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DD, it sounds as though your own `Donard experience' involves the bar rather than the mountain.McCrickard deserves the nod on Sunday week because he made the effort against Laois when others did not. I also seem to remember that he did OK at midfield against Derry in the qualifiers of 2005. He is probably at best a fringe player, but I think we need him against Armagh. If Molloy is to be our seventh defender, it makes no difference what number he wears. Walsh played his first county game for eight months against Laois, and would be best coming off the bench in Cross. It would not be a bad place for Ross and DJ to get their first win, although I would settle for a decent performance. 

Yesterday was a grim experience at Newcastle, and would probably have to go down as among our five worst performances of the last 20 years. I was challenged on the way home by an equally depressed elderly Down fan to come up with something positive from the display, and I could not manage it.

However, having thought about it, I will name a team for the trip to Cross more in hope than expectation. I will stick to the present squad, with one exception, leave out all the u21s and assume that no one else is departing.

Goalkeeper is not a problem, as Connell, McVeigh and even McAllister will not let anyone down. The full back line is among our weakest, so, although he is probably too small to play there in the championship, Dan McCartan will have to be in the middle for this game. He showed plenty of leadership for Queen's and will get stuck in from the start. If they are both fit, McGuigan and Cole are the best bets for the corner.

Our half-back line had been doing OK in the league, until it collapsed in the last quarter against Laois. I would still give Murtagh, Rooney and Clarke another chance, but I think it's fairly clear that we need a seventh defender. The best man for the job is Alan Molloy, and he should come straight back into the team.

Our midfield was also wiped out on Sunday, so, if that happens again, there is not much point in leaving Benny up front. I would try him at midfield with McCrickard, who has not convinced in the past but was the only player who looked capable of regularly winning possession against Laois. Lynch would be a little unlucky to miss out, but he lacks the pace required at this level.

Carr must be centre forward, with Sexton and McGovern on either side.   Hughes is obviously one of our two full forwards, and, with some reservations, Gordon is the other. He has to come good eventually, and he scored an excellent goal in his last game in Cross.

Although Armagh are struggling as well, they will still be strong favourites against us. I can't remember beating them in a competitive match for over a decade, but, regardless of the result, we need a display which will put some pride back in our jersey.

Pete McGrath is in charge of this year's  Down u21s, who drew with Tyrone in the 2004 Ulster minor final, probably should have won the replay and did win the all Ireland the following year. However, Marty Clarke, the key man in both campaigns, is obviously now in Australia. Down had plenty of representatives in the Siegerson final last week, which means they were unlikely to have been in regular training with the u21 squad until now. Most Down supporters will have reasonable expectations for the team, but this is always a very hard competition to predict. With Clarke available, and contributing his usual six or seven points per game, Down might have been serious contenders. Without him, the first round against Fermanagh will be touch and go.

The two crucial scores of the game, the equaliser at the end of normal time and the winning point in the second period of extra time, were both from Down players who many people thought would not be involved. Eoin McCartan had an injury which was supposed to rule him out until the summer at the earliest but really looked the part when he came on. James McGovern got a straight red in the National League against Westmeath last Sunday, but the Sigerson rules still allowed him to play today It's highly likely that Queen's would have lost if either had been unavailable, so the margins were very narrow.

McGourty was a worthy MoM. I was not convinced by him before, but he started well, got better when the pressure was on and eventually made the catches which turned the match. Bradley was excellent for UUJ, and Lynch looked like he would win the game by himself until Queen's got to grips with him.

It was also a fine managerial performance from James, as he got it tactically right against a physcially stronger UUJ, and he used his subs very effectively, none more than his brother Eoin, who was outstanding when he appeared late on.

Overall, it was a fair old match played in a good spirit throughout. Incredibly enough, there was also not a single really bad tackle at any stage.

 

Our championship record has been an embarrassment over the last eight years. We beat Tyrone at Casement in 1999, and it has been downhill rapidly since then. Most Down supporters are still agonising over the draw with Tyrone at Clones in 2003, but the sad truth is that it was a blip. We were hammered in the replay, and our form in the rest of that summer - just like every other recent summer - was at best patchy and at worst poor. Regardless of the management, we have not had enough players of inter-county standard to make an impact.

The minor and u21 teams of 2005, plus what is left from the minors of 1999, should give us something to build on at last, but Ross and DJ will need time. I would not rule us out against Cavan in May, but any win this summer would realistically be a bonus. Although the lop-sided nature of the Ulster championship draw means that a place in the final is by no means out of the question, a preliminary round exit, followed hopefully by some sort of open draw run, is equally likely.

