Down Club Hurling & Football

[snoopdog]

I thought the referee yesterday was shocking.

For the first forty minutes virtually every marginal call went Kilcoo's way. A point here or there makes a real difference when things are tight.

For whatever reason he then spent about 10 minutes giving Burren the marginal ones before pulling out the two reds and killing the game altogether. Maybe Kilcoo just played him better and he punished Burren for the back chat but the game needs more consistency from refs than this.

Apart from 1st 10 minutes things weren't tight in that game.
Kilcoo controlled it from 5 minutes on.

[downtothecore]

A great day of drinking and chatting before tomorrow's turning point in the Kilcoo onslaught of Down football. Talking to a few stalwarts of Down football and they're all agreed that Burren win this by 5+ points. Kilcoo will get a red card early and hopefully Moore from CPN will do us a favour the way Darren did for them a couple of years ago. Not that we'll need a favour. Would just turn a 1/2pt win in to a more comfortable watch! Odhran player of the match and Ronan McGrath x Ryan Treanor to be close behind him. The torch is about to be passed. Burren for Ulster in my opinion. Magpies aren't what they were, heard it here first folks.

Let's hear u now...

carlsberg don't do silence but if they did....

[ciaron08]

It's mad how Burren people think they lost the game because of the ref, think they need to look a bit closer to home

[Hard2Listen2]

It is strange how a team with so many talented individuals could put up such a poor performance.
Not a one of either as they weren't great in last year's final either.
There has been a change in management so can't really blame them.
Is it something in the players psyche?

[thewobbler]

It is strange how a team with so many talented individuals could put up such a poor performance.
Not a one of either as they weren't great in last year's final either.
There has been a change in management so can't really blame them.
Is it something in the players psyche?

I wouldn't call it strange anymore. Across the county we are all pretty much resigned to defeat once we draw Kilcoo in championship football.

Burren actually had a wee flurry of 4-5 chances in a row as we entered the final quarter on Sunday, including a couple of very scoreable ones. They fluffed their lines on each of them, and it wasn't because they were trying to gain an extra yard or two, or to open up a goal chance. It was just poor execution.

And we all do it against the magpies. Every club in Down. Not only can nobody wrestle any semblance of momentum from them, but we no longer even seem to try. They conceded one goal in 300 mins of the Down SFC last season. One goal. Then they only went and did the same again in 2024.

Some team the Magpies all the same.

[supersub]

Let's just clear it up - the referee had zero impact on the outcome of the match. Zero. 0. None.

[Gaelforce123]

Correct Supersub, 100% agree.

However, In my opinion, he is not a strong enough referee for a county final. I did think he was poor and I have no links to either club. I dont believe every referee deserves a county final etc. Some are not strong enough for it. In my opinion if the same referee has to do it a few times then thats how it has got to be but it must be a strong ref that doesn't be influenced and makes own decision and is a strong character. Not easy find but I do give mentions to

Brendan Rice
Colm Gribben
Paul Faloon
Kevin McGrath
Darren Ohare
Ciaran Branagan

As the only referees in the county I see fit for finals. Yes they all have faults and may make mistakes as they are human but I don't believe anyone outside this list are strong enough characters for big games.

In this case though the ref was not the issue and Burren have only got themselves to blame

[terrifictommy]

Look at how the national set up goes for games. The best are normally there or thereabouts come the finals. Each of them has at least two AI finals in the past decade. And I'm guessing countless sidelines on the big days.

[Ed Hardy]

Any Down players on the Ulster squad this weekend?

[befair]

Two Lurgan clubs in the Armagh final, while our big towns languish in the lower divisions

[Nanderson]

Any Down players on the Ulster squad this weekend?

Pat Havern, Daniel Guinness and Odhran Murdock

[PTC]

Any Down players on the Ulster squad this weekend?

Pat Havern, Daniel Guinness and Odhran Murdock

Heard shorty trainor was pushing for his son to be selected

[Nanderson]

Any Down players on the Ulster squad this weekend?

Pat Havern, Daniel Guinness and Odhran Murdock

Heard shorty trainor was pushing for his son to be selected

Maybe thats why he was rested on sunday

[Splash]

Now that last weekend's warm ups are over, onto the best weekend of GAA action in Down. The hurling finals.

Ballela and Castlewellan should be a good curtain raiser.

Ballela beat Castlewellan at home in the round robin, but it's hard to look past Castlewellan this time. They'll be more familiar with how Ballela play, and won't want to be caught twice.

In saying this, Ballela are not a bad team, and are far more experienced than Castlewellan. If they can make Castlewellan play their game again, they will find themselves back in the intermediate next year.

On form, Castlewellan are a stronger side. They were ruthless with Ballyvarley in the last round. Two twenty point losses in a row for Ballyvarley will be concerning, but Castlewellan have now handed out two hammerings this championship.

Despite a loss to East Belfast in the final round, and coming 3rd in the table, Ballela find themselves in another final.  East Belfast can probably feel hard done by, and will be regretting the first round in Castlewellan, but not much good thinking about that now.

