Messages

As we are the first Ulster team out of the Championship, does that make us the worst team in Ulster at present?

We'll only find out when Wexford play Antrim next year... in Division 4.

[God help anyone driving home from that tonight]

I fear what will happen in Div 1 next year. We could do  a westmeath and lose all our games. McCorry's stubbornness not to bring lads back in if they were available has bit him in the ass. Do Down have an issue with mental strength? .F..k that was hard to listen too. God help anyone driving home from that tonight. Wexford are a poor team. As already stated this is sligo longford wicklow all over again Clare was nearly a disaster also in 2011. Sickening absolutely sickening. Wouldn't you think we would be used to it by now. First Ulster team out of the championship,  laughing stock. Seriously questioning McCorry's ability to take this team anywhere.

The Down players won't be too bothered as they are not coming home tonight but staying in Wexford.  Who in their right mind would have even planned this and how exactly would the players have benefited if we had actually won anyway? Our County has debt coming out of our ears but we think this a good way to blow a few grand. Down Way again? Everything in our county is an absolute shambles.

What clown decided that, surely staying the night before and being spared a long drive on match day would have been far better.

On Accomodation i stayed in a wee B&B Called McGhees, ist above a bar. Its basic but cheap, clean and close to Town centre, just up the hill from Whites. If your staying over the undertakers is a great bar for a few pints.

Let's just hope that Down GAA isn't staying below you!

Is the Burren v Kilcoo game on tomorrow???

No.

Clones
Saturday evening - minors on first.

The question is which Derry team will get beaten by the least.

Saw a bit of an U10 tournament today and I noticed Kilcoo were playing with the packed defence/midfield like their seniors and Down do. I think it's absolutely crazy playing a blanket defence at U10 level. The only justification I can think for it is that they're trying to get the players used to playing a system early so they fit seamlessly into it when they're older, which is still stupid. By the time those lads are playing senior or even minor, tactics could well have moved on. I can't imagine how boring it is for natural forwards at that age being told to drop back and defend en masse instead of expressing themselves as forwards. The opposition's two full backs just stood beside each other talking for half the game. Surely Kilcoo and other clubs that try this would be better served trying to produce good players so that the need to play defensive tactics is negated in the future?

Mullholland may just be unlucky in that the quality just isnt there the last 2 years. end off

The removed posts had nothing to do with what happened on the pitch.

[Could he have stayed up. Yes. I'd say he probably wouldn't have objected to getting McGovern a yellow]

Three people at fault here in descending order.1. The referee for not seeing that it was a very soft red card offence. Just like the black card rule which is still there but refs never apply any more, confident refs should demand a right to waive a rule for a minor transgression. ( eg a fault yes but not a sending off. Who in the crowd would have any problem if a yellow was flashed instead?). 2. The linesman who reacted to the crowd and put pressure on the ref to do what he did. 3. Mc Govern who was taking a risk that might be punishable and in doing so put his team at a disadvantage.

Those three are much more at fault than Enda Lynn who has just received a border line dirty push off to the face. Could he have stayed up. Yes. I'd say he probably wouldn't have objected to getting McGovern a yellow and was more surprised than anyone when the red came out.

So on the list of who's to blame I personally  (as a complete neutral) place Lynn fourth in line.

The bit in bold is the issue for me, and would put Lynn at the top of my list to blame. A mistake can happen by referee, linesman etc. But it was a decision by Lynn to drop down.

It was also a decision by McGovern. Would he not be top of your list?

He wasn't even looking at Lynn, so it was hardly a decision to push him in the face.

Yeah, he must have just been having a wee stretch... 

Loom at the video and tell me he was looking at Lynn and deliberately caught him in the face. He meant to push him, obviously, but in the chest, not the face. It's not Kinsella's fault though.

[Could he have stayed up. Yes. I'd say he probably wouldn't have objected to getting McGovern a yellow]

Three people at fault here in descending order.1. The referee for not seeing that it was a very soft red card offence. Just like the black card rule which is still there but refs never apply any more, confident refs should demand a right to waive a rule for a minor transgression. ( eg a fault yes but not a sending off. Who in the crowd would have any problem if a yellow was flashed instead?). 2. The linesman who reacted to the crowd and put pressure on the ref to do what he did. 3. Mc Govern who was taking a risk that might be punishable and in doing so put his team at a disadvantage.

Those three are much more at fault than Enda Lynn who has just received a border line dirty push off to the face. Could he have stayed up. Yes. I'd say he probably wouldn't have objected to getting McGovern a yellow and was more surprised than anyone when the red came out.

So on the list of who's to blame I personally  (as a complete neutral) place Lynn fourth in line.

