An Dún v Uíbh Fhailí

Started by Trevor Hill, March 23, 2009, 06:35:12 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

Trevor Hill

Anything less than a win and its division 3 for another season. Down have to field their strongest 15 from the start, the time for experimenting is over. I doubt we will have it as easy as we did in Tullamore last summer.

Bord na Mona man

It shouldn't be as bad as Tullamore last year, but I think that debacle should give Down a psychological edge on Offaly.
Maybe a minor detail, but Offaly don't seem to play well under floodlights.
They've never won a game under flloodlights and never one that has thrown after 6pm bar beating London in the 2003 championship.
Useless info for ya!  ;)
Offaly have lost both away games convincingly (average 9.5 points) this year whereas they are unbeaten in Tullamore.

Having said all that, there are signs of improvement in Offaly since Tom Cribbin took over. In both the Louth and Cavan games, they were hauled level near the finish and managed to win them as the clock ticked down.
I think Down will probably cause trouble for the Offaly full back line which lacks a bit of pace and assuredness.

dodgy umpire

will murph again be the starting number 3 in the red and black?
The Boys in Red and Black are back

Mid Down Gael

Quote from: dodgy umpire on March 24, 2009, 09:32:07 PM
will murph again be the starting number 3 in the red and black?

Hope not. he is a much better half back. Garvey should be tried at 3. he is solid enough for the bridge and there are few better full backs in division 1.

Plain of the Herbs

The London match threw in at 4.15pm!  No, I wasn't there, I had to look that up in the programme!
Quote from: Bord na Mona man on March 24, 2009, 07:32:16 PM
They've never won a game under flloodlights and never one that has thrown after 6pm bar beating London in the 2003 championship.
Useless info for ya!  ;)

5 Sams

#5
Foireann d'oiche amarach:

Brendan McVeigh
Ciaran McGovern
Aidan Carr
Luke Howard
Damian Rafferty
Kevin McKernan
Conor Garvey
Declan Rooney
Stephen Kearney     
Brendan McArdle
Brendan Coulter 
Daniel Hughes
John Boyle
Ronan Murtagh
Paul McCumiskey

??? ??? ??? ??? ???


Wots wrong with Dan?
60,61,68,91,94
The Aristocrat Years

Trevor Hill

Dan has picked up another knock. He should not have been brought on against Cavan, neither should Ambrose.
I wold expect Coulter and Boyle to swap positionsand I wouldnt mind seeing Carr and McKernan swap also. Carr is not a full back and he will be taking the frees tomorrow, especially now that Fegan isnt starting.
Has Martin Cole left the panel?

Mid Down Gael

With Fegan not starting i presume McComiskey will be free taker tonight. dont thing it would be fair to take Carr up from full back. i presume John Boyle and benny McArdle will rove deep to leave us with Benny, Danny, Rony and McComiskey to come up with the scores. Howard or McGovern will have their hands full with the brilliant Nial McNamee. Hope the rumours about monk cole off squad are not true. we need everyone.

Mourne Rover

It's never easy following Down, and, when Offaly got the first two scores of the second half, leaving only two points in it, there seemed to be a real prospect that we would blow it again. However, we steadied the ship, got a couple more scores, then suddenly our fitness seemed to kick in and Offaly crumbled.

We were up against modest opposition, apart from a couple of decent forwards, but in fairness to Ross and DJ, they stuck to their game plan, the players grew in confidence and the scale of the win means that our scoring difference effectively gives us an extra point. A draw in Hyde Park will probably get us promotion and, if Roscommon manage to lose to Cavan tomorrow, it is even possible that we could get beaten and still go up, but, on tonight's form, we have every chance of finishing in style.

The only bad news was the injury to McKernan, which looked like a dislocated shoulder when he had been doing well, but this was balanced by Ambrose coming off the bench and looking almost back to his best.

McVeigh made an important save early on but his kick-outs were mixed. McGovern and particularly Howard were sound in the corners and Carr improved at full back after a poor start. His penalty was pretty dreadful, and he will hopefully move out to the half back line soon. Rooney was patchy at half back, McKernan will be a loss if he is out for a few weeks or longer, and Rafferty, apart from giving the ball away a couple of times, was excellent going forward and almost got a goal as well.

Jackie actually did a reasonable job at midfield, and it was a bit of a surprise when he went off at halftime, although he was up against McManus, a great player in his day but his legs have long gone and he is only there for the frees. Kearney was very impressive, and seems to have developed into a definite option in the centre and scored a fine goal and point.

Boyle works very hard at CHF and used the ball well, although Clarke would still be a better bet there. McArdle also covered a lot of ground without causing too much damage, and Hughes improved hugely on the last home game against Cavan.

McComiskey, as we know, is a class act, although Murtagh got a goal and a couple of points without regularly looking the part. Keeping the best until last, Benny was magnificent. He scored his points early on when we needed them, and then set up both goals on a plate as well as winning possession and frees. He is also fitter than he has been for years, and, if we get any sort of a run in the summer, maybe his All Star could be in sight at last.

It was brilliant to see Ambrose charging forward again, while Fitzpatrick also made a big impact, so there is some strength in depth there, especially when Dan returns and perhaps Doyle may also feature at some stage.

With Down, you never know what is around the corner. We could win division three and head to Enniskillen in May with a fair amount of momentum behind us, or we could lose our way again and frustrate everyone. At the moment, we are in with a shout.




Trevor Hill

Can`t really disagree with anything that Mourne Rover has said. Daniel Hughes covered a lot of ground tonight and won a lot of possession out around the middle of the field. He charged forward at every opportunity and used the ball well, he was my Man of the Match. Some good performances all over the pitch. Coulter was excellent, Murtagh took his scores well. McComiskey was excellent also. Lynch can feel hard done by as he had a good first half, though Fitzpatrick had a good game and got on the end of a good move to score a point. Even the much maligned defence had a pretty good game, though they gave away a soft goal, though in fairness our second goal was almost a carbon copy.
It must be said that Offaly were quite poor, they certainly haven't improved since last summer. We will know how we stand after tomorrows games, but if we beat Roscommon we will be promoted.
Downs scorers tonight were Coulter 0-4, Hughes 0-2, McComiskey 0-5 (3 frees) Kearney 1-1, Murtagh 1-1, Fitzpatrick 0-1, Carr 0-1

Mid Down Gael

Impressive performance by Down last night. put some good moves together in second half. Benny was superb, him and Danny Hughes are our top fowards. Thought Offaly where shocking so although we got a convincing victory its nothing to get too optimistic about cause we will not have to play as poor an outfit this year again. The sooner we are out off this division the better for Down football. The standard is mediocre. Just hope we can beat Roscommon to get playing a higer standard of football next term. very hard to get excited at these division 3 games.

T O Hare

I was really impressed with Peter Fitzpatrick on Saturday, he is a great fielder and loads of energy and can take a score!!! I think he is our best prospect at under 21!!! McComiskey is a good player, but we have too many players in the same mould as him!!!! I would like to see a midfield with Dan and Pete and Ambrose playing somewhere in the half forward line.. Declan Rooney looked strong and if he can brush up in his tackling then he will give us an option in the half back line!!! Boyle was ok on Sat but i don't think he is the answer at 11 !!!! Benny, Murtagh and Danny played well together with Benny drifting in and out of the full forward line... They are the three best forwards in Down football and if they can continue clicking then we will trouble any defence!!! Fair play to Jackie on Saturday as well, i thought he had a great first half and made the second best catch of the night ;) ;)
"2008 Gaaboard Cheltenham fantasy league winner"