'I was roaring at them' - Laverty revels in famous Down win

'I was roaring at them' - Laverty revels in famous Down winImage source, InphoImage caption, Laverty masterminded Down's six-point win over hot favourites Donegal at O'Donnell ParkByMatt GaultBBC Sport NI senior journalistPublished3 minutes agoFor Down boss Conor Laverty, the euphoria of Sunday's stunning 3-21 to 1-21 Ulster Championship quarter-final win over back-to-back champions Donegal was made even sweeter by the heartache endured along the way. Since being appointed in 2022, Laverty has experienced his fair share of highs and lows in charge of his native county.He still remembers what he regards the "worst bus journey of my life" when his team's transport struggled to find the way home after a 10-point defeat by Armagh in the Ulster semi-final at a rain-lashed Clones in 2023.More recently, he struggled to shake the strange feeling of dejection that washed over him after his side's sub-par second-half performance in the Division Three final against Wexford (which they went on to win in extra-time). Laverty was determined to ensure Down's trip to Letterkenny to take on a heavily fancied Donegal outfit who thrashed Kerry in the Division One decider ended with a different feeling. "The big challenge to the players was that we felt that over this past number of years that we've been close to a marquee win against Armagh and Donegal," explained the Kilcoo club-man."But just in moments, even like last year, whenever we had the opportunities near the end of the game, we didn't take them, but today I felt the lads really stood up."'The road is hard now' - McGuinness on Down defeatPublished5 hours agoKerry challenge game forms part of prepTo play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Highlights: Donegal 1-21 Down 3-21Toppling Donegal, of course, took meticulous preparation. Laverty had planned for the holders' inf...