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Prestige ,money and bragging rights

Great result - nicely set up - if only crouchey had played like that all season.Arsenal seem to have lost it so lets make third place ours.

Critical game today.See Crouch is available but not sure if he should start. The Guardian had an interesting feature yesterday about the contribution  Agger has made to the defence. We have only conceded 5 goals in the league when he has played. Also our defence has become meaner overall - in 04/05 conceded average 1.07,05/06 average 0.87,06/07 average 0.66. Total anorak stuff but if we had a consistent striker....

Was at the marshes in 91 and still have nightmares that Mc Conville scored against Collins.Usually shift my dreams to Celtic Park so thank you Rover for interogating the RTE guide.
Three other facts from that day.
Tony Scullion had a good game but literally never kicked the ball.
Ireland beat the World Cup holders in their back yard
A prominent Derry solicitor backed the wrong team twice!

For the third year in a row we come out of this game with a narrow defeat, having put up a good show.Thought Ross and DJ won the tactical battle and it took the extra strength they have around the middle third to edge them ahead.First half was encouraging- Aidan Burns looked like an All-Star but need more belief. Dan had a much better game but maybe should have opted for the point just before half-time and James Mc Govern, who had a fine match, missed an easy one after a good move. The third quarter was all Armagh and they built a solid platform in the middle third- one Mc Donnell point came after a 8 man move when Burns really should have pointed from a free and things looked ominous. To be fair, Ross steadied the ship and if Benny's 60 yarder had gone over,Aidan Carr/Dan/Burns all scored we would have pulled away. Some typical cynical hauling down ( Mc Nulty and , as always,Mc Keever who got his just desserts) broke up the Down play- Benny hates to lose to these boys and it shows- Daniel was very effective with any decent ball but there was a certain inevitability about the late goal.Dan Mc Cartan had an excellent game on Marsden but one misplaced ball was costly- Mickey save well but luck seems to always be on their side. Chalk and cheese compared to the Laois game- should still get tore in to Derry to make my planned w/e in Galway have some meaning beyond quality family time i.e.Division 2 rather than 3 ?

We look tired although Andy Johnston did us a big favour. Is there any chance Garcia will be available before the end of the season ?I think his touch could be what the Doctor ordered for the CL final victory over MUFC

Downfanatic
You should get money for this- excellent work.Also agree with your assessments- will be a competetive division which must be good for Down football - will keep the Division 1 and 2 teams on their games as it will not be easy to return if you slide down.

Homer
How are things around Ballinagh ?My roots are in Corlesmore and I remember well seeing Ballinagh in the late 70s-uncompromising football! Is Potahee church in your parish ?I remember the PP who had a dog who used to sit on the altar during Mass.Can we start to talk about the championship ? You must be hot favourites- we are , as they say, in a period of transition and you seem to be flying.I couldn't believe your minors lost to Donegal last year- the previous year, the game in Cross was an epic and could have gone either way so you must be there or there abouts in Under 21.I haven't followed your teams this year-is Lyng fit ?Forde ?Walsh?one more year in Mc Cabe ?Bad memories from our last trip to Breffni when we had it , thanks to Benny, but Paddy O 'Rourkes substitutions were beyond belief and the panic factor showed he had no composure.Still, championship is championship and I expect a good game between the real big two of Ulster football.

Rover
Your team is near enough but Mickey Walsh should be a contender. Mc Govern will just be back from suspension and Half-forward is Mickey's best position- remember he was MOM in our last championship win.The auld lad I go to the matches with thinks Colly Mc Crickard is not up to county standard so your choice of him as a midfielder is puzzling.As they can only play 15 , even against Armagh, are you saying Molloy should line out as corner-forward and play half-back ?Anyway, obviously the Donard experience didn't  pay the expected dividends but fair play to Mussen for creative thinking- if we keep doing the same old things we will get the same old results. And comparing things to last year...look at the teams we beat in the first 4 games ( apart from Kildare) and look closely at the Galway game where it all fell apart -POR was found wanting again when it was an important game.

While an ex-Queens player myself I think the elitism talk is a bit much. Jordanstown have brought a lot to the competition and while the buildings and location are far from pleasant, many of their courses are on a power, if not better, than Queens. I had heard about the 'camp' for the elite UUJ players but this is counter-productive as the beauty of the competition is to play alongside lads you have had sessions with.I think the person most responsible for losing them the cup was Mickey Harte.

The right team-let's get the right result!

Yeah, it really could have gone either way.Cavanagh's punch to the crossbar was pretty cruel on UUJ.Your point about Mc Gourty is right- Mulgrew was anonymous when Mc Gourty went in to the middle zone.Mind you Lynch didn't do as much as he could have. He looked unmarkable for the first 10 - maybe the extra time from Friday caught up with both of them.Without being in any way elitist, and picking up on Benny Tierney's point, the Sigerson is great football and we should do away with under 21s.Some of those lads are under far too much pressure when thay have to study as well

Clawaddy, maybe we were at different games. I was also behind Lynch's 'point' and it was a foot wide. I was also behind a Poly point that was allowed (Bradley possibly) and it was wide (one umpire called it so but was over-ruled by the other).As were the Poly subs and they didn't appeal the one that was 'disallowed'. Overall I thought Crowe had a good game. Queens could also feel hard done-by when he had blown for a Queens free 2 minutes from the end of normal time, he got clattered by Colgan (?) and then decided to throw it up,under pressure from Mc Guckin. I actually think there were too many bulls in the Poly Pen- Mc Guckin, Moran and Roger Keenan(shame RK!) were all calling the shots and there was resulting confusion on the field. Queens on the other hand had a clear game plan of the early ball to the full-forward line which worked a treat- well done to James and O'Rourke-and their substitutes all made a difference .Unlike UUJ, who also paid for the introduction of players who had not played in the Mc Kenna Cup.So if you are a Poly man with a hang-over, MH would have a few questions to answer.As for Pangurban's contribution !The wobbler is absolutely right.If Ross and DJ were there, they would be the happiest managers of the 7 Ulster teams represented. Mc Gourty certainly gave Jody Gormley(who was there) something to ponder.

While Mc Gourty might have shaded Bradley for MOM, I thought Aidan Carr was the pivot for everything good about Queens.He covered every blade and if he had a bit more confidence , he would be a CHF to build a team around. Did miss one bad one in 4th quarter of normal time but it was his cross-field ball that led to Mc Govern's winning point. The two CHBs had good games- Donnelly is solid while O'Kane can be spectacular and his big run along the stand could have won the game in normal time if he hadn't telegraphed the last pass. The game really reminded me of the 82 win for Queens on the same pitch ( over UCG) -a hard, fair game that could have gone either way and went to Queens AET.

Fior Gael- truly you are the gael .We know you.I think we have leaders in Liam Doyle or James Colgan -both know what it takes to captain AI winning teams and both are potential CHBs- the perfect position for a Captain.BTW who is our captain?I've been to most games this season and still don't know