Down County Football Discussion Thread

Started by Don Johnson, April 10, 2012, 10:23:41 AM

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Don Johnson

90% of the discussion in the Down CLUB Hurling and Football Thread is about the county? Endless mind numbing drivel taking up the space of club results/fixtures/discussions.

Can you quilts not read? Its a CLUB thread. Perhaps you can all discuss the merits of James McCartans management skills or what hairgel Danny Hughes uses in here instead.

Don Johnson

I'll get the ball rolling shall I:

Quote from: PAULD123 on April 10, 2012, 10:15:21 AM
Well done Down on reaching the semi-final. I'm looking forward to a bonus trip to Dublin. But I have to say that there were a few worrying things about the match at the weekend.
  • Ambrose, while good in the air, did not look fit, he was not very mobile, continual pulled up after releasing the ball to the forward line and had problems reacting to breaking ball.
  • Our defence only conceded 10 points which looks superb but in truth Laois were atrocious at shooting. Against a team with any decent accuracy we easily would have conceded 15 or more. The scoreline flatters our defence unbelievably. In the first half Laois had an unreal amount of fairly handy shots at the sticks. The conclusion is that, sadly, our defence is still a problem and struggles to mark tightly.
  • We had a lot of problems getting the ball into our forward line at all in the first half. We have very skilful kick passers in Poland and Carr but when they only have two players to aim at it isn't making their task a simple one. Eventually Arthur had to come out to gain possession and in fact Benny started to come out too. Basically we line up with four in midfield, two in the half forward line and two in the full forward line. Turning possession to attack takes too long and the opposition are able to get back and flood their defence.
  • We failed to win the majority of midfield breaking balls. Without Danny in the team we tend to lose that area of the field and therefore are always against it in terms of possession. It wasn't till the last 20 when our superior fitness started to tell that Down took control of midfield possession.
But don't get me wrong, it is great we are not only still in Division one but also in the top four. How fantastic these days are compared to the dark days of only a few years ago when we were flailing around on muddy division 3 pitches. In terms of setting us up for the championship opener at Enniskillen, a semi-final in Croke park is a great boost. Maybe we'll get even more if we are lucky??? Fermanagh are on a high after their terrific league results. But now Down can feel confident having come out in the elite group in the top flight. I feel the level of confidence in the team will be the single most important factor when we step out in Brewster Park. Confidence, more than anything else, allows a team to shake off the shackles that come with expectation. And Down will have a lot of expectation placed on them on 3rd June.

Don Johnson

Quote from: Dubh driocht on April 13, 2012, 06:22:47 PM
I know we are in low-key mode but in the last 50 years has there ever been as little hype about a Down appearance at Croke Park ? With Cork and Kerry not known for bringing support outside All Ireland finals, and Mayo unlikely to attract crowds ,I reckon we could be looking at the lowest ever attendance  for League semi-finals. Which is a shame as our lads have, for the second year in a row, finished as the top Ulster team in the league. I think we should get out and support James and the team - they have put in the effort to bring us to the top table and that should be appreciated.

Don Johnson

Quote from: umpire on April 13, 2012, 09:01:25 PM
Down team for Sunday
Brendan McVeigh
Daniel McCartan
Brendan McArdle
Declan Turley
Kevin McKernan
Niall McParland
Conor Garvey
Kalum King
Ambrose Rodgers
Peter Turley
Mark Poland
Aidan Carr
Arthur McConville
Conor Laverty
Brendan Coulter

Don Johnson

Quote from: Mourne Rover on April 13, 2012, 09:13:29 PM
The Down starting 15 was predictable enough, but there will probably be some switching about. Most people will expect Peter Turley to move to full back, where he last played against Fermanagh in the 09 USC, although he has not had a run in the position since his return to the squad this year. McKernan did well at wing half forward last week but it would probably be sensible for him to play as an extra defender this time round. While it is something of a surprise that Quinn is not starting, Damien Turley will not let anyone down.

