Down Club Hurling & Football

[Aristo 60]

what way would Mooney fare if he was plonked on the edge of the square do people think?
Has he enough of a lep on him to pressurize defences ala big donaghy from the Kingdom? Or would he be wasted in there?

Aristo saw jim's notebook 

[Smurfy123]

Kane
Collins. Howard. Turley

         McKernan

O Hagan. McArdle. McGovern

Maginn.  Turley.  Devlin

  Poland  Mooney

Laverty.    O Hare

Very light middle 6
Caolan needs a big game as has been poor to date by his standards
Shocked that Ryan Mallon is not starting as he was good on Saturday night.He is not injured either..

[Mourne Rover]

There was a strong case for starting Mallon at midfield, but there is every possibility that McKernan and McArdle will spend much of their time around there as well. While Mallon could also easily have started in the half back line, dropping McGovern would also have been a tough call. It is likely to be a nervous afternoon on Sunday, but Donie Kingston, who is a key figure for Laois and is exactly the kind of tall and physically strong full foward who tends to cause us trouble, got a straight red last week. There has been no sign of an appeal, and Laois will have to reorganise if he is suspended. If we keep our discipline, and our shape, there is a big prize at stake.

[Shamrocks Gaelp]

Was there many at the minor game today? I went and I thought it wasn't a bad showing but we are seriously lacking firepower yet we are without influential vice captain Jody McGovern at CHF. However Armagh are a very robust, smart and well organised defensive unit, however down are still experimenting with different players and what not, but it still doesn't look like they've completly jeled yet.

[Dubh driocht]

Well done McCorry, promotion. Great to be shot of all those Ulster bies in D2😎

[SHEEDY]

Well done McCorry, promotion. Great to be shot of all those Ulster bies in D2😎

hard to know what to make of that performance. down mixed some slick attacking play, which got us in for 3 well worked goals with some woeful periods of play. the 2nd half was very flat and we nearly let laois back into it at the end. promotion and a place in the divisional final are secured but theres a lot of work still needed for derry in the summer.

[Mourne Rover]

Instead of the usual critics telling us about another limited display when we again pushed our luck, perhaps we can give some credit to a group of players who have worked exceptionally hard under an astute manager to gain a promotion which very few thought possible two months ago.

We were hit by some hammer blows through the retirement of Benny, the unavailability of Gordon and King, Ambrose's injury and Marty's illness, but we regrouped, came up with a game plan  which the players trusted and we now back in the top division and also have a day out at Croke Park.

There's no doubt that our form has has been mixed, but some players who were previously on the fringes have improved significantly, some new faces have emerged and we have managed to develop a winning mentality as well.

Kane is a reassuring presence in goals and his kick-outs were considerably better today than against Meath. The full back line has become a reliable unit, with Howard, Dee Turley and Collins all capable of bursting forward as well. McArdle and O'Hagan were reasonable, although  they have had better days, but McGovern, apart from one misplaced pass, is really starting to look the part and took two excellent points as well.

Mooney was just about our man of the match, even though he is still adjusting after his return from Australia, while Turley was as industrious as ever against a fine Laois pairing.

Devlin's confidence does not seem particularly high, and his shooting was poor, but he still ended up as our top scorer. McKernan was everywhere, although he would be facing a suspension if his yellow card had been black, while Poland is getting much closer to his level of a couple of years ago. Maginn and O'Hare put in fine shifts, while Laverty, apart from a couple of erratic shots, is still pulling all the strings.

The subs all contributed, with a couple of excellent catches from Madine and McConville getting his fourth goal of a campaign in which he only started twice.

[snoopdog]

Here here. There were 2 lads near me in the stand today roaring at everything. Calling players rubbish. 2 real annoying people to sit near. You can't be lucky in all your games. Down have put in some decent performances. Kildare and Galway could be said to be lucky wins but game last 70 mins why are scores lucky at death but not at start .  I thought they did ok today. Laverty wasn't his usual self though. Mc kernan should sit out the final. Can't afford to have him out of derry. game.  Well done lads.

