Down Club Hurling & Football

[Smurfy123]

Very poor performance seem to be getting worse as the year goes on
Time for change regardless of how next week goes.
Good job we have Antrim in the first round of the championship

[Square Ball]

Club games pulled next weekend. All games to be played Easter Tuesday

Where they not scheduled for then?

[OgraAnDun]

Very poor performance seem to be getting worse as the year goes on
Time for change regardless of how next week goes.
Good job we have Antrim in the first round of the championship

Antrim will probably fancy their chances.

[Targetman]

Another poor performance from Down today, beat by 9 it could have been a lot more considering Meath missed at least 3 other goal chances, barring a miracle its Div 3 next season and that's a poor reflection on Down football though its probably a fair one, while I admire any player that makes the commitment to playing county football the fact is the majority of our county footballers are not up to the standard required to compete with the top teams, not even the top teams, we're getting beat by counties where hurling is the main game, to be honest barring a couple of good results on the way to last years Ulster final its been a major disappointment under this current management, I can't see it improving!!

[snoopdog]

Yep. In fairness to Eamon it was a thankless task. He took it on when no one else wanted it. We had a decent summer last year which is rare in Down so thanks for that. But it's time to stand aside at the end of this championship campaign. Honestly we have run out of men to take over or who would want to take over.

[Mourne Rover]

This has been a hugely frustrating league season for Down as unlike 2016, when we were out of our depth in D1, and last year, when we were fairly fortunate to stay in D2, we were more than good enough to finish in at least a mid table position. However, we failed to pick up any of the points which were there for the taking in our home games against Cork and Clare and kicked ourselves out of the trip to Cavan.

Today was another bitter disappointment as, although we were ultimately well beaten, we came back strongly after allowing Meath to score goals in their first two attacks and only poor decision making prevented us from going in level at the break. We had to throw players forward in the second half and they were able to pick up turnovers and score at will.

It was the second time in three games that we had conceded a goal in the first minute, which should tell us something about our defensive set up. Reid has plenty of talent in nets, frequently placed excellent kick outs and made one blinding save. Unfortunately, he gave away at least three points by hitting the ball straight to opponents and he also gifted a score from a 45 after mishandling a shot which was going wide at a crucial stage when we were getting on top.

The rest of the defence was OK individually, with O'Hagan actually having an outstanding display until he was injured, but collectively we were full of gaps. Turley was excellent for about 50 minutes at midfield and then alarmingly ran out of steam but was left on to the final whistle while Donnelly, who did not play particularly well but is match fit, was replaced.

Johnston made no impact on the contest and should have been taken off earlier. Mooney had a couple of brilliant runs and some more awful moments as well. McKernan's black card was probably when we knew there was no way back, while Harrison was tightly marked but still manage a couple of points from a limited supply.

It is not impossible that Louth, who really hate Meath, will put up a decent show on the last day, but they are fairly unlikely to win even if we see off Tipperary who have nothing to play for. D3 beckons and it may also be dawning on Antrim that a little self belief could take them a long way when the championship comes around.

[Smurfy123]

Niall Madine and Conor Francis the latest players to have left the panel
They may go and get a few more Kilcoo lads on the panel

[crice123]

The problem with our county set up, is that there is to much politics, e.g some kilcoo players won't play because they don't like burns, ballyholland players won't play due to the treatment of joe Murphy. We need a completely neutral management team from outside the county to have the best chance of getting our best players to play

[Brick Tamlin]

Hold on a second.
Are you saying that there was more than one Ballyholland Player asked to go play for Down!!!!???

[Down4sam2020]

The way the county board have treated poacher sums it all up. Next year, our match against Carlow will be interesting...

[crice123]

I'm saying politics is severely effecting our countys performance brick

[Down4sam2020]

Why doesn’t white from ballyhaolland play , pretty sure he won best club club player in the whole county a couple of years ago.

[Ambrose]

Congratulations to the Burren team and management on winning the Malachy Murdock Tournament defeating Crossmaglen 3-13 to 2-12 in an excellent, fast paced, sporting game.
Commiserations to Crossmaglen and thanks for your continued support of our tournament in honour of Malachy.
Burren captain Gerard Mc Govern receives the Malachy Murdock trophy from Collie Campbell representing tournament sponsors Murdock Builders Merchants.

[Brick Tamlin]

The way the county board have treated poacher sums it all up. Next year, our match against Carlow will be interesting...

What exactly did the County Board do to Stephen that was so horrendous?
Enlighten us all.

[snoopdog]

Is there a man within the county that would have the respect of all the club's and players and would they make themselves available. Something needs to be done about players leaving the panel. And it's understandable why. It's a massive commitment to put in as an amateur tho get relegated to Div 3. We treated mccorry terribly and he was prob the best qualified in the county for the job. Although that Wexford defeat was hard to take in hindsight it was a typical Down result. How many times over the years do Down just not bother to turn up. Give it to someone and let them build from the ground up. What do we have to lose. Apart from the 60s we have competed for 3 years