Ballela old heads still probably their most vital players.

Someone mentioned the strong St Patrick's team at underage level. I always wonder about amalgamation teams- how many are Ballyvarley and how many are Ballela?

Regardless, it should be interesting.  JHCs are Ballela's bread and butter, and whilst Castlewellean are less familiar, if they really want to progress to the next level as a club, this is the next step. They have already secured Div 1 status, becoming a proper, established intermediate team, and giving their younger hurlers that to aspire to, is the next step for them.

I'm going to go with Castlewellan. They probably feel they should have won this about 3 years ago, and I'd say they finally have learnt enough lessons to get over the line.




The intermediate is a repeat of last year's final. Still feels unusual that the same two teams can contest an intermediate final two years in a row. But that's a discussion for a different day.

These two met in the early rounds of the senior championship, in a scrappy, close game in Cherryvale. Carryduff got the better of their neighbours that day with a couple right time/right moment goals. Some may say given form, Carryduff are favourites. But I think Bredagh may be holding something back for this.

Neither team finished the senior championship well, shipping defeats to their Ards rivals, and didn't exactly pull away from the Point or Shamrocks in the semis. Whilst Carryduff didn't have a poor first year in the top flight, it's still a couple years too early before they start challenging the hierarchy of Down hurling, and Bredagh seemed to have taken a step back from where they were.

That'll not matter tomorrow night though, and it's usually a good game when this Belfast Derby  happens in a big match.

Both teams would like to go on and make an impact in Ulster. Bredagh will be unhappy with how Ulster went last year for them, bowing out early to the Antrim champs in a close game, and Carryduff will be unhappy that Bredagh stopped what seemed like an unstoppable Duff machine last year.

When it comes down to it, I think Bredagh simply have more depth, and have a lot of their big names available this year that they didn't last year, whilst Carryduff have struggled with injuries this year. Carryduff know full well they have the beating of their rivals, and I would fully expect them to be more competitive that they were last year.

Good that we have a growing, competitive hurling scene in North Down.



The big one on Sunday, on paper, should be the game of the weekend.

Ballygalget find themselves back in their first final since 2017- a famine by their standards. They will meet a Portaferry side chasing 3 in a row.

Ballygalget beat the Ports in the group stages, somewhat unexpectedly, and they'll certainly be up for it, but they'll need to bring their A-game on Sunday against a strong Ports side.

Ballygalget found a way back after being well down against Liatorim in the semi final. Liatorim will definitely feel that's another one that got away, and they are certainly a marked team now, particularly when they cross the water. I thought Liatroim did very well given their circumstances. Someone said Liatorim didn't need their Belfast or Ballela contingent, which is fair enough, but if McCusker and McCrickard were there, it could have been a different outcome. Also thought their Ballyvarley transfer was a good addition who got some good scores. Regardless, Liatroim have proved to any doubters that they're a senior club, and if they can continue to develop, who knows what the future holds for them.

The other semi final saw Portaferry show they are a level above Ballycran at the moment. Scoreline probably didn't do justice to just how good Portaferry were. They were strong all over the field, in nearly all positions. Ballycran relied heavily on Paul Sheehan to keep them in it, and whilst Artyon Gleeson's goal  looked like it may have sparked a comeback for Ballycran, Portaferry seemed to only pull away further.

Hard to know what the next few years will be like for Ballycran. A lot of their big names have been around a long time, and they don't seem to have the same strength coming through as their neighbours. Perhaps they will find themselves in the situation Ballygalget have been in for the past few years? Regardless, I'm sure they'll be back in the final before too long.

Portaferry will be very happy with how they've gone so far, and if they're ruthless, they should win.  Ballygalget have shown they have the beating of them, but when push comes to shove, I think they'll have another year or two to wait before they can bring Jeremiah back to Mitchell Park.

Portaferry will be devestated with how they went out in Ulster last year. They nearly caused the shock of the year against Cushendall. Considering how competitive the Antrim men were in the All Ireland series, there'll be a lot of 'what ifs,' and you have to wonder how much Portaferry have been timing their run to get back and have another lash at it.

The Down Champions receive a bye into this year's Ulster Final- hopefully whoever gets there can give a good performance.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves; we've a good weekend of county finals to enjoy first.

Interestingly, Portaferry blew Ballygalget away in the first round of the Antrim League this year. Don't think too many would have believed you if you'd say they'd meet again in the SHC Final, with Galgets being the table toppers. Funny how it goes sometimes, isn't it?


Know people question the use of Newry to host the final, but I suppose at the end of the day it is the county ground. Long trek for the Ards and Belfast men, but if the football final had been Kilcoo and Loughinisland or Carryduff, would people be saying to move it?

Would encourage any one in and around Newry and South Down to take a run down to some of the games and see what all the craic is about whilst it's there on your doorstep. Who knows, you may have a great time 

[Square Ball]

Good man splash, great analysis.