[Shamrocks Gaelp]

Conail McGovern, for a late comer to the county scene (He played U21 in 2009 I believe) really looks the part after a fantastic season in midfield for burren last year. Although he's been thrown into Half back there, really isn't much difference, at Inter county level, between half back and half forward. How range of passing is excellent an he does the simple things right all the time. Mooney was undoubtedly our man of the match, he showed his huge vertical and a good pair of hands, and his rapid bursts of pace left a very good Brendan Quigley for dead. Also great to see Luke Howard grow in confidence, bombing up the field, and also great to seen big Niall Madine pluck two good balls out of the sky after he came on, and the return of Pete Fitz is a great addition to the middle sector. I still believe that Packie Downey needs a shot in and around midfield, but the time to give boys chances is now over. A long and hard three weeks ahead but the boys should be celebrating today. Roll on April 26th!

[whitegoodman]

Il go with the positives first

- McGovern played well.
- Mooney kicked two cracking points and looks fitter.
- Poland looked close to his old form.
- McConville made an impact again from the bench.
- Promotion secured, an extra game before Derry and a day out for the players in Croke Park.

However to add a bit of balance although it will be seen as negative.

- Kane has a lot of attributes but I don't think his kick outs are improving, he is trying to vary them but too many are going over the side line or not getting close to the target.
- we conceded 1 15 against very limited opposition so I wouldn't be praising the defence that much especially given the amount of scoreable frees given away.
- Despite Mooneys two great points and generally looking good going forward am I the only one who thought the midfield were cleaned out
- I counted at least 5 scoreable efforts going into the keepers hands yet again, outside of 2 or 3 players we seem incapable of hitting scores from range.
- O Hare and Devlin look short of confidence.

Roscommon the next day will be an interesting comparison to the last outing against them and we haven't won many trophies lately so it would be nice to win it.

[whitegoodman]

Does anyone know if the league final will affect the start of the club league or if it will mean the first few games are starred???

[Brick Tamlin]

Id pretty much agree with that.
The performance was an improvement on what we had seen before but there are still alot of areas for concern.

Mooney looked more at home around the middle and with space in front to exploit. He would cause serious panic to any defence that allows him room to build up runs from deep.His delivery into the forwards was in general very good also.
McGovern also impressed mainly due to doing the simple things very well.

Concerns would be taking foot off the gas and allowing a poor team to score 1-15 against us. Also the kickout scenario hasnt improved any. As mentioned before this isnt solely Kane's responsibility either. Failing to convert relatively easy chances when they present themselves would also be a worry.

Good to get a win albeit against poor opposition and good to be promoted out of a division where the standard wasnt great. Bigger tests will lie ahead which should tell us more about our true standing.

[Realmccoy]

It is great to avoid Division 2 next year as it going to be another Ulster championship with Armagh/cavan/Fermanagh/derry/Tyrone. Plus along with meath, galway and Laois it will be extremely competitive.

[Line Ball]

Anyone hear any rumours that the first 2 rounds of the league might be postponed due to the Div 2 National League final?  Now hopefully not, as clubs have been preparing for the league start for weeks and to be told less than 2 weeks before that 30 elite players are more important than the hundreds of club players who have been knocking their pan in just isn't on.  Could they not just star the first 2 rounds and let the games go ahead? 

I hope what I have heard isn't true.

[elk]

Anyone hear any rumours that the first 2 rounds of the league might be postponed due to the Div 2 National League final?  Now hopefully not, as clubs have been preparing for the league start for weeks and to be told less than 2 weeks before that 30 elite players are more important than the hundreds of club players who have been knocking their pan in just isn't on.  Could they not just star the first 2 rounds and let the games go ahead? 

I hope what I have heard isn't true.

Your Club mustn't have any County panellists or you wouldn't be looking the
games starred.

I agree starring them would hurt teams like Clonduff, Saval, Warrenpoint, Rostrevor, etc; who haven't got  particularly strong squads and will need their top players available this year for as many games as possible to try and stay up.