Down moved into their third Tailteann Cup final in five years after edging out Fermanagh by 2-19 to 1-21 at Croke Park this afternoon.

Ryan McEvoy’s late point proved the difference between the sides after the Ernesiders had battled back in the second-half and seemingly forced extra time through Ronan McCaffrey’s point ahead of McEvoy grabbing the winner for the Mourne men.

Down had made a flying start at headquarters that saw Ronan Burns’s early two-point free backed up by an Eamonn Brown goal in the third minute.

Declan Bonner’s men responded with a Mattie McDermott goal five minutes later, but their opponents would pull away from them with the help of two-pointers from skipper Odhran Murdock and Patrick Havern ahead of Havern hammering in a goal on the half-hour mark that made it 2-13 to 1-6.

Fermanagh scored the last three of points of the first-half – two of them coming from McDermott – and an Ultan Kelm effort from beyond the arc got them motoring early after the change of ends at HQ.

Conor Love, Darragh McGurn and Kelm kept the scoreboard ticking over for the trailers and they’d be back within two points of their fellow Ulster men once Conor Love sailed over from distance in the 58th minute.

Havern (free) put a goal between the sides again, but Kelm nailed another two-pointer before Ciaran Corrigan got Fermanagh level and substitute Caolan Mooney gave Down back the lead.

Fermanagh captain McCaffrey squared the sides one last time prior to McEvoy shooting over the winning score for Conor Laverty’s side who now await this evening's winners between Wicklow and Offaly (throw-in 5pm) in the second-tier championship’s decider three weeks from today.

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