It’s not usually over until the fat lady sings.

But she was flexing her vocal chords on Down's relegation fight weeks ago and last Saturday afternoon she was ready for an encore following another heavy defeat for the Malone Park's senior side.

A season which promised so much has ended in relegation but Down were not disgraced and produced a number of very creditable performances. And, as is so often the case with struggling sides, luck was something they did not enjoy over the course of the season.

It's also rather ironic that one of the sides above Down has conceded considerably more goals and while the Malone Park outfit played well in fits and starts, there was a lack of consistency at times.

Last weekend at Stormont the senior side was once again ravaged by the unavailability of a number of players and once again players more accustomed to the surroundings of Junior 3 were asked to make the leap to Senior One.

Down went into the break seven goals in arrears and it was something of a moral victory that they only conceded three in the second half. Visiting goalkeeper, Mark Johnston, may also have been beaten nine times, but he produced a string of top saves over the 70 minutes.

Down have two games to complete their season, away to Armagh and Harlequins respectively.