Down v Armagh - Newry - 20 March 2010

[Pearse og]

Of all them examples you have so brilliantly listed could you honestly say any of them have a reputation as dirty players who use under hand tactics when the going gets tough?

James McCartan admitted to deliberately assaulting the Westmeath player, and looking at any of those incidents that I listed it is hard to say that none of them were deliberate. And as a matter of fact in each of the incidents that I listed, with the exception of the Westmeath game, Down or Mayobridge were losing, so the going was tough.

[fan01]

 
I wish the Down supporters would put the Ciaran Mc Keever scenario to bed
as it's getting beyond the point of ridiculous now, bordering on slander with
some of the posts that are on this thread.

The Down supporters need to realise that this was only a 2nd division league game, (U's have'n won anything yet)
and stop getting carried away with their first win over Armagh since 1995 (in the last century  )
Anyone would think they won the All Ireland...... 

Good Luck to Down in the rest of their League Campaign

[dodgy umpire]

Hope it's a Down Armagh Div 2 final and we can put this nonsense to rest

[armaghniac]

Hope it's a Down Armagh Div 2 final and we can put this nonsense to rest

Be careful what you wish for.

[western exile]

Hope it's a Down Armagh Div 2 final and we can put this nonsense to rest

That would be great.  I think you are right, that is what is needed.  But do you think Armagh are capable of getting 4 points from Tipperary and Donegal, to make it to the final?

[dodgy umpire]

Hope it's a Down Armagh Div 2 final and we can put this nonsense to rest

That would be great.  I think you are right, that is what is needed.  But do you think Armagh are capable of getting 4 points from Tipperary and Donegal, to make it to the final?

They are capable but i am not sure that they will. Tipperary should put up a strong challenge and i'd expect armagh to win by a narrow margin, but for me the Donegal game is a toss up.

Hope it's a Down Armagh Div 2 final and we can put this nonsense to rest

Be careful what you wish for.

There is no doubt in my mind that Down are the better team and would beat Armagh should they meet in the final. While it could be argued that Armagh would be better prepared to deal with Down should they meet, I believe that Down would go into the game confident and with the knowlege that they can beat Armagh (and by a big margin too), a feeling that none of these players will have had before. Were the game to be tight say in the 60th minute, this new belief would allow them to push on and secure victory. Then again, we may have finished the game off after 8 minutes anyway 

[illdecide]

Seriously can't believe you lot are still rambling on about McKeever...WTF. Look i wasn't impressed with the waving to the crowd but hey it's done and dusted...get over it. As for the tackles and hitting, it's mans game FFS. You give it out and you take it back and get on with the game. Both McCartan and Clarke admitted that McKeever did not cause the injury so drop it, he may well have tested the old injury to see how it was healing but hey I'd do the same myself.

Armagh were well beat by Down and no-one could say any different but to think that Down are now so much better than Armagh now means you guys are away with the Fairy's. I can guarantee you Armagh will be a different team the next time they meet and i hope it's real soon as the match i seen last week showed Armagh coming back into the game until they got a man sent off (this can work in you're favour or go against you big time and Down used their extra man to perfection). With 15 men on the field and a better performance from the line (Paddy) i reckon there is nothing between the two sides and it will certainly not be a stroll in the park for Down like it was last Sat night.

[Applesisapples]

Are all those Down Fans outraged at Ciaran McKeevers activities similarly outraged at the assault by Down's number 12 on Finnian Moriarty clearly shown on Setanta and commented on by the summariser? Which the linesman got seriously wrong. This actually was the turning point of the game as Armagh  failed to cope against 15 men, and the management team made serious errors with their substitutions, whilst McCartan used his spare man very effectively.

As for Paddy O'Rourke as an Armagh man I've no difficulty with his graciousness in defeat, what else could he have said? Reality check required here, nothing is won in March, both these teams are in transition and neither set of supporters should get carried away either with unrealistic expectations or unnecessary gloom.

In answer to your question, No, Stephen Kearney didn't stand over his injured opponent while he lay on the ground getting treatment & then when the said opponent got to his feet, hit him with a cheap shot.

(btw I think this was discussed about 4 days ago on this very thread, but like the Armagh team on Saturday night you aren't that quick of the mark)

May have been discussed before, but you guys couldn't let it go now could you? I was just pointing out that old parable about the logs in your own eye!!!

[mackers]

God man Pearse Og! Do you want to try & go back even further in time? Pherhaps the 80's? 70's?
The matter at hand here is that on Saturday evening Ciaran McKeever not only let himself down but also his County.
Of all them examples you have so brilliantly listed could you honestly say any of them have a reputation as dirty players who use under hand tactics when the going gets tough?
Ciaran McKeever has the reputation because he has stooped to these levels in the past & no doubt he will do the same in the future when he is getting the run around. 

Simple facts are he couldnt handle Marty Clarke & had to try every dirty tactic he could to bring Clarke down to his level.
If he thought he could have handled him on a footballing basis he wouldve down that & shown everyone what a terrific & undoubtedly talented defender he is. But he chose to go down the route he did simply because Marty was getting the better of him
For God sake even your ex players are coming out & saying your players seemed more intent in the physical side than the winning!!

This line has been used a few times, did I miss something....did he score 1-5 off him or something?? Yes, he hit a few good passes but he didn't run rings round him or anything, my gripe would be that McKeever would do a better job if he concentrated on his footballing job. Down posters should know that Ciaran didn't do what he did because he was afraid of Clarke, after all he has showed his man marking capabilities umpteen times up to this point.

I'd love another crack at Down, illdecide is right in what he has posted. Ye got a great start and played some super football (remembering that the goal was gifted to you). We had an equally dominant period outscoring ye 1.4 to 0.1 and then Sludden robbed us of the opportunity of an excellent tussle with the sending off. Our management compounded matters by taking off two scoring forwards and leaving the Down defence the easy job of double teaming Stevie.  If Down posters want to believe the 6/7 point winning margin reflects the difference between the teams, work away and we'll (hopefully) see ye later in the year.