‘It was?scary stuff’ – Down win comes at cost after Oisín Savage’s nasty injury in Tailteann Cup semi-final

Savage landed heavily on his head after a second-half challenge that saw Sligo defender Nathan Mullen shown a straight red card with a six-minute break in play following as medics tended to the Loughinisland attacker.

Down GAA officials confirmed to the Irish Independent last night that Savage had regained consciousness before he was taken from the field and transported to nearby Beaumont Hospital, where he was awaiting a scan.

Laverty admitted that it was “scary stuff” in the minutes following the injury before his side eked out a 1-20 to 2-15 extra-time victory over Sligo.

“I know he was bad whenever I was out on the pitch, it was scary stuff even the noises that he was making. It was genuinely scary, that’s the truth,” the Mourne manager said.

Laverty is delighted to have the opportunity to atone for last year’s final loss to Meath with a decider against Laois on July 13 now standing between them and Sam Maguire football in 2025.

“That’s been our objective for a long time, to play Sam Maguire football and we know the task that Laois are going to bring,” Laverty said.

“I’m just delighted about the character that this young Down team showed. I’m really proud of this group because they are a very young group and they’ve suffered some poor defeats here,” he said.

Laois booked their place in the decider with a 3-12 to 1-13 victory over Antrim.