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Laoislad, during this season, you were in division one and we were in division three. We were in the same league section in 2006 and 2007, and you hammered us, home and away, when we met. You have regularly played in big matches at Croke Park over recent years but we have not been involved in a championship game there since 1994. We hope that Down are improving, but I somehow think `poor little ol' Laois' might just turn up on Saturday night.

OM, it seems that you are right. The RTE2 seven-day listings in the Sunday papers indicated coverage between 4.40pm and 9pm, but Sky's advance tv guide says that the programme finishes at 7pm. We will probably have to settle for a radio link via the internet.

Are you sure about that, Bacon ? TV3 obviously has first choice, but the RTE2 listings pretty clearly indicate that two games are due to be covered at Saturday evening.

As I have just posted on the Laois v Down thread, RTE2  is scheduled to have qualifier coverage from 4.40pm to 9pm. This obviously means Donegal v Monaghan at 5pm and either Limerick v Kildare or - hopefully, as we are in Spain - Laois v Down at 7pm. Can anyone offer any more information ?

We are in Spain this weekend, so television coverage has suddenly become a huge issue. TV3 is already committed to the 3pm start, which is Tyrone v Westmeath. The RTE2 listings has qualifier coverage from 4.40pm to 9pm, so they must be doing Donegal V Monaghan at 5pm and either Limerick v Kildare or - hopefully - Laois v Down at 7pm. Can anyone confirm this, or offer any more information /

AZ, there is no point in patronising you and saying that your boys were unlucky. It's probably more realistic to accept that most of them were brutal on the day, and the final score could have been worse. Down repeatedly took points when goals were readily available, and it was the most one-sided county game I have ever seen.

A couple of the Offaly subs made at least some impression, including one who had apparently been on the bench for the hurlers and drove straight up from Thurles after the earlier game. However, it is a case of clearing the decks and starting all over again next year.

If it's any consolation, in our previous two games in the qualifiers, Meath at home in 2007 and Sligo away in 2006, we collapsed on each occasion and scored an overall total of two points from play across both matches. We had to regroup, and thankfully we seem to be heading in the right direction.

The Offaly fans knew the story in advance, and most of them went to Thurles or stayed in the bars. Those who made it to the ground were outnumbered roughly four to one by the Down support. People were flooding out when we scored our second goal well before half-time, and there was one guy who climbed on to the roof of his neighbouring house to watch and gave up after ten minutes.

However, the hard core stayed to the bitter end, cheered their own late goals and applauded Down off the field. They were a credit to the GAA, and everyone in the bars both before and after the game could not have been friendlier as well. You have a magnificent stand as well, but, er, that's about it in terms of positives for Offaly at the moment.

It was a memorable Down performance against admittedly limited opposition - people like Martin McHugh who claim that Down have a poor defence should take a look at Offaly. As far as I can work out, our total was the highest in the history of the qualifiers and the aggregate of both teams was also a record.

Conceding 2-10 was not great, although their two goals came at a stage when the contest was long over and the exchanges resembled a particularly polite pre-season friendly. McVeigh had no chance with either but otherwise did well. Howard again was the pick of our defence, although Cole did not really settle at full back and Murney was also fairly edgy. Things improved considerably when McArdle came on, and he must be in with a shout of starting the next day. Turley also did well, and has the size to make a difference, although I think it was also him who collided with Ambrose.

The half back line was fine, with Carr looking top quality from both play and frees. Murphy went off early, probably because of his yellow card, but McGuigan was surprisingly effective at centre half. He is quite an athlete, and used the ball impressively, but he will have to wait until he come up against a quality CHF before he can be judged in the position.

Our midfield, as Dubh Driocht, pointed out, was immense. Ambrose was in excellent form until his injury, which hopefully does not amount to much, but Dan was nothing less than majestic. His fielding was almost flawless, his shooting was great and his pace had poor McManus out on his feet after about 15 minutes. One pass in the first half, when he chipped the ball over the Offaly defence straight into the arms over a running Down forward was worth the admission alone.

McKernan, as has been suggested here before, is a natual CHF and had a fine game. Hughes was in and out, but showed his speed in flashes and took his scores well. Fegan works very hard, and gives us a good balance, but does not have much of a scoring threat.

Clarke and Murtagh was both impressive, although they were given plenty of time and space for their scores, and Benny was back to his best. I think he won every ball that came his way, and Offaly had no idea how to cope with him. Sexton deserves a mention for coming on with about two minutes left and hitting 1-1.

It is difficult to argue with a display like Saturday's, but I still feel Kearney could strengthen our attack and it will be a massive blow if McComiskey is ruled out of even a sub's role.

Everyone seems to be making us favourites against Laois, but they absolutely destroyed us in the league at Newcastle last year. We have plainly improved significantly since then, and the second round will be a good test for us.   

 

Regular readers please note that the Rovermobile is now leaving for Tullamore. No further posts will be possible until we return, which may be some time.

