Down seconds walked off the pitch at the end of this Junior 6 encounter wondering how on earth they conspired to get it so badly wrong in front of goal.

The home side created a bagful of chances over the 70 minutes but could not kill off their opponents who managed to hang on for a draw.

Down started with the experienced Steven Fitzsimons at sweeper and he never put a foot wrong all afternoon, while 'keeper Owen Toner again impressed with a number of comfortable saves. The Swail twins, Ryan and Aaron, also impressed in defence.

Jordan Aidey, Jordan Wade and Lewis McIntosh did well in the middle of the park, but Down lacked a killer touch in front of goal. A number of balls whipped into the South Antrim penalty area at pace only required a touch to deflect them past the Ôkeeper, but the forwards couldn't get close enough. On the rare occasion the forwards did make contact, they missed the target.

Toner produced his first save from a forward's shot at a long corner in the fourth minute, while McIntosh picked out Wade at the other end, but his control let him down at the vital moment.

Wade, who impressed all afternoon, then set up Teggart but the latter couldnÕt control the ball, while a rasping cross from Matthew Lennon evaded his team mates waiting to pounce in the South Antrim penalty area.

Down opened the scoring when TeggartÕs persistence paid off in the 19th minute after the striker was teed up perfectly by McIntosh who continues to impress. Lennon broke up a dangerous South Antrim attack in the 24th minute while Toner was forced to make a smart save two minutes later to preserve his side's slender advantage.

Fitzsimons was in the right place at the right time to nip the ball off a visiting striker's stick as he looked set to score, while at the other end Wade picked out Teggart on the stroke of half-time but the Down forward couldn't control a ball drilled at him at pace.

South Antrim were keen to get back on level terms early in the second half and equalised within a minute of the restart following a goalmouth melee.

From that point on it was virtually one-way traffic with the home side pressing forward at every opportunity, but failing to increase their advantage.

Midway through the half McIntosh had a glorious opportunity to make it 2-1 but with the 'keeper out of position and an open goal at his mercy, he couldn't deflect a cross into a beckoning net.

Trevor Lennon then produced a sublime reverse stick effort but his shot crept agonisingly wide with the visiting 'keeper rooted to the spot.

Down continued to press but in the end had to settle for a point when, on the balance of play and the bucket of chances created, they should have pocketed all three.