Messages

Down missing 3 key Portaferry players - CT, Barry T and Tom Mcg.
Are they available next weekend? Good chance of pipping Kildare on score difference for a semi final place.

Should have been beaten by more.. We got a late goal while Derry hit the post twice and crossbar at the end..Carr midfield and Kelly nr11 both done well but outside that well beaten.. Tyrone match will be tougher again

Brilliant second after dismal first half.. Savage brilliant when he came on really dangerous inside .. big Pat was poor got turned over a few times and missed a few score-able frees.. Good all around performance and going in the right direction.. good to see strong following from Down

Gut wrenching for Portaferry. Should have got the win today.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' on the long road back to the Ards Peninsula from Armagh. There were chances when they could have sealed it, but there's a lot of positives to take away from today nonetheless. They gave it a lash. Couldn't have asked much more of them.

Plenty of young players stood up today when it was needed, and there'll be plenty for them to take away from this game.

If Portaferry perform like that regularly,  the future could be bright for this group.

Ultimately Neil McManus was the difference. Other players played their role, but not many can do what McManus did today. To score half of Cushendall's points, keeping the Antrim men within touching distance of Portaferry, before putting the free in the net with the last puck of the game, to put the match to extra time, was phenomenal on his behalf.

Genuinely think the Ports gave it their best shot, and couldn't have done too much more today. Did themselves proud.

White line fever...

They had it in sight, four points up. 5 minutes of ordinary time to go and spurned the additional few points that would have put the game beyond Cushendall..

Making the right call, not shooting wildly in panic comes with experience and that bit of knowhow in tight situations.

The injury to Eoghan Sands was pivotal all the same, he ran himself into the ground.

Portaferry left it behind them some great young players on the team.. End to end game huge physicality.. All the same expect Slaghneil to win the final with likes of Brendan Rodgers etc..
RIP Sean, a true Gael of Down GAA (Wouldn't it be a honour towards him to see Ballykinlar revived in the future)

Intermediate form is hard to read. The Point V Clonduff match will be interesting as the winner joins Carryduff in the Intermediate Semi's along with Bredagh and Shamrocks. Clonduff missing their dual players (disappointing decision by those players to leave down their team-mates and one they will regret in the future) so not as strong as previous years but the Point also lost a lot of experience from the 2 or 3 lads who retired after winning the Junior last year. Who scored all the goals? Ballela goalkeeper is usually sharp.

Need to clamp down of these incidents.

Ya great to see the progress in Down hurling over past few years at club and county level. Good to see Saul, EB & Mournes trying to promote it along with Football.
In relation to transfer, McCusker plays for Ballela and would have been sanctioned to play football for Drumgath, don't get how he could play for a different club tbh
Glad Sheehan is going well, he never did much from play at Junior or Intermediate level but always looked a player would come into the play better when playing at higher standard.

Who are the transfers into Liatroim? They always had the potential, sometimes need a outside manager to bring it together

Great performance from Down, albeit this is the worst Laois team I've ever seen. The players mentioned above were stand out players in a very weak Down team not sure if they would anything this current crop. Its clear the  manager is building a new team around the 3 stand out players from Burren. Meath were very poor again so its Down's to lose. Great competition BTW...

Lots of green shoots, lads played really well even though Tipp were very poor. Huge opportunity to keep building and give the wider squad chances to impress, well done. The atmosphere, intensity and hits in the hurling was insane.

Thanks must look into it as heard it is heading to a 45,000 sell out even-though it is only a round robin match

Didn't realise it was on before the Munster championship might head down myself be some match.

Great finish by Down, subs defiantly made an impact. Worry about Jerome Johnstone though as he looked off the pace. Down really need to find a full and centre back to steady up the back and also a target man at full forward..  Lots of direct ball played in the first half with WMeath full back dealing with comfortably.. Also ff Heslin got more ball we would have been in big trouble as seemed to glide through easy when he got quick ball. If only Down can perform for a full match be a match for most teams.

Works well for the hurling in Down, although sometimes the likes of Port's 2nds can give out some trimming to the weaker junior hurling clubs...

Well done to Liatroim winning the Ulster intermediate hurling final, brilliant achievement 👏

Well done indeed, a crack at some serious teams in the ai semifinal awaits.

Brilliant achievement by the Fontenoys.

Major achievement and performance. Number of players out the hand up for Down next season. The All Ireland series will be a step up in standard