It has been a low-key build up, as Dubh Driocht says, but Cork will be overwhelming favourites and appear to have named their strongest available side. Although we would still have a decent chance if Gordon and Hughes were fit, it will take something special to get us through to the final. They have scored nine goals against us in the last three meetings, winning by 11, 12 and 13 points respectively, so we are clearly up against it. However, these are the matches when we get a realistic view of our prospect for the summer, so it is quite an opportunity for our guys.

Don Johnson

Quote from: umpire on April 13, 2012, 10:13:38 PM
Cork team for Sunday
Alan Quirke,
Ray Carey, Michael Shields, Eoin Cotter,
Noel O'Leary, Graham Canty, Paudie Kissane,
Alan O'Connor, Pearse O'Neill,
Fintan Goold, Patrick Kelly, Paul Kerrigan,
Colm O'Neill, Aidan Walsh, Donncha O'Connor.

PAULD123

I happen to agree with Don Johnson that it would be better to have a seperate County and Club thread. But until everyone else takes up his suggestion I'm posting in both places.

The team shows a lot of messing about. But in fact the only missing player from last week is Gordon. Why not just a straight switch Turley for Gordon and leave the rest of the team unchanged? So maybe Turley goes in straight for Grodon at FB or maybe he playes CHB and McCardle drops to FB. But that was the only alteration that was actually required. The team played quite well last week and as teh game went on the passing improved. Now we start with yet another new formation. This can hardly help the players to know what the other guys will be doing around them.

Too many changes are not a good thing. Kerry and Cork field fairly consistent sides and last year Dublin did the same. In our best recent year 2010, we had a very settled first fifteen and I am sure that helped the team interact with each other as well as they did. 

Don Johnson

I agree Paul, there hasn't been much consistency and the chopping and changing is bound to have an effect. Though I guess it is still the league and for all intents and purposes its about trying to find the best side or a settled 15 before the championship. Even though I know this is a league semi-final in Croke Park but in the grand scheme of things preparation for the championship is obviously paramount.

I'm not that confident to be honest, we've just managed to scrape into this semi and although we've found a wee bit of form I think Cork are going to be too strong for us.

Farrandeelin

What's the interest levels like for the game tomorrow up there? Not much talk about our game v Kerry here at all. I'll be surprised if 20k attend tbh. Unless ye bring a fair few down from the Mournes.
Inaugural Football Championship Prediction Winner.

Don Johnson

20k only in Croke Park will be a sad sight but I think you might be right!

Mourne Rover

Given that Kerry and Cork will only bring a handful of fans, and both Mayo and Down are taking a low-key approach to their games, it is hard to believe that the attendance will be anywhere near 20,000. Half that figure may be closer, so the Down contingent should have no difficulty making themselves heard. We will need all the support we can get with our injury list, which according to Jarlath Burns on TG4 yesterday may now include Ambrose.If that is true, we will really be up against it.

The Real Gael

Looking forward to both games tomorrow - should be a decent first game - but with our injury list I fear the worst... hope im wrong!

here comes 6

Cant see many Kerry people going to croke.

They might not be Playing Down but Down + Croke Park = Nitemare for Kerry

SHEEDY

these games should have been played somewhere other than croke park imo. cant see any more than 10/15k turning up. hope we can put in a decent performance and avoid more injuries.
nil satis nisi optimum

PAULD123

Well wasn't that dissapointing?

Thought Down were reasonably competitive for a brave bit of the game. The loss of Laverty started a slow inevitable swing towards a sizable defeat. But the second goal was a killer.

If we had been able to start Hughes instead of Turley and Laverty had lasted the whole game then i think we would have been much closer at the end. There were signs there that one day (with a fully fit team) we may eventually end this hoodoo.

At any rate it was good for the team to have a competitive match in Croke park, in can only help our championship preparations to have the likes of McConville and McParland getting more match time as they will be needed for the Championship side