Tyrone v Down USFC Semi Final Sat 19th June

[orangeman]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

[Any craic]

Danny on the 'ball' - http://ulster.gaa.ie///
Former manager gives his take on Tyrone v Down

[sandwiches_in_the_boot]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

Think it was closer to 20,000. But nowhere near the 30,000 the Irish News story laughably predicted.

[dodgy umpire]

In fairness I only saw him do it, not a swipe at him if others did it too, there is pride in wearing the Down jersey and I dont like it being given away at the end of a match. A small gripe yes, but im in poor form anyway after today

[020304 Tir Eoghain]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

Think it was closer to 20,000. But nowhere near the 30,000 the Irish News story laughably predicted.

Still not bad for a Saturday evening throw in.

[orangeman]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

Think it was closer to 20,000. But nowhere near the 30,000 the Irish News story laughably predicted.

Micheal O'Muirchertaigh gave out this figure on the radio earlier.


As you say a good enough attendance.

Croke park is hardly going to be filled for the Ulster final ??   

[OverThePostsAWide]

I can't understand how Down only made 3 subs and how 2 of them were made so late on. Surely that's poor from a management point of view, given what was happening? Or do Down just not have any options?

Thought that too Maguire. There was a serious failure in management. There should have been 5 subs used. Dan Gordon was dreadful in the second half. He couldn't judge the high ball at all - I think Penrose out caught him once. How did he stay on?

Down tactics in the second half were all wrong. They were playing with the wind and were behind and had at most 2 men up beyond the 45 most of the time and sometimes only 1.  McComiskey did well but he was practically on the sdieline 40m out with nowhere to go when he won his ball. Maybe they were trying to simulate 13-a-side to humour Benny?

Meanwhile at the other end there were 2 or 3 spare down men running about aimlessly while the Tyrone forwards scooped up 30m passes under no pressure 

Why was John Clarke not tried? Was there nobody else?

And what was the craic with 45's? Missing 3 in a county match is criminal. Even a lower league club side would have a plan B. 

McCartan, McIvor and Tally were found wanting today, moreso than the players on the field even perhaps.

[Maguire01]

Croke park is hardly going to be filled for the Ulster final ??   

It won't be anwhere near Croker. That was only ever a possibility for an Armagh v Down final in my opinion.

[In the Onion Bag]

Sandwiches. That for that vid, it lifted my drooping spirits.

Shame is Down now need to follow the strategic tactics of boring football that the modern game has become because Down's style of free flowing game no longer works at inter county level.

I think Wee James is taking us there bit by bit but it will take a few seasons yet as it doesn't come naturally to us.

[020304 Tir Eoghain]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

Think it was closer to 20,000. But nowhere near the 30,000 the Irish News story laughably predicted.

Micheal O'Muirchertaigh gave out this figure on the radio earlier.


As you say a good enough attendance.

Croke park is hardly going to be filled for the Ulster final ??   

Play her at the Washingbay!

[sandwiches_in_the_boot]

Did they call out the attendance today? What was it?

15,000 I hear.

Think it was closer to 20,000. But nowhere near the 30,000 the Irish News story laughably predicted.

Micheal O'Muirchertaigh gave out this figure on the radio earlier.


As you say a good enough attendance.

Croke park is hardly going to be filled for the Ulster final ??   

Play her at the Washingbay!

Player at Aghaloo, £125 a ticket.

[OverThePostsAWide]

Turning point. http://www.youtube.com/user/UlsterGAA//
Big Pascal proved his worth, as he did when he came in at the last minute in the 2008 AIF and saved late on.

To be fair, he shot it straight at him - the keeper had nothing much to do.

Don't agree Maguire. I was in line with the shot and I thought McConnell got an outstretched (diving) hand to it. It was a very good save.
His first half save looked like a classic (good) goalkeeper's block where he instinctively closed the forward down.

[thewobbler]

Some good but a lot of bad for Down today.

The full-back line was the real positive. Rafferty had his best Championship outing yet and probably still has blond hairs in his pocket. McArdle showed a bit of class and a bit of intelligence that has been so often lacking in our converted full-backs of recent years. Rooney had a decent game.

