Down manager James McCartan has praised his players for not dwelling on their recent defeat to Cork, and putting their heads down and battling instead. The Mourne men were rewarded with a two-point win over Mayo on Saturday night.
The side were in serious danger of relegation prior to the weekend, as they had no points from three matches, and were bottom of the league table with Kerry. The win was a real morale booster for McCartan’s men, and could now kickstart their season.
“I suppose the fact that it was in the melting pot and we won a game like that was pleasing,” McCartan told The Irish News.
“Obviously, I felt that we should have won last week and it would’ve been easy to feel sorry for ourselves, but we asked the guys to keep putting in performances like that and told them that if they did the results would look after themselves.
“We didn’t play as fluidly as we did last week – it was a bit more about guts and character.”
