Down v Meath official thread

[Hardy]

Agorm – I suppose Fermanagh at home has to be seen as a good draw, but I didn't want to draw them at all. We thought the same the last two times we drew them and it ended in tears. It would be great to break the Fermanagh hoodoo (imagine if you'd suggested to anyone in, say 1999, that someday soon Meath would have a Fermanagh hoodoo!), but I have a bad feeling about it. I'd much rather have had Mayo or nearly anyone else in Navan. But if our team is going anywhere, we have to win this one and if we don't, we'll know something.

I hope to be there this time, anyway. Or maybe I should stay away. Maybe I'm the hoodoo.

[Class of 99]

In Response to the Spirit of 91 94 comments on Scullion with that ball in the first half, you mustnt have looked back into the sun which would have took the eyes out of anyones head. Not making too many excuses for him but unless he was wearing Mr Ban's latest unheard of glasses he had no option but to punch on that one.

[corn02]

You could prbably have wanted Down to win?

[corn02]

Why the bitterness my friend. If it was not for the fact I love the Meath team I would not have been too dissapointed if you had won last night.

I would still rather have this Armagh team than the Down team, the gulf in class still exists at present.

[corn02]

Lets forget the past, If you had to choose one squad now who would you choose?

[Jinxy]

Why the bitterness my friend. If it was not for the fact I love the Meath team I would not have been too dissapointed if you had won last night.

I would still rather have this Armagh team than the Down team, the gulf in class still exists at present.

Good man yourself!





Why? (Just as a matter of interest!)

[corn02]

I do indeed Jinxy and I will be supporting you all the way now that ourselves are out.

[corn02]

Just saw the highlights again on RTE, looked like Benny should have had the penalty.

[down22]

Am still too depressed about the whole thing to add my thoughts on the game. Other than that Down were awful. Truly awful.

[Leo]

Criticsm of the Down support is well out of line. The last 3 games at Newry have shown a huge turn out of fans for a hugely poor team, especially the 20 -30 age group of supporters all wearing (expensive) Down gear, lodly supporting the team. That they take another demoralising display in good sporting spirit should not be seen as a sign of disinterest.

I thought I wouldnt feel worse than after Sligo last year. WRONG! Meath are a poor team - Down were clueless, shapeless, lifeless, and clearly leaderless. Not a single breaking ball won in front of our  midfield. That doesnt require tactics - it requires a decent half forwad - but then John Clarke was playing at fulll back!

I saw the team arriving all kitted out, separate kit van, physios and attendants to beat the band. All smoke and mirrors my friends - no substance at all. Shambles all round.

I agree that we need to take the league seriously next year - how about setting the target of actually winning at least ONE game?

[Jinxy]

Criticsm of the Down support is well out of line. The last 3 games at Newry have shown a huge turn out of fans for a hugely poor team, especially the 20 -30 age group of supporters all wearing (expensive) Down gear, lodly supporting the team. That they take another demoralising display in good sporting spirit should not be seen as a sign of disinterest.

I thought I wouldnt feel worse than after Sligo last year. WRONG! Meath are a poor team - Down were clueless, shapeless, lifeless, and clearly leaderless. Not a single breaking ball won in front of our  midfield. That doesnt require tactics - it requires a decent half forwad - but then John Clarke was playing at fulll back!

I saw the team arriving all kitted out, separate kit van, physios and attendants to beat the band. All smoke and mirrors my friends - no substance at all. Shambles all round.

I agree that we need to take the league seriously next year - how about setting the target of actually winning at least ONE game?

Some of the Kildare fans were saying this as well after we hockeyed them in the first match in Leinster. We can only beat whats put in front of us.

[downredblack]

Firstly congrats to Meath . I hope ye have a good run . Secondly fair play to the Meath supporters great turn out and not afraid to support their team . I have noticed that  Down teams 9 times out of 10 will take the field to a mild round of appluase where as opposition teams will be cheered on . I know us supporters have had the confidence knocked out of us for long enough but I just thought the whole thing on Saturday was flat , from the supporters right through every player and the management team the whole heap . I'm not critisisingt he lads who travel up and down the country supporting Down but we as supporters need to lift these boys as their own self belief is so low .
Ross and DJ , who would want their job ? They quite simply don't have the players at their disposal , simple as . We might have a handful of inter county players but not the 15 required plus subs . Ross made it plain he had no confidence in alot of our panel members . Someone asked was POR scapegoated for our poor performances and the answer to that has to be yes . He managed to turn an ordinary bunch of players into a Div 1 team but they were found out in the Championship as ordinary teams always are .
Our much talked about defence ? We thought Ross and DJ were going to start here but unfortunately no progress was made in this area and until it is we are going nowhere . Every possible variation of the same 8 -10 players has been tried and failed in this area over the last number of years so maybe its time for a clear  out  ? Things cant get much worse .
Positives , really hard to find any . Liam Doyle on the way back hopefully to take control of the number 6 shirt  and give us some leadership in this area . Big Dan and Ambrose are a Mid field pair we could build something around . We have talented forwards who on their day are as good as most (obviously Saturday was not their day ) .
Better days ahead , sure they just have to come . We are Down!!

