Down’s dire season concluded with a 0-24 to 1-12 Tailteann Cup defeat by Cavan as Antrim lost in Leitrim and Fermanagh edged out Longford.
Ruairi O’Hare hit an early Down goal but the Mournemen trailed by seven at half-time and Raymond Galligan fired seven points and saved a penalty.
Antrim trailed 1-9 to 0-4 at half-time in Carrick-on-Shannon and Leitrim remained in control in the second half.
Ultan Kelm’s late goal helped Fermanagh earn a deserved 1-12 to 0-12 victory.
The Ernemen trailed 0-6 to 0-4 at half-time in Longford but they exploited the black carding of home player Ryan Moffett to move ahead by the 46th minute and while the sides were level at 0-10 to 0-10 six minutes later, man of the match Kelm’s goal proved decisive as Kieran Donnelly’s side joined Down and Leitrim in Monday morning’s quarter-finals draw.
At Kingspan Breffni, Down’s goal was the first score of the game in the sixth minute as O’Hare finished off a flowing move started by a exchange of passes between Ryan Magill and Daniel Guinness.
But that was as good as it got for James McCartan’s Mournemen as they were unpicked by a Cavan side who didn’t need to summon up anything like the intensity they had produced against Donegal to run out comprehensive winners.
Down lose players for Tailteann campaign
Down started with nine of the team that had taken to the field for the 0-23 to 2-7 Ulster Championship defeat by Monaghan on 30 April with the Cavan panel remaining intact from their stirring effort against Donegal.
Caolan Mooney and Kilcoo’s Ryan McEvoy were among the Mournemen who opted not to hang around for the Tailteann campaign and by the start of the second half, there were no personnel from this year’s All-Ireland Club champions on the pitch after keeper Niall Kane had been replaced by Rory Burns.
After the early shock of Down’s goal, Cavan were ahead by the 11th minute as Oisin Kiernan notched their fourth point and Galligan’s second successful placed ball put them three up by the 15th minute.
Odhran Murdock got Down scoring again with a fine score from play but the home side responded by hitting six of the next seven scores with Paddy Lynch notching a brace, Gearoid McKiernan exceeding that with three and that man Galligan also among their scorers during that period of total dominance.
Down were given a potential lifeline in first-half injury-time when Lynch conceded a penalty, and was black carded in the process, for hauling down Barry O’Hagan.
O’Hagan’s first effort was blocked by Galligan and when David Gough ordered the retake, the Cavan keeper diverted the Down man’s second shot on to the woodwork before the ball was cleared.
Trailing by seven at the break, Down were soon nine in arrears but while they responded with three in a row to cut the margin to six, that was as close as they got.
Galligan’s sensational free from near the left sideline – which started another Cavan scoring run – summed up a day when he just couldn’t miss from placed balls.
With Cavan inevitably losing their drive in the closing stages with the outcome long decided and Mickey Graham also making a series of substitutions, the Mournemen hit four of the last six scores, but the late rally didn’t mask another deeply disillusioning day for Down football as the county side’s annus horribilis mercifully came to an end.
Leitrim put game to bed in first half
At a sun-kissed Carrick-on-Shannon, Saffrons forward Odhran Eastwood fired over the first point before the hosts seized control.
Keith Beirne split the posts three times as Leitrim moved in front, with their clinical finishing in contrast to Antrim’s wasteful attempts on goal.
Shane Moran flicked into the net from a high ball on 20 minutes to help the Division Four into a commanding 1-9 to 0-4 advantage at the break over their Division Three opponents.
The second Leitrim goal arrived five minutes into the second half with Jack Heslin palming in after a surging run from Moran.
Leitrim were 2-12 to 0-7 ahead before Enda McGinley’s team finally sparked into life after what had been a dismal display.
Antrim hit 1-4 without including a blistering strike into the bottom corner from Peter Healy in the 57th minute
It left just four points between the teams but Leitrim held their nerve and to see out the game and Saffrons forward Pat Shivers, who scored four points in the second half, was sent-off for two yellow cards in the dying seconds.
It’s a fourth straight defeat for a struggling Antrim side and follows a heavy loss to Cavan in the Ulster SFC.
Fermanagh hold nerve to win in Longford
In Longford, two Darren Gallagher frees helped the home side lead 0-3 to 0-0 after seven minutes before Ciaran Corrigan opened Fermanagh’s account.
As Gallagher converted two more placed balls, Fermanagh looked in a degree of trouble but they had a better second quarter as a point from the strong-running Kelm just before the break cut Longford’s lead to 0-6 to 0-4.
Keelin McGann extended Longford’s advantage after the break but a long-range Sean Quigley free started a run of four straight Fermanagh points, with the Ernemen punishing Moffett’s black card to move ahead as Conall Jones pointed in the 46th minute.
Points from Darragh McGurn and Ryan Jones helped Fermanagh twice move two up before points by the returning Moffett and substitute Mark Hughes drew Longford level in the 58th minute.
A uncharacteristic missed free by Quigley further strained Fermanagh nerves before the free-taker did restore the Ernemen’s lead and the crucial goal then came after a protracted period of keep ball with Kelm bursting forward before lashing past Longford keeper Paddy Collum, who had earlier made a superb save to deny Luke Flanagan a goal.
After Ryan Jones extended Fermanagh’s lead to five, Gallagher’s fifth point and a Fergal Sheridan free left a kick of the ball between the sides but Kieran Donnelly’s side held on to repeat their Division Three League win at Pearse Park back in February.
