Crossmaglen Rangers v Kilmacud Crokes

[Joxer]

Sure your talking shite BC1,  Them McEntee boys weren't worth a f**k in all the years they played for Crossmaglen and Armagh 

Cross will struggle to replace the McEntees but eventually will come up with something that will work to their strengths and players the likes of jamie clarke, tony kernan and kyle carragher will gel into it nicely though your taking the physicality out of it a bit

What you think of the starting team yesterday BC1?

[T Fearon]

Feck me, on that display yesterday we (Portadown Tir Na Nog) have a chance against Cross in the first round of this year's Armagh Championship

Reminded me a lot of the Kerry Down semi final in 1991, when we literally watched the dying throes of a once great Kerry team who would at their peak have dealt with their opponents without raising sweat.

Still that Cross team have been the best club team of all time

[INDIANA]

Indiana, I have no issue debating with you but since Vincents beat us last year you have gone out of your way to denigrate our achievements, make out we were finished, make out we only won because the opposition were crap.  Frankly, it became very tiresome and last night I had enough.  We are a small enough club with a fraction of the pick that urban clubs have.  We have built up a success story based on hard work and absolute self belief. 

Yesterday was a disappointment but we were beaten fair and square.  I have no issues with referees, I have no issues about Crokes tactics, I have no issue with the end result.  I have an issue with the way people are writing us off and how some people(including Armagh people) have, in the space of 24 hours, gone from hailing us as the greatest team ever, to a team of has beens.  Greatest is not built over one game and not destroyed over one game.  We lost a final yesterday(and to put it in perspective for you, in our history of 110 odd years we have played in 65 senior finals at county, provincial and  AI, and have lost 17, the majority of those loses we before WW2).  This particular team will be back.  We need to freshen a few things up, but there will be a rest from serious football for the older legs now till July/August and this will give the younger lads the opportunity to stake their claims.  We will not produce another Oisin just like that, but in Jamie Clarke we have a young lad who can make it big.  We will not produce another Francie, but Paul Kernan is an able replacement and a different style of FB, JD will be gone soon but the likes of Brendan and Paul McKeown will be major players in the next few years.   The twins in my view will be the hardest to replace, but given time David McKenna will be a domineering figure in the MF on a consistent basis.  But you has to be understood that outside of the names I have mentioned, the rest of the team are under 25 so to say we are finished is sheer nonsense.

Look I don't want to come across as insulting so I'll bury the hatchet now- but I'll be honest we were rightly ticked off last year with some of the comments out of your camp before the semi last year so that probably where it stems from but I'll draw a line on the sand on it now if you will.
I re read the comment- I didn't mean it in the sense it came  across but no team should be able to win an county championship in 2nd/3rd gear as some posters said they would. Even Crokes will struggle to get out of Dublin this year and the standard in Dublin isn't great by any stretch. A stronger county championship all round would help cross and expose any weaknessess earlier.
The forwards had a bad day but the defence was the biggest problem- just a sheer lack of pace - defenders letting the ball bounce over them etc. Crokes did their best to lose it- Cross 3-4 years ago would have won that game yesterday playing badly. The kernans really need to step up to the plate on that team now because thats who they will be looking to.

[full back]

Cross had a bad day at the office yesterday, nothing more & nothing less
These things happen

BTW, seen a few clips of yourself from yesteryear BC

[brokencrossbar1]

Apology accepted Indiana and I accept that maybe last year would have pissed you off so let it lie at that.  The thing is I agree with a lot of what you are saying about yesterday's game in that we were caught for pace.  Obviosuly there are older legs there in Francie and JD.  francie will be there this coming year, JD may not, I don't know.  

Also I dispute the notion that Cross win the county in 2nd-3rd gear.  We do what we have to do with a view to the year as a whole, the same way Kerry have done for years and KK in the hurling to an extent.  Any weaknesses would have been exposed in the Ulster campaign and in fairness the players who I have named were probably our better performers.  The difference may have been that that is Autumn football and on a dryer ground they would be easier exposed.

