Down v Armagh - Newry - 20 March 2010

[Skiddybadoo]

Never before can I remember such an air of excitement or anticipation before a Down v. Armagh NFL game in the tail end of winter. It is only for 2 Division II points after all. Yet it is all ticket! There was less excitement when they last met in Divison I.
What is in the air?

He has won it all and could be considered unlucky not to have won an Ulster title as manager in 2003, regardless of tomorrows result every one of us will wish Paddy well. Unlike a certain poster from Armagh we bear no mailice to any of our "exiles" no matter where they may be.

Trev, your surname's no misnomer - obviously derives from the moral high ground.

[Mourne Rover]

Trevor, I agree that we are on an upward curve, but tomorrow's game is a toss-up. Armagh lost their first game away to Meath by a point, after conceding two bad goals, and have since won three on the bounce. The reason that we have not beaten them in the league or championship for 15 years is that they have had stronger squads, which were fully focused and well managed. That does not change overnight, and their defence has a much more settled and experienced look than our own.

Having said that, we are in excellent shape and will be full of confidence after edging home in Donegal. You are right to highlight Kallum King as an unsung hero, and it was striking how quickly our midfield declined when he went off at HT against Tipperary.  He is very strong, gets big tackles in and gives Ambrose the space to play, but he still needs to work on his pace and his overall fitness. If he continues to improve, James might have quite a problem when Dan returns. 


However, there is no way today's Armagh can be compared to Down in 1999. We were made up then of key players who were approaching the end of the line and some youngsters who did sadly did not make the grade. If Brian Burns had not had a stormer at midfield, it could have been even worse for us in the Ulster final.

McDonnell is the only current Armagh player around the 30 mark, but is still their top scorer,  and they have a hard core of others who have already impressed at county and college level. Tomorrow is a huge match, but both teams will  be in with a decent shout of promotion regardless of the result.

[norabeag]

Nora, quality wise,the football might have been bad in 1991, but it was by no means a damp squib. It was keenly  contested, hard fought with the outcome in the melting pot right to the very end.

A damp squib is where both teams simply go through the motions or, contrary to expectations, one side romps to an easy victory

Sorry for having an opinion

[down6061689194]

At the end of the day, Down have the same number of All Irelands as Cavan and one more than Wexford, and none of the three have been on the radar for years, apart from Wexford who made an appearance in the semi final in 2008..

15 years maybe, in fairness that's a long way off 117 years of hurt, depression, and slow sales of silver polish in Armagh City.

[Trevor Hill]

15 years maybe, in fairness that's a long way off 117 years of hurt, depression, and slow sales of silver polish in Armagh City.

 

Ive said it before and I`ll say it after we beat them tomorrow night, Armagh have only won one All Ireland, no letter writing campaign to the Bele Tele will ever change that. Is it any wonder POG is such a miserable sod. One miserable, solitary All Ireland.

[Pearse og]

Alot of people are talking about who from Armagh is going to mark Marty Clarke but I am very confident that  Ciaran McKeever will keep him quiet and McKeever is a beast of a man and should match Clarke physically.

On the other hand none of Down's backs are good enough to mark Steven McDonnell, who has had a field day v Down every time he has played them.

[TacadoirArdMhacha]

Far too much is being made of this match. I suppose its understandable given the management situation and the fact that both sides have had a few wins but I don't think you could describe this as a pivotal match for either side, bar the fact that its a local derby. Both teams look like they might be amongst the best in a poor enough division 2, both are trying to build sides with Down coming from a considerably lower base.

I'd be hopeful Armagh could win, if Ronan Clarke was playing and fully fit I'd be fairly confident we would. I don't think Down are anything like as good as their supporters / media seem to think but no doubt they're closer to us now than they had been for over a decade. But if Armagh were to lose I won't be panicking too much, to be honest O'Rourke's side have exceeded my expectations so far. The real tests for both sides will come later in the Summer.

[ziggysego]

Some cracking posts in here for the rest of us. Particularly liked the swamp donkey and the happy motherfuckers day.

Armagh by two.

Down by three.

[Farrandeelin]

Tony, Wexford have 5 football AIs.

[Aghdavoyle]

Never before can I remember such an air of excitement or anticipation before a Down v. Armagh NFL game in the tail end of winter. It is only for 2 Division II points after all. Yet it is all ticket! There was less excitement when they last met in Divison I.
What is in the air?

For me its the changing of the guard.

FFS not another one. I thought the 2008 ulster semi was the changing of that guard?

[Trevor Hill]

Some cracking posts in here for the rest of us. Particularly liked the swamp donkey and the happy motherfuckers day.

Armagh by two.

Down by three.

Down by five. 

[Armaghtothebone]

Anyone know if the tickets for the stand are for allocated seats?

[Mourne Rover]

Every seat has a section, a row and an individual number. A terracing ticket allows you to stand where you like on the other three sides.

[Tyrone Dreamer]

Looking forward to watching this on Setanta tomorrow night. Down will find it tough to break down the Armagh defence. Without Clarke Down have a good chance of limiting Armagh's scores to. Think it will be a good competitive game with little between them. Will be good to get a chance to see Clarke playing to.

I notice as it gets closer there's less talk from TH and Fearon of a fight. Are they both running scared? I think it's off. If they meet there'll be handshakes and smiles.

[under the bar]

I notice as it gets closer there's less talk from TH and Fearon of a fight. Are they both running scared? I think it's off. If they meet there'll be handshakes and smiles.

I'd be very diappointed if TH doesnt at least physically threaten Fearon with a hotdog before being placated with the offer of a weekend for 2 in the Cosy Corner guest house in Larne that TF won in a some competition in the Newsletter.