The league is mainly for experimentation, and, if we do not beat Laois on Sunday week - a game which could go either way - relegation is on the cards. We have to take this in our stride and look to the summer.

FG there is little point in comparing Down to the top three in the country, as, based on championship results over recent years, we would barely be in the top 20. We have to start from where we are and try and put together a squad which is capable of putting a bit of pride and self-belief back into the county. We don't have anyone in the mould of Kieran McGeeney at this stage, but we have some decent young players who may improve with inter-county experience. Where they go after matches is of very little interest to me. My only concern is that they put maximum effort into training, prepare properly before games and give us complete commitment on the day. The signs are reasonable so far under Ross and DJ, but it will be a long road.

Down fans who need a little cheering up after recent results will probably look forward to Laochra Gael Charlie Redmond on TG4 tomorrow night (9.30pm). According to the trailer, it concentrates heavily on Charlie's missed penalty in front of Hill16 in the 1994 AI final. As every Down supporter will confirm, it was never a penalty in the first place and Brian Burns was stitched up by a bad decision.
However, we need not have worried, as Neil Collins pulled off a brilliant save and DJ managed to block the rebound. Wee James jumped into Neil's arms, and the Down support on the Canal End danced in the rain - number five was in the bag.

In fairness to Charlie, he turned up to play in the Goal charity game in Newry a couple of nights later when a lot of players would have invented an excuse. He went to the Brass Monkey afterwards with a couple of other Dubs, had a few pints with the Down fans, took a fair amount of banter and kept smiling. Tyrone might not have been too happy about the circumstances in which he eventually won his All Ireland a year later, but no one in Down would have begrudged his medal. Charlie was a character and a half, and the Dubs don't seem to produce forwards like him any more.

This was always going to be a tough league for us, and I think anything better than ending up in division three would have to be regarded as a success. However, if we want to look on the bright side, in our first league game against Louth we conceded 2-14. Against Kildare, this dropped by five points to 1-11. Today, this dropped by another five to 0-9. If we keep this up, Laois should only score 0-4 and we might even win a game at last...

I take it you are no relation to the Dubh Driocht who is always banging on in the non-GAA section about Liverpool FC. I may indeed be eating pizza on Saturday night, but it will be in front of my television at home. If I am to get to Westmeath on Sunday, I will have to outwit a much more difficult opponent than Darren Cunningham but I will keep you posted on my progress.

Negotiations are continuing on the key issue which you raise, DD. You are obviously correct to suggest that Scullion looks a far better bet than Cunningham, but we don't have enough quality defenders to dismiss new recruits on the basis of a single, admittedly dodgy, performance.

Ross and DJ have no option other than to keep trying out at players who even have an outside chance of playing championship football. Darren Cunningham did not look the part against Louth but it is reasonable to give people like him and James McGovern another chance.
The big hope for Down supporters is that Dan Gordon finally starts to produce the form of which we know he is capable. There were plenty of good signs elsewhere against Kildare, and, although Westmeath have been going well,  we are certainly not making the journey without hope. We could certainly do with at least a point if we are to stay out of division three next season.

The profiles sections indicates that True Ulster Gael only joined the board last night but has already posted 39 times on themes such as murders by British soldiers, bringing back the GAA's ban on the police and diving by Tyrone players. Is someone trying to wind up us up, or does TUG need to lie down in a darkened room for a while ?

In response to Goats Do Shave, the lower part of the Shankill Road is right beside the bottom of the Falls, where several GAA clubs are based. MacDermott's for example has a big social club on the front of the Falls Road. The top end of the Shankill is close to Ardoyne, which also has a long-established club. There are no actual GAA pitches beside the Shankill, although Falls Park and the Rossa complex are not far away. It's fairly obvious that Nickey Brennan was not talking about the Shankill, but everyone knows that some people from a Protestant background have always played Gaelic games in rural parts of the north without any fuss. If Brennan wants to encourage this, fair play to him. The more inclusive the GAA is, the better.

Cloc Mor, when Molloy was our best player last summer, it was as a corner back. He may not have much pace, but he has the anticipation and experience to do the job. I agree with you that some sort of holding role might suit him even better, and I hope we see a little experimentation in this regard before the championship. Our defence has been starting to take shape, but it still needs more work.