I think they will come back stronger, I think there will need to be a change in the style of game, but not a massive one.  The likes of Kyle Carragher, Jamie Clarke, Frannie McNamee if he fulfills his promise and Johnny Hanratty if he gets back to where he was a few years ago will be big players, but they are still all very young.

Joxer, I think the starting team was as close to the stongest as you would get.  It would be a toss up between Johnny Murtagh, Stephen, Fish and Kyle Carragher for the sixth forward slot.  Outside of that I think the best team was out.

Say that myself Full Back, nice to get a few good memories

[amallon]

Its very easy for the green eyed monsters to come on here today and stick the boot into Cross.  People can come on and say they are done and this that and the other but come the draws for the Armagh and Ulster club championships next year there won't be many clubs in Ulster that will look foward to playing them. 

I agree with the point BCB1 made that the lack of pace in the Cross team was more exposed yesterday on the firm dry sod in Croker than it would have been on a typical sticky Ulster club day. 

Crokes were well worth their win

[full back]

I thought it was Cross' lack of physicality rather than their lack of speed which was exposed

[The GAA]

Crokes were well worth their win and probably should have done it more comfortably. that's no sleight on cross - they were beaten on the day by the better team, as they were last year. best 4 in ireland 3 years in a row ain't a big decline in my book. not too many teams capable of it.

the reality is that the physical strength of the traditional cross team has eroded to be slowly replaced with mobility and probably a bit more ability. that's a trend that is going to continue for them over the next few years. The strong fellas that remain aren't geting aroung the pitch to make it count any more. in the next year or two some or all of Donaldson, the mcentees and bellew will be gone and the type of player replacing them are McKenna, kernan, clarke, etc. fine layers in their own right. Cross' job now is to adjust their game to suit that. for me though, cross will be more beatable. they will win lots of championships with those players but its much easier to be caught when pure ability is solely whats relied on. the number of days that pig ignorance, strength and juggernaut approach has pulled ross out of a hole has not been highlighte enough over the last 15 years. those days are soon to be over.

on the final - i thought it was a funny game. crokes are very fluid when they get going and have good athletes. kavanagh produced more than i expected from him, davoran took his goal brilliantly and vaughan kicked his frees, their best forward was the corner man though (mayo name?). thought he was immense - showed for every ball.

the two corner blocks for the win were the middle sector dominance - ably led by the two midfielders and the fantastic job griffin did on john mcentee.

a couple of things i couldn't understand with crokes included their reluctance to keep letting the ball in even though they had made so much hay with that policy and vaughan hitting frees from the ground tight on the right hand side.

from a cross point of view, a lot, if not all, of their defenders were shown up badly - particularly as there was no pressure on the ball coming in. midfield has been their achilles heel from day one and nothing improved yesterday. they have a lot of similar players in the forward line - light and skillful - but no target man. john mc could well be playing full forward next year i'd say.

[full back]

Do the Crokes have a left footed free taker?

[The GAA]

A right footed kicker from the hand - vaughan even - woul have a better chance of success at those tight angles

[Hardy]

as they say- there none so blind as those that can't see.

Sorry - couldn't let this pass without due recognition. Quote of the month.

[brokencrossbar1]

as they say- there none so blind as those that can't see.

Sorry - couldn't let this pass without due recognition. Quote of the month.

Good man Hardy, always on the ball!!!!

[Trevor Hill]

BC1 what are the older players on the team going to do? The likes of Oisin, the McEntees and Francie, will they hang up the boots now and give the younger lads a go or will they come back again?
Of all the players on this team, I think Oisin is going to be hardest of all to replace. Deadly accurate from either a placed ball or open play and always seems to be on the end of an attack. Definitely one of the greatest forwards ever and will be a big loss whenever he decides to go.
It is too early to be writing obituaries yet, even after yesterday Cross are still one of the top sides in the country.

[Billys Boots]

kavanagh produced more than i expected from him

Why had you low expectations of Kavanagh?  Not winding, just interested!

[naka]

thought pat burke had a stormer for crokes, was my man of the match