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First time in a long time I thought we competed well in midfield. Donnelly and Turley deserve praise for that and hope Donnelly's injury not too bad. Only criticism of him was that a few times he carried the ball well but then took an extra solo when he should have released it and then got caught in possession. This will come and hope he's fit for Monaghan/Cavan. Really impressed with our bench too who I thought all did well. Competition for places now for the 24th with McParland, Mckibbin, McAleenan, Carr, Poland, Murphy, Barry O'Hagen and Donal O'Hare pushing for spots. Can only be a good thing.

Div 1- Kilcoo, Burren up at top again. Castlewellan always good league team and fancy Mayobridge to have good year. Probably looking at a battle at the bottom between Downpatrick, An Riocht and Longstone.

Div 2- Between Rostrevor and Saval for me. Loughinisland there or thereabouts and Annaclone be up there I believe. Drumaness and Shamrocks to go down. Good quality Division 2 this year!

Div3- Tullylish and Clann Na Banna too good for the division and think they will run away with it.

Dan Gordon and Niall McParland would be the dream. Two big, mobile fellas who can play.

Didn't think it could get worse after last Saturday against Fermanagh but at half time of yesterday's game it was certainly a new low. Picked up in second half although not sure whether it was due to us or the fact Clare flooded their bench and played the last 35 in 4th gear. Really unsure why the likes of Ryan Johnstone, Kevin McKernan, Darragh O'Hanlon didn't start the game. Even more unsure why someone like Mark Poland didn't travel with the squad unless there was an injury involved of course. I like both Aidan Carr and Flynn, they work hard and are good honest footballers who give it all but it's clear to see midfield is not their positions and they would both be better suited in half back or half forward lines.
Has to be the end of the road for Burns although no point wishing for any coach of any note. Hate to say it, and even though they aren't going great guns at the minute themselves, I am not looking forward to Armagh in the marshes at this rate.

Wasn't a great spectacle but have to take it into context that it was our first 'competitive' game of the year and it's early January. Davidson and Magee both did well and took their chance. Barry O'Hagen also looked sharp. Also though McAleenan had a decent game at corner back. McKeever looked good for Queens but none of their other Down players stood out. Decent win to build on before the league.

Good to see a few new faces involved. Looking forward to seeing how big Cathal Magee gets on. Any idea if many Down boys involved with the universities?

Castlewellan v Clonduff and Burren v Mayobridge definitely the pick. Agree that if the Johnstons return, Kilcoo are favourites again.

In the intermediate, An Riocht surely favourites although Liatroim seem to be resurgent under the new manager.

Can any folk explain the setup this year in terms of automatic promotion/relagation from all the divisions this year and if there'll be any promotion/relegation playoffs?

I don't think James' selection policy can be criticised to be honest. The reality is Burren are the best minor club team in the county and Carryduff are the only team close to them. Therefore, it makes sense that a good bulk of the team are made up from there. Having players from Saul, Darragh Cross and Bright on the pitch tonight showed that James surely cast his eye over a wide range of footballers in order to pick what he thought was the best panel for this year. And who are we to argue with a man of James McCartan's knowledge when it comes to football. From travelling down to the match tonight, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the young lads. I understand the reasoning behind the match being on tonight but a big part of playing minor county championship football is being able to play in front of a bumper crowd before the seniors come on. This group will never get to experience that unfortunately.

Some strange results in Div 1 tonight

Burren bear castlewellan by a goal also

Massive result for Bredagh that there. They play an extremely defensive system which isn't pretty on the eye but It was sure effective tonight. Players are well drilled into playing the system. Loughinislands forwards all completely stifled, think maybe only scored 2/3 points in the whole second half. Two other upsets as well in the other two games tonight, Division 2 seems to be impossible to call.

Not a contradiction in the slightest. I would still say St. John's are one of the favourites for relegation. However on their given day, I don't believe it's a massive surprise that they beat Tullylish at home. The real test comes for them in maintaining that sort of consistency throughout a long season with such a small panel but good luck to them!

Wouldn't say St. John's beating tullylish at home is a strange result but the margin of victory (15 points) is surprising. Division 2 seems like it is going to be a topsy turvy league this year. Loughinisland and An Riocht will be delighted with their starts. Downpatrick having 3 points from their opening 4 games must be a worry for them, I would have had them down for one of the favourites for promotion at the start! Excellent result for the town tonight against Bryansford!

I see An riocht have 3 wins from their opening 3 games in Division 2. Anyone know how big a role Martin Clarke is having with them?