The scoreline says it all.

Down seconds made the long trip to Donegal last weekend to face Raphoe fourths in a vital Junior 4 game and came home with both points.

Had they been asked if they'd settle for a point before the game got underway, the answer would have been a resounding "yes."

Not many teams win at the Royal and Prior pitch, but Down were delighted to bag the win which should have been even more convincing, given the catalogue of chances they created, particularly in the second half.

With only one defeat to far this season, the Malone Park outfit are playing well and will be hoping to pick a few more wins between now and Christmas so they can relax in the second half of the season.

Down, who were missing Paul Neill, Colin and Ashley Gibson, were determined not to concede early on and they kept things tight at the back, with Willie Price and Trevor McClurg outstanding. James Erskine never put a foot wrong on the left flank, while Clifford Lennon kept his man quiet in the right.

Once again, James Cunningham proved what a tremendous player he is; his work rate is only matched by Raymond McClurg and the duo's midfield performance was one of the main reasons why Down won. Richard Tarbotton and Stephen Fitzsimons also impressed, while Philip Brown went close on several occasions.

Down created the first chance during the opening attack of the game when Brown went close, but Raphoe began to exert a little bit of pressure, pushing men forward in a bid to take an early lead.

But some resolute defending kept them at bay and Down slowly got into their stride on what felt like a balmy spring day, even though a heavy downpour before the start of play had left the synthetic pitch feeling a little heavy due to the amount of sand on it.

The Junior 4 clash was also a classic tale of two halves. Raphoe created most of the chances during the opening 35 minutes, while Down were so much in control in the second that the home side couldn't manage a single shot on goal.

Down took the lead with a goal from Fitzsimons. His effort was a carbon copy of the goal scored the week previous by Cunningham. Tarbotton was again the architect of the goal; he fired over an inch-perfect long corner hit which all Fitzsimons had to do was steer the ball over the line.

Down continued to dominate, creating numerous chances and forcing a number of short corners, but they didn't make certain  of victory until eight minutes from time when Chris Lennon rifled home a short corner strike.

However, Down's victory was marred in the closing seconds after skipper Price sustained a very nasty eye injury which took the gloss off a superb display and precious two points.