Antrim v Down

[Minder]

No home as in watching it at home !

[passedit]

No home as in watching it at home !

Really? I never would have guessed what you meant, so sure am I that we only have to turn up next week for the win. Any chance this will be held back for a double header with Armagh v Mayo?

[In the Onion Bag]

More likely a double header with Wexford v Limerick

[Aaron Boone]

That's Clare, Leitrim & Antrim put to the sword.

[macdanger2]

No home as in watching it at home !

Really? I never would have guessed what you meant, so sure am I that we only have to turn up next week for the win. Any chance this will be held back for a double header with Armagh v Mayo Roscommon?

Fixed that for you

[whitegoodman]

Down won through moments of inspiration rather than a great performance.  It was a slight improvement on last wk but still wouldnt be near enough to give Cork a game.  We seem to fall asleep for at least 10 mins in every half.  We were cruising in the first 20 and then let Antrim back into it and then didnt come out for the start of the second half.

My ratings

McVeigh 7 An improvement on kickouts from last wk, did all that was asked of him
Brannigan 9 His best performance for Down imo, has a lot of critics on here including myself but proved alot tonight
Gordon 9 Outstanding, his man may get the ball a few times but never gets round him.Cant imagine him without the no 3
McCartan 9 Snuffed out cunningham from play, our best man marker and a real find this year
Rooney 5 Slack, jittery and boil.  Not his best game
McKernan 6.5 Went through alot of work, on the ball alot in the first 20 but then went out of it
Garvey 5 Destroyed by Niblock imo, will have better days
King 6 Provided physical presence but tired very early.  Struggles on mobile players
McArdle 6.5 Nervous at start,improved and worked very hard.  Some stride on him, will improve
Maginn 5 One of his poorest games for the county, put it down to rustiness.....hopefully
Poland 7.5 Big improvement from last week, picked up alot of dirty ball and distribution good
Doyle 6 Not in the game alot, doesnt have the legs to get up and down the line imo.  Struggling for next wk
Laverty 8 Not as good as last wk but goal was superb.  Struggled to get any change out of CB until he came out
Coulter 8 Continued from last wk with 2 superb points and set up 2 of the goals.  Hope sub is only precautionary
Clarke 5 Yes finished the goal well but prob worst game for down imo.  Crozier had him in pocket

Of the subs Danny looked rusty but did ok, Mooney did well, McCusisky and Fitzpatrick were average and Carr wasnt on long enough.

Special mention to the management for pushing McKernan up on O'Neill straight away and then later setting up the first goal by putting Laverty onto O'Neill when Rooney went off.  Antrim sideline very slow to react on both occasions.

For Antrim thought Crozier and Niblock were superb, no 14 at midfield tried hard, corner back was decent and the rest were pretty poor.

[Dubh driocht]

Aontroim were limited, Down were good but not great.
The first 15 were all Down- it was almost too easy- Benny and Lavery were running amoke- and could have been all over if Mc Ardle's final pass had found Marty. Herron,Mc Cann and Niblock stood up for Aontroim and ubelievably they went ahead 5 minutes after the restart.
Great off-the-ball running by Benny and Marty opened the Hare's Gap for the wee Kilcoo man and boy did he exploit it. Marty got what we think was his first senior goal from play after unselfish work by Benny following a great ball by my MOM, Mark Poland. Mc Comiskey was really back to form and another net rippler from Mooney made it a hat-trick of first goals from play for the three lads.
Dan was majestic, hands up on Brannigan- he was close to MOM and popped up for a score- Daniel looked like he needs at least another week and hope Doyler and Bennys' hamstrings are OK.
Not sure where Aontroim  or Baker Bradley go from here.Hopefully we will score goals against Cork but we will need another 50 % on top of this performance.Satisfying all the same.
BTW- if anyone found a front cover for a Ford radio/CD near Rafo's chipper or in the ground, send me a PM.

[bcarrier]

BTW- if anyone found a front cover for a Ford radio/CD near Rafo's chipper or in the ground, send me a PM.