The bit in bold is the issue for me, and would put Lynn at the top of my list to blame. A mistake can happen by referee, linesman etc. But it was a decision by Lynn to drop down.

It was also a decision by McGovern. Would he not be top of your list?

He wasn't even looking at Lynn, so it was hardly a decision to push him in the face.

[Diving]

A bad tackle is a bad tackle. Definitely Could have been red. Diving is a different animal tho.

When did he dive? He dropped to his hunkers.

He went onto his knees and there the video stops, I didn't see the incident at the match but for all we know (unless you saw it), he could have lay down after that. Supposedly the doctor was checking him for concussion after so what else are the umpires going to think? Playacting at best if not diving.

The Wobbler...
IF your system came in in the morning, the only weakness I see with it is that sixteen teams would have no championship action after losing a game. We might be back to the day of a championship season being over after a game. I know the league games would be more intense with this system, but you want to be playing football in the summer month.

How would it be if the sixteen teams that don't qualify for the main championship play in a second tier championship, with a few points available for next season? Something small...two points for winning the competition, one for runners-up, half a point for semi-finalists?

I don't think a team should be rewarded for success in a previous year. It also recreates the problem of 16 club championships still being delayed, which is what this system is designed partly to alleviate.

Benny Coulter.

Why bother showing so much highlights from games that were already shown live both Sunday and Saturday?
When there are other games - Kildare v Laois, Laois v Offaly, Westmeath v Wexford and all the Christy Ring/Rackard/Meagher finals that got no RTE live coverage?

Sunday game is usually precorded earlier, the SG analysts are in RTE during the games and can select clips etc for anlysis as its happening. These are packaged together and always first.

No it's not, the 'welcome tonight to the Sunday game' bit is pre recorded and that is it.

with regards to the minor set up, arguably the best team in down at this level for the past few years and again this year have been burren. they had 1 player on the team!!

Two to be fair, the other didn't get playing at all in a game I believe was probably set up for him to come on as a sub in the second half. I agree with the rest of the post Sheedy, I think Mulholland is out of his depth at this level, the massed defence didn't work at all and leaving one small forward up as a target man for most of the match didn't work. He still hasn't won a knockout match at four attempts (if you include league semi finals).

One issue I think with the two games was that the county board (to the best of my knowledge) didn't put either team up in Derry overnight. Some of the minor players travelled from Belfast to Newry at seven in the morning, to then head back up the road past their own homes on the bus on the way to Derry. Having seen a few of the players on the senior panel on Saturday evening I presume they didn't stay the night on Saturday either. In this day an age, a team can hardly be expected to perform to 100% of their ability in what is a professional situation in an Ulster championship match after that journey. I was stiff and tired enough after the trip up the road myself, so I can only imagine what the seniors felt like, never mind the Belfast based minors who could well have been up since half six yesterday morning. I think the management and county board need to have a look at themselves if they think a weekend away in London is a more effective expense than a night in Derry that could have saved the players two hours or more on a cramped bus seat.

In terms of the match itself, I think some of the problems could be fixed by McCorry. Down were altogether too slow in moving the ball up the pitch. How many times did Kane's short kickouts go to a corner back who then wandered up the line looking for a man to make a move, or fistpass the ball to a half back to do the same. Likewise, when the ball was turned over in midfield or the half back line, the ball was not kicked or even ran at pace to the forward line, allowing Derry time to set up their packed defence. Even when the defence was set up, the full forward line were clearly instructed to drift out about 40m from goal, leaving one man inside - leaving O'Hare or Laverty to receive the ball forty yards from the end line, with their backs to goal, in a static position, with three Derry men ready to suffocate them. Lads like that could wreak havoc with a decent, fast, low ball into them on the 21 before Derry could mass their defence, or even if the ball was ran in at pace allowing them to come off the shoulder, or simply receive the ball close in, turn and shoot. They're capable of doing it, as was shown by O'Hare once or twice against Roscommon in Croker.

As regards Mooney, I think he just needs to be given a bit more time. I think it's obvious enough his confidence is low at the minute, especially as regards to shooting - he mentions in the pre match programme that his biggest weakness is 'my shooting has been a bit hit and miss lately' - twice he was through down the middle and could have slipped it over to level the match or put Down ahead, but chose to pass and lost the ball. McCorry needs to instruct one of the older lads (maybe even ask Clarke to show him away from Down training seeing as they seem to be good friends) how to shoot again. To be honest, the whole team could probably do with some practice at the long range shooting, if three or four more had the ability and legs to stick it over from 45 or 50 metres we'd probably be in the semis right now.