Down Club Hurling & Football

[PAULD123]

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.

[umpire]

April 19th
Down club football and hurling Championship's draw

Is the First round to played on 2nd week of June??

[The Marshes]

April 19th
Down club football and hurling Championship's draw

Is the First round to played on 2nd week of June??

Championships are round robin this year

[umpire]

April 19th
Down club football and hurling Championship's draw

Is the First round to played on 2nd week of June??

Championships are round robin this year

I thought the Round Robin championship start in 2014!!

[supersub]

Yeah they do

[5 Sams]

All 1st & 2nd Div games plus the Glenn game are off on Monday night. Friday nights games go ahead and are starred.

[Mid Down Gael]

The following county panelists are released to play for their clubs tomorrow night.

Nial Brannigan (Kilcoo)
Gerard McCartan, Donal OHare and Anton McArdle (Burren)
Ciaran Brannigan and David McKibben (Bryansford)
Ben ORielly (Loughinisland)
Gerard McAnulty (Liatriom)
Michael McAllister (Clan na banna)
Marcus Miskelly (Darragh cross)
Eoin Costello (Bredagh)
Kevin Duffin (Castlewellan)

[here comes 6]

Positive is that Ben o'reilly and Anton are now not near the team. Happy Days

[SpiritOfDunaval]

In all honesty lads, do we really need re fixed at the start of the league. Would it not be simpler to Starr Fridays game along with Mondays, and depending on results ( hopefully a down win) star next weeks games too? Its gonna work out in the long run as Division 1 is a farce this year with no relegation, and the teams that will eventually come up, regardless of who there missing will accumulate enough points in remaining fixtures?

[umpire]

After maybe 5 rounds of games in Div one, apart from the top teams there is no incentives for the other teams to do well.

Will there be changes in order to give team some incentives, maybe play the Round Robin Championships next year based on this year positions in Div 1 and top 6 in Div 2??

[DownFanatic]

Down ACFL Division 2
Carryduff 0-03  Annaclone 2-14

[Dubh driocht]

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.

[Mid Down Gael]

ACFL Div 1
Bryansford 1-4 Kilcoo 0-7

Poor game between 2 weakened teams in this local derby. Negative tactics employed left the game to watch an awful spectacle.

[umpire]

ACFL Div 1
Bryansford 1-4 Kilcoo 0-7

Poor game between 2 weakened teams in this local derby. Negative tactics employed left the game to watch an awful spectacle.

Low scoring game above, but high scoring game below!!

Burren 5.11 Mayobridge 1.8

[Mid Down Gael]

Div 1 results
Bryansford 1-4 Kilcoo 0-7
Downpatrick 1-8 Ballyholland 0-6
Clonduff 1-9 Longstone 0-8
Burren 5-11 mayobridge 1-8
Castlewellan 1-13 saval 0-11