Surely too many Burren men on the Down side today 

[glens abu]

Down won through moments of inspiration rather than a great performance.  It was a slight improvement on last wk but still wouldnt be near enough to give Cork a game.  We seem to fall asleep for at least 10 mins in every half.  We were cruising in the first 20 and then let Antrim back into it and then didnt come out for the start of the second half.

My ratings

McVeigh 7 An improvement on kickouts from last wk, did all that was asked of him
Brannigan 9 His best performance for Down imo, has a lot of critics on here including myself but proved alot tonight
Gordon 9 Outstanding, his man may get the ball a few times but never gets round him.Cant imagine him without the no 3
McCartan 9 Snuffed out cunningham from play, our best man marker and a real find this year
Rooney 5 Slack, jittery and boil.  Not his best game
McKernan 6.5 Went through alot of work, on the ball alot in the first 20 but then went out of it
Garvey 5 Destroyed by Niblock imo, will have better days
King 6 Provided physical presence but tired very early.  Struggles on mobile players
McArdle 6.5 Nervous at start,improved and worked very hard.  Some stride on him, will improve
Maginn 5 One of his poorest games for the county, put it down to rustiness.....hopefully
Poland 7.5 Big improvement from last week, picked up alot of dirty ball and distribution good
Doyle 6 Not in the game alot, doesnt have the legs to get up and down the line imo.  Struggling for next wk
Laverty 8 Not as good as last wk but goal was superb.  Struggled to get any change out of CB until he came out
Coulter 8 Continued from last wk with 2 superb points and set up 2 of the goals.  Hope sub is only precautionary
Clarke 5 Yes finished the goal well but prob worst game for down imo.  Crozier had him in pocket

Of the subs Danny looked rusty but did ok, Mooney did well, McCusisky and Fitzpatrick were average and Carr wasnt on long enough.

Special mention to the management for pushing McKernan up on O'Neill straight away and then later setting up the first goal by putting Laverty onto O'Neill when Rooney went off.  Antrim sideline very slow to react on both occasions.

For Antrim thought Crozier and Niblock were superb, no 14 at midfield tried hard, corner back was decent and the rest were pretty poor.

I thought that Loughrey was outstanding for Anrtim and Niblock was very poor again,Dan Gordan had some game

[Mourne Rover]

It may only have been a third round qualifier, and Antrim may only be in the third division, but tonight told us again that there is nothing better than a championship win. Although Down were patchy in the first half and poor at the start of the second - exactly like the Leitrim game last week - the quality was there for all to see when we got into our stride.

There was a decent atmosphere at Casement, with the Down fans outnumbering the home support by at least four to one, and the only problem was getting into the ground with a season ticket. The electronic scanners never arrived, so the turnstile attendant had to tick off names with a pen from a bundle of sheets - new technology is brilliant.

McVeigh's kick-outs were generally good, although the short ones did not work particularly well. His save from Niblock was crucial, even though it should probably have been a penalty for a push in the back.

Many of us felt Brannigan was very lucky not to be dropped after last week, but James as usual knew best and what was very close to a man of the match display followed. He was first to every ball, pushed up confidently into the space in front of him and even got a decent point as well. Dan was outstanding at full back, dominating in the air, forceful on the ground and getting in some great blocks as well. He was up admittedly up against modest opponents, but the debate over his best position would appear to be done and dusted. McCartan was also excellent, giving Cunningham no room at all and carrying the ball forward with style. It was as good an overall performance by a full back line as Down have produced for many years.

Unfortunately, we cannot say the same about our half backs. Rooney struggled throughout, as he frequently did last week as well, and could have no complaints about being replaced. McKernan is a conundrum, as he has the ability but does not seem to be concentrating at times. We got away with his amazingly casual ground pass across the face of our goal early on, but he then kept winning great possession up front and either passing to someone in a worse position or snatching at a poor shot. His late point should hopefully settle him, but the space through the middle of our defence remains a worry. Garvey held the line together, got some crunching tackles while missing a couple and covered tirelessly. We probably only realised how good he is when he was out injured.