Beyond them, only Maginn threw in good solid hour.

The whole lot were excellent for those first 15 minutes, but there was a serious lack of character thereafter. King and Rogers blew up badly. Gordon was off the pace and ponderous. Clarke was miles off it, and for the first time watching him, he appeared confused by his role, and too frantic to force play when he did get involved. Ditto Coulter, except we've seen it before. Colgan disappeared. McKernan was shocking and Garvey had too much edge.

For me, McVeigh had an absolute stinker with his kickouts. It was so reminiscent of his predecessor and namesake (a keeper who I had so much time for) in that his answer to getting cleaned out by kicking the ball up the middle was to try kicking it longer up the middle. We had a height advantage in most areas of the field, had an athletic team, and were calling out for variation. I imagine though the statistics in the Irish News on Monday about our kickout retention will be horrifiic.

I did kind of feel sorry for our forwards in the second half. Midfield was destroyed which meant we never put back-to-back possession together, and when we did it almost invariably ended with a hoke rather than a pass. Maybe they weren't running the right lines, but I don't think so - instead I think it was a case of the midfield and half-backs trying to play Hollywood football.

Which, given the ease at which we opened Tyrone up in the first quarter with simple fist passes and short kickpasses, it is quite staggering that we reverted to this sort of game.

Management aren't getting off with the blame. Pete Fitzpatrick is not a better answer than King with first phase possession, and that's where the game was lost. Jason Brown simply had no entitlement to come onto the field ahead of fellas who worked their bollocks off through the league campaign -  especially when we were crying out for full-forward ball-winners. And quite why they allowed McVeigh to continually kick long, and their attacking ploy to consist of booting the ball in aimlessly, is beyond me. Lastly, the constant roundabout going on between the forward line (plus Gordon) was bizarre. It's one thing to keep the opposition, but it's another when your players don't know if, why, how long and when they'll be in a certain position.


As for Tyrone, congratulations on another victory where experience, intelligence and no small amount of graft where the determining factors.

Packie McConnell was outstanding today, both for his saves and his kickouts. Justin Mc once again proved that full-back isn't that difficult if you're a natural. Peter Harte showed energy and commonsense throughout. Hub and Cavanagh both gave up playing football and just did the dirty work required, and then some. Penrose was outstanding, and never put a foot wrong. Dooher was given largely a free role, and he punished Down for it. Cavanagh, as usual, did enough for most other players to win a man of the match award. Special praise though for Brian McGuigan. Before he arrived, Tyrone were aimless and unsure. Almost by virtue of his presence, they seemed to all understand their roles again. They were no longer hurried, but precise. And credit to Micky Harte too. When O'Neill went off, he made the big switch, and didn't f**k around with it.

[bennydorano]

Sandwiches. That for that vid, it lifted my drooping spirits.

Shame is Down now need to follow the strategic tactics of boring football that the modern game has become because Down's style of free flowing game no longer works at inter county level.

I think Wee James is taking us there bit by bit but it will take a few seasons yet as it doesn't come naturally to us.

Playing football brought Down dividends, retreating into the 'modern game' made them look woeful.  The 2nd half was painful to watch after proably the best first half of football this championship. 

[OverThePostsAWide]

For me, McVeigh had an absolute stinker with his kickouts. It was so reminiscent of his predecessor and namesake (a keeper who I had so much time for) in that his answer to getting cleaned out by kicking the ball up the middle was to try kicking it longer up the middle. We had a height advantage in most areas of the field, had an athletic team, and were calling out for variation. I imagine though the statistics in the Irish News on Monday about our kickout retention will be horrifiic.

A bit harsh Wobbler. He didn't kick any howlers directly to the other team unopposed (unlike Packie at the other end - that's the risk of trying to pin-point a kick over 65m). The ball was in the air long enough for Down men to get under them and they mostly did. Down's main failure was in winning break ball which a goalkeeper can't really influence.

I thought there was (some) variation. But most of all, there was little movement from Down - contrast Tyrone, when their kickouts looked like one of those American Football moves where everybody runs everywhere!

It's the easiest thing in the world to blame the kickouts when midfield aren't winning ball they should!