Wicklow v Down. Aughrim 3pm Saturday. Live on RTE

[Mike Sheehy]

btw I'm not having a go at Sean Boylan, great man and a great manager but when meath were winning the media tended to go overboard about him as well. Not his fault of course but there you go.

[Yes I Would]

From neutral perspective a couple of points.
1. Enjoyable game, 2 average but evenly matched sides. Wicklow bit hungrier and direct with ball. Hughes/Mc Cumiskey could have had a field day against that full back line, particularly 2nd half, but little direct ball. In fact Hughes seemed to be withdrawn and played far too deep. He can score from inside 30 yards all day, but couple of pot shots very wasteful. No15 for Wicklow immense in last 15 mins. Hannon had balls of steel for the 45. Carr didnt for his.
2. Who was calling shots on Down sideline. Too much chit chat amongst the 4 of them. Would have been better watchin the game??  Ross super player. Out of his depth as manager imo.
3. Martin Carney diabolical commentary. Call a spade a spade man ffs. Couple of unsavoury incidents . Wicklow 13 lucky to stay on the field with raised arms, but next to nothin said. Aidan Carr left footed free taker?? Had the wrong man hung for optin for goal in last minute!!

Fair dues to Micko. He is one lucky whore. Had they lost it without introducing more fresh legs, surely hed have been slated!!  The joy amonst Wicklow fans was great to see!

[5 Sams]

A few points...

No1. I have to give our boys credit for playing football today. They were unlucky. They really did play some fabulous football.

No 2. Why was Timmy Hanna taken off?

No 3. It nearly choked Pat the Bollix to say that both teams played football today.

No 4. WHY WAS TIMMY HANNA TAKEN OFF???

[brokencrossbar1]

I never once heard Seanboylansmeath.

But I have heard of Seanboylansshowerofdirtyhallions   The point you are aking about the media portraying certain managers as bigger than their reality is true but I would say that some of it is justified.  A good manager, eg Micko, can get more of of a group of players than an average manager.  That is why they are good managers and that is why they are successful.  Armagh would never have won an All Ireland under the two Brians if they were still at it today.  Joe came in any brought a different way of doing things, hence the All Ireland win will alwasy be associated with him.  The impact of an iconic figure can make ordinary players do extraordinary things and therefore this "impact" should be recognised.

[Mid Down Gael]

A few points...

No1. I have to give our boys credit for playing football today. They were unlucky. They really did play some fabulous football.

No 2. Why was Timmy Hanna taken off?

No 3. It nearly choked Pat the Bollix to say that both teams played football today.

No 4. WHY WAS TIMMY HANNA TAKEN OFF???

I really cant believe his substitution. Thats some way to give one off our most promising talents confidence. After how good he was last week. Really annoyed for the lad.

[Dubh driocht]

Really disappointed with this. Listened on radio in Corfu and hard to get a perspective but some observations ;
Don't know why Timmy Hanna came off.Don't know why Ambrose hit a crucial 45 when I can't remember when he last scored a 45 for Down.Don't know why that bollox Kinneaveny or whatever he's calling himself this week played the extra time.According to RTE he blew up  Down 4 or 5 times for over-carrying in the first half - at least one led to a point- why ? No-one calls for these -pure stupidity from a ref.

Anyway, I'm really pissed off but nowhere near as bad as what Ross and the players will feel.No criticism from me as I still believe he is the right man to call the shots.

[mylestheslasher]

The ref signalled 3 minutes of injury time yet the 45 sailed over the bar 4.5 mins into injury time. I'm surprised no one is making a deal out of that cos if I was a down fan I'd be well pissed of with that.

[muppet]

The ref signalled 3 minutes of injury time yet the 45 sailed over the bar 4.5 mins into injury time. I'm surprised no one is making a deal out of that cos if I was a down fan I'd be well pissed of with that.

Did you read any of the thread? That is the only thing some people are talking about.

[balladmaker]

Controversy seems to follow that ref today, not the first time he has been in the middle of post game controversy. 

When will the GAA implement the common sense approach of an independent time keeper and take the responsibility away from the ref.  Surely it would allow referees to concentrate on patrolling the game rather than running around controlling two stop watches.

[The Real Laoislad]

Fair play to Wickla and the great man Micko..
Delighted for them both

[Trevor Hill]

First and foremost well done to Wickow and Micko on a deserved victory, lets take nothing away from them, they were worthy winners. Credit must also go to both teams for a cracking game of football. I don't know how it looked on the TV, but it was exciting from where I was sitting. Also I have to say Wicklow people have to be among the nicest, most sporting people I have ever met and I hope they get a favourable draw in the next round. Also it was great to see the entire team leave the ground on foot, to go to the hotel for the after match meal, the fans really enjoyed spending time with their team.

Right on to the match itself, it was a game we could have won, we had the chances, but just couldn't take them. We could have done with a left footed free taker on a number of occasions, its something that has to be looked at. The old saying that goals win games was particularly true today, and it seemed like a soft goal where I was sitting, but lets not dwell on the negative, we were beaten by the better team on the day and this is not a time for post mortems.
Timmy Hanna can feel very aggrieved at being substituted early on, that is possibly my only gripe.

[Trevor Hill]

I should also have added that the referee certainly didnt do us any favours today and not for the first time either. Even the Wicklow people around us were surprised by some of the decisions. D Raff took a punch to the face in front of the ref and the linesman yet no action was taken, then in the next passage of play he received a yellow card. Also the game maybe should have been blown up before the 45 was taken.
Gerry Kinneavy/Gearoid O'Conamha, in any language he is a c**t.

[Main Street]

The ref signalled 3 minutes of injury time yet the 45 sailed over the bar 4.5 mins into injury time. I'm surprised no one is making a deal out of that cos if I was a down fan I'd be well pissed of with that.

it must have been that the 45 was awarded within the refs time limit.

It's a moot point for people to be counting the time after the 45 was awarded in order to exaggerate the amount of time added on.

[Trevor Hill]

The 45 was awarde after the 3 minutes were up, but its all water under the bridge now.

[mountainboii]

Did Timmy Hanna start on Leighton Glynn? Glynn ran riot in the early stages, perhaps this was a factor in Hanna's early departure.