an impenetrable home record. They might have reached their destination in Division 1 now, but the incredible journey continues.

“We’ve been hard to beat here in recent years,” McNutt concluded. “We’ll need that in Division 1 now against the top teams but it’s where we’ve always wanted to be.”