Corn02, Cole is by some distance the best defender in the Down squad but he is a specialist corner back who is also a useful wing half. He can play at full back, but he does not look particularly comfortable there. While I would have been inclined to keep McCartan at no 3, and played Cole instead of Rafferty in the corner, I'm sure Ross had a good look at the tapes of Offaly before picking the team. However, a couple of changes before the throw-in would be no real surprise.

This is a big game for Down, as, if we win, it will be viewed as a season of progress regardless of what happens in the rest of the qualifiers. If we slip up against a division four side, coming after a fairly flat display against Armagh, questions will be asked. This is precisely the kind of fixture we have messed up since the start of the back door in 2001. However, if Dan the man does what he has been doing at midfield, we are capable of coming through.

The simple fact that Down do not have a natual, experienced, fullback on our present squad, and so we have to mix and match. Dan McCartan lacks height, as we all know, but his efforts against Sean Cavanagh at the Marshes were little short of heroic. Cavanagh was able to win possession, and kick a couple of points, but McCartan prevented him from either scoring or setting up the goal which would have cost us a fully deserved win on the night.

It is generally accepted that Ronan Clarke is the best full forward in Ireland at the moment, and McCartan, while he gave everything for the team, could not cope with him. There was no shame in that, and the vast majority of full backs across the country would be in a similar position with Clarke.

No one is suggesting that McCartan is all-star material, but total commitment and determination can take a player a long way. He would be in my squad every time on this year's form. Whether he starts is a judgment call for the management, but he has displayed beyond doubt that he is capable of playing at inter-county level.

The Down team will have surprised a few people, including me. The big talking point is the return of Fegan, who did reasonably well in the league but seemed to freeze on his championship debut in Omagh and was gone by half-time. He works hard and has no difficulty in dropping back to defend, but it is hard to understand what more Kearney has to do for a starting spot. He has pace, strength and can take a score from play. Fegan must have been selected for his free-taking ability, which is excellent, although he is right-sided like Carr, and it looks as though Colgan will take the kicks on the other side.

Our half-forward line looks good on paper, but will hardly line up that way. Murtagh is very fortunate to hold his place, as he was pretty dreadful in the second half against Armagh. It is possible that there will be a late switch or two up front, which could involve either Sexton or Kearney.

Cole was obviously going to come straight back in the defence, but the expectation was that it would be for Rafferty, who is a decent player, but struggled from start to finish against Armagh. McCartan gave everything against probably the best full forward in the country, and probably deserved another chance. McKernan looks more of a natural centre forward than a centre half, but a good player can fit in anywhere.

Offaly will know that they were very ordinary against Westmeath, which was fully six weeks ago. We were also poor against Armagh, and both teams have a dismal record in the qualifiers, so it is a hard one to call.

The main stand at Tullamore runs the full length of the pitch and apparently has a 7,000 capacity. Does any know if there are tickets, or if it is first come first served ?

Restraint, yes - respect, you must be joking. Sullen silence is the best Mangan can expect from the visiting support. On a separate matter, the Irish Indo said today that Offaly were hoping to get the football throw-in brought forward to 2pm because of their hurling QF at 5pm. I have every sympathy for them, but I would assume it is simply too late for a change. Is there any word from Croke Park ?

The only other Down/Offaly snippet I can offer is about the 1981 game. It must hold the record for the longest wait for the first score during any senior match in the All Ireland series. Both sides were fairly inexperienced at that level, and the nerves got to them in a big way. My recollection is that more than 15 minutes had been played with no score when Down were awarded a penalty. Ambrose was brought down in the box, although he probably should still have scored anyway, and Brendy McGovern had to take the kick. He hit it well enough, but Martin Furlong made a fine save. Offaly got the first point a couple of minutes later, from a Matt Connor free I think, when almost 20 minutes must have gone. The score steadied Offaly,and they settled into the game and won pretty easily in the end.

What might be of more pressing concern for Saturday in the referee. It is our old friend Aidan Mangan, the guy who practically single-handedly cost us an Ulster title in 2003. Down fans will not need to be reminded that he wrongly sent off Gregory McCartan before half time, when Brian McGuigan should have been red-carded instead. We had to play the entire second  half on the hottest day of the year with 14 men, and he still managed to give Tyrone a dodgy penalty and frees every time Canavan got the ball. It was a draw which felt like a defeat, and, with Gregory still suspended, we were duly hammered in the replay. Mangan is unlikely to get a friendly reception from the Down support in Tullamore.

DownFanatic, any more word on McComiskey ?

The McComiskey injury, assuming it is confirmed, would be a hammer blow on the scale of Doyle's loss. The big hope was that McComiskey would deliver as a scoring forward in partnership with Benny this summer. Unfortunately, the rest of our forwards have managed embarrassingly poor returns in the three championship games so far. We might just get out of Tullamore, but it is very difficult to see us going much further in the qualifiers without McComiskey. He is also a fine free-taker, as is Doyle, so our options there have become limited as well. There is a good case for bringing back Walsh on the bench at least. His form has been patchy at best over the last couple of seasons,and he could not complaint about being dropped, but, on a good day, he can take a couple of scores and set up a few more. He is also decent with frees, and would have a lot of prove, so we would have little to lose by a recall.