Midfield was another dilemma, as it started well, collapsed either side of half time and finished strongly. McArdle's selection was a big surprise, and, although he had some decent moments early on, he always looked nervous in possession. His intercepted pass when Marty would have been clear on goal, followed by a yellow card for a rugby tackle, could have been costly. King was great in the first quarter and then had one of his regular fade-outs before getting a second wind.

It was a surprise how out of sorts Maginn was, and perhaps we brought him back a little too quickly. Doyle also had difficultly getting into the game before his injury, which hopefully will not be serious. Poland was back to his best, always available for a quick pass and a burst forward. His yellow card in the first half may well have prevented a goal as well.

Marty, as has often been the case this year, was in and out of the game, but produced moments of brilliance and also his first championship goal for Down. His best score was probably the late free from way out on the right wing. Benny showed enormous leadership qualities, kicked two points from from two shots, set up Marty's goal and won almost every ball. He seemed to be carrying a knock in the second half but with any luck he should be OK for next week.

To save the best until last, Laverty was magnificent. He thinks so much faster than almost anyone else, and he knows where Benny and Marty will be almost before they realise it themselves. He probably tried too hard in the first half, but his goal, at a time when we were under genuine pressure, was a thing of beauty. It is hard to believe that we would get another one this summer as brilliant as Poland's against Armagh, but tonight's dodging and weaving special was right up there.

James got his subs all just about right, although Hughes was searching for his touch and clearly needed the run out. Mooney will terrify any defence with his pace, and scored a blinding goal. McComiskey, after a difficult afternoon against Leitrim, showed that form is temporary and class is permanent. Fitzpatrick was steady, and must be close to starting next week, and Carr did well in a short time.

The only disappointment was not to see Ambrose even for five minutes, which indicates that he has still some distance to go, but we were starting to look the part in the closing stages. All the pressure will be on Cork next week, which is just the way we like it.

[ardtole]

I just wish there was a weeks break before the cork game, I think it would do the likes of maginn, ambrose, hughes, rafferty and a couple of others the world of good, but we have a bit of momentum, we scored 3 goals, conceded none so hopefully we will put it the rebels. It would be great if it was a double header with tyrone and armagh. Someone mentioned earlier that it is already fixed for omagh, but Mickey Harte has always advocated switching big games to croke park and I wouldnt be surprised if it got the go ahead.

[bcarrier]

Thanks for that MR.

I would have really fancied us against any of the provincial losers but Cork next week . With Mooney and maybe Marty on the way to Oz and Benny not getting any younger then you would have to think its do or die this year ( and next week).

[Gold]

We had a few goal chances--Niblock was pushed as he went for goal just before half time--if he'd scored that we were 2 up. Immedietely after that Niblock went for a point with outside of the boot when Tomas was inside him and would have been in for a goal.

When teams were level in 2nd half O'Boyle took  a stupid effort with hi left foot when again the searing McCann was inside him and in for a goal. Kerry always make the right decisions in such situations-we dont.

We hung in there in first 20 mins after standing watching to see what Down were going to do. After we realised there wasnt too much to admire we actually had a go.

Sides were level for 10/15 mins in 2nd half but the 2 Down goals in a minute ended the game.

Laverty can fairly move--he can turn on a sixpence and left Brady a number of times in both halfs--his goal was a thing of beauty.

Why was Paddy C left on the whole match--the goal came directly from him hiding in behind his man--you get nothing in behind after primary school and any ball you do get in behind doesnt count in my opinion. Did he touch the ball once?

[Pangurban]

A good result,but mediocre performance, good individual displays,  Dan Gordon MOTM in my opinion, closely followed by Benny and Conor Laverty, the rest looked tired and out of sorts, huge improvement needed for next week though i expect facing Cork will galvanise them. It was this stage last year that they really started to click as a team, the potential is there, lets really get behind them

[Naomh Pol CLG]

Not gushing after a mediocre performance...but second half was a better. We really need Rogers back soon if we are going to repeat last years run.  King needs some help in the middle of the park.

Hopefully the team will kick on and cause a surprise next weekend, against a Cork team who will be well rested but lacking momentum and hopefully fluidity!!