[Hound]

We can only beat whats put in front of us.

Not all the time Jinxy  

Fair play to Meath, I thought they'd have too much for Down.

Decent draw next round too. Not easy but very winnable. Be nice to put a bogeyteam away too - this Meath team is probably a bit stronger than the previous ones that lost to Fermanagh, and Fermanagh perhaps not quite as good.

[Jinxy]

I'll rephrase that so Hound. "We can only beat whats put in front of us, provided the referee doesn't disallow a perfectly good goal and award an opposition goal despite a blatant square ball."

[goldenyears]

Don't blame Ross: Down just aren't good enough 

Bank of Ireland All-Ireland SFC Qualifying round one: Down 0-8 Meath 1-10 
From Brendan Crossan at Pairc Esler, Newry 


THEY don't make them like they used to in Down. As the sun sloped behind the Mourne mountains on Saturday evening, another worrying post-mortem was about to be conducted.

You could of course blame the manager. But you'd be wrong. Alternatively, you could cut through all the parochial bias and concede one painfully glaring fact: Down just don't have the players. They don't possess enough leaders or enough quality defenders to make a fist of Ulster or the back door system.

There were five points in it at the end, which was just about right. The home side could shout about Benny Coulter's first half penalty claim or Aidan Carr and Ronan Sexton's late goal chances, but Down would be clutching at straws. Meath were deserved winners on Saturday night, but they didn't even have to be at their best.

Ross Carr's side might still have been in with a chance of winning at half-time – they trailed by 1-4 to 0-4 – but by the 56th minute the visitors had stretched their lead to 1-9 to 0-5. It may have been only a seven-point margin, but Down didn't look capable of closing the gap.

Benny Coulter had been dispatched at left half-forward in a bid to get the Mayobridge attacker more involved, while Stephen Kearney and James McGovern formed a new-look, but woefully ineffective, inside forward line.


The early signs looked good for Down, though, when Coulter opened the scoring after two minutes, but it proved to be his side's only score from play in the entire game.

The Mournemen had to rely on Aidan Carr's right foot from placed balls for the remainder of their scores. Coulter's influence waned after a bright start and he was later pushed up on to the edge of the square in an effort to steal a goal.

In 1999, he was the county's bright young hope. Eight years on from winning an All-Ireland minor title, Coulter's inter-county career has been punctuated by disappointment. The years must pass by like minutes for Down's talisman.

Dan Gordon, John Clarke and Ronan Murtagh kept trying to the bitter end for Down in what was an awful team display. And yet, Meath were far from impressive.

The Royal County's regular centre-back and captain Anthony Moyles was pushed into midfield and pinched three points from play. In the 11th minute, he swept the ball over the bar with the outside of his boot for his first point and two minutes later 19-year-old debutant Shane O'Rourke fed the unmarked Peadar Byrne and the impressive half-forward fired the ball into the corner of Down's net.

Before this, forwards Stephen Bray and Brian Farrell were far from impressive, but their confidence grew when they realised just how liberal the Down defence could be.

Meath hit four unanswered points between the 43rd and 56th minutes through O'Rourke, Moyles, Niall McLoughlin and Bray that left the scores 1-9 to 0-5. Thereafter, the game was over as a contest.

No matter how many tweaks and changes Ross Carr made, the Down players didn't seem to believe that they would turn this game around. Ross and DJ have a long, hard road ahead of them.



match stats

Down: B McVeigh; J Clarke, D Rooney, A Scullion; R Murtagh, B Grant, M Cole; D Gordon, J Lynch; J McGovern, A Carr (0-7, all frees), R Sexton: M Walsh, S Kearney, B Coulter (0-1) Subs: K McGuigan for B Grant (32), P Murphy for M Cole (32), A Rodgers for S Kearney (47), P McComiskey for M Walsh (55)

Meath: B Murphy; E Harrington, D Fay, N McKeigue; S Kenny, A Moyles (0-3), C King; M Ward, N Crawford; J Donegan, K Reilly, P Byrne(1-0); S Bray (0-3), S O'Rourke (0-1), B Farrell (0-2, 2 frees) Subs: N McLoughlin (0-1) for J Donegan (28), C McCarthy for N Crawford (58)

Referee: P McGovern (Galway)