Muineachán v An Dún - 24/06/12, Ard Mhacha

[babarino]

The ref certainly wasn't as bad as some are making out. He was on the mark with a few of the dives and penalised over carrying, unlike most. The Monaghan midfield weren't as sharp as Down in the 2nd half, they had the supply line that Monaghan had in the 1st. Aidan Carr turned it on big time for Down.

Ádh mór Down in the final.

[Brick Tamlin]

Whoever that referee was today he was symptomatic of the problems with officiating in our game.

Given the amount of times he missed the obvious, you have to assume that he doesn't believe the rule book matters. Referees really have to get it into their heads that a foul is a foul; the circumstances prior to the incident do not affect the incident.

As for allowing a quick free when you've signalled that you're going to book someone, only a troublemaker would bring that upon themselves.

F**kin couldnt get over that one myself. Blows a foul for Monaghan,  and motions to McArdle as if going to book him, then amazingly as McArdle approaches him to be repreimanded he allows a quick free.....McArdle pulled out of position by ref and allows play to continue and Monaghan score goal. THEN he decides to book him after he has allowed the goal to stand. Ye would be hard pressed to find a worse refereeing performance in recent memory id wager. Some of his calls bordered on bias.

A mixed day of emotions..Angry as fook that Down didnt bother their holes showing up in first half but also credit to Monaghan they came to play ball and everythin they touched first half they made count. They didnt hang about or mess about. Down showed no intensity, no drive, no passion at all in that first half, and everything they touched turned to dung. The penalty was a lifeline. If Carr had missed it would have been catastrophic.
The 2nd period was a mixture of Down getting the fingers out and Monaghan not being able to handle the opposition's purple patch. A better side than Monaghan maybe wouldnt have let Down back into that game. Delighted to get the win considering the circumstances and thought we showed great persistance to keep at it right until the final whistle, though we will have to play alot better across the board next day out.

McVeigh - Varied kickouts to great effect and used ball wisely, had little chanxce for goal.
G McCartan - Brutral First Half (Like the rest), some rusty handling & passing but stuck to task well for remainder of game
B McArdle - Forgetful first half when had hands full, but was one of the chief architects of stunning comeback in 2nd half, Fearless, solid, reliable and always choosing correct option...my MOM
D McCartan- Not one of Dan's best days, was very loose and careless in both marking and handling..in fairness he was one of many could have been called ashore early. He will be back im sure.
D O'Hagan - The energiser bunny..this guy was also peerless in 2nd period alongsidde McArdle and shut out numerous attacks, plugged holes at both half and full back lines when required...first class attitude and a decent ball player to boot...becoming a nailed on starter.
C Garvey - Garvey pulled the socks up for 2nd half and provided the physical aggression and no nonsense approach that was sorely missed in 1st half.
K McKernan - still remains an enigma, hugely talented but hugely frustrating. doesnt press his man enough whe not in possession and looks uncomfortable marking space.Weak link in defensive line but then we already knew that.
K King - looked like he had legs stuck in cement blocks for first half..2nd half threw down the challenge to Big Dick and Dolph Lundgren..100% improvement..caught ball, broke ball, spolied, harried,hassled and generally scattered white jerseys when he had the chance, left his paw prints all over that 2nd half comeback.
A Rodgers - Ambrose drove and drove and never gave up, always provided an outlet and although understandable tired toward the end he completely emptied the tank for the team.
A Carr - After chasing shadows and trying to come to grips with a rampant Monaghan half back line Aidan stepped up when it mattered. Never shirked the challenge,  veins of ice for the penalty and also for the equalising free, played a pivotal role in the comeback, whether at half back or half forward. was shattered at final whistle after a great shift.
M Poland - Excellent decision-making and ball retention with a cool head under pressure makes Poland an intergral part of this team..hardly ever wasted a ball and although never did the scoreboard any damage he was the chief playmaker.
D Hughes - Not Danny's best display by his own high standards but still put in a heavy hours work and kept Monaghan on back foot. Will have better days in terms of scoring chances.
C Laverty - Rocky Balboa eventually learned to catch thon chicken but even the great man wouldnt be able to catch this fella. Single handedly kept Down in the game in the first half and continued to be at the centre of everything good about the performance of the 2nd half. immense dsiplay from the Kilcoo man.
E McCartan - Eoin took watching and although didnt set the world alight he provided an outlet as the traditional targetman..may be under presure to hold onto the jersey next day out.
D O'Hare - making only his 2nd full appearance O'Hare did well considering the lack of a decent supply line at times...dropped a few balls, brushed off a few balls but cant underestimate importance of his scores... Took his frees well and kept chipping away at the Monaghan lead. This type of game should bring him on.

Management - all the substitiutions worked and each of them contributed in some shape or form. Calling Dan aside so early was brave but necessary. The ragged, loose-marking and lethargic team we had seen in the first half was replaced by a much tighter, meaner unit in the second and for that the management must take credit. Id say that dressing room wasnt a great place to be at half time.
one question though...why why why why does Jerome Johnston need to be on the field so often, hell he nearly tackled one of their defenders in the 2nd half when emerging with the ball...what nuggets of tactical advice could he possibly be imparting with maybe 9 visits onto the field in that 2nd half?..

[Main Street]

Duffy's getting plenty of criticism for the way he handled the match and rightly so. One incident did go in Down's favour today. Just after the second penalty appeal, it looked like the Down 7 trod on the Monaghan 7's neck/back/ head area. Looked like a nasty incident that the ref missed. Down could easily have been playing catch up with 14 men!

Not only was there a Down-centric commentary on BBCNi but a complete Down-centric view of the game here. However, that stamping incident was accidental, I'd have little doubt about that.
Not much comment so far about the quality of Monaghan point scoring in the first half. Overall, the best of both halves made it into one exciting game for 70 minutes.

[Brick Tamlin]

Bottom line
Monaghan were impressive and by far better team in 1st half.....likewise for Dow in the 2nd.
either team could have won or lost that game very easily, Down were fortunate to get theor nose over the line in the end.
still think that the ref was poor and favoured Monaghan on alot of important calls.
hardly a Down-centric view i wouldnt think.

if i were from Monaghan id have to ask how we capitulated so badly 2nd half and why there were no leaders to drag us back into that game.

[Main Street]

Bottom line
Monaghan were impressive and by far better team in 1st half.....likewise for Dow in the 2nd.
either team could have won or lost that game very easily, Down were fortunate to get theor nose over the line in the end.
still think that the ref was poor and favoured Monaghan on alot of important calls.
hardly a Down-centric view i wouldnt think.

if i were from Monaghan id have to ask how we capitulated so badly 2nd half and why there were no leaders to drag us back into that game.

A 6 point lead  at half time isn't that unsurmountable, unfortunately, as events have proven
Down also had to play good football in the 2nd half in order to make Monaghan look rudderless.

[Brick Tamlin]

yeah i agree, and im loathe to criticise Danny but i suppose its just that we have been treated to the sights of him running at heart of defences and taking scores on the run over the last few seasons..as soon as we see him carry out the worker role it diminishes his attacking potency somewhat.
I dont think he had a bad game at all, just maybe quieter in the traditional attacking sense..

[MK]

Monaghan lead by 6 at half-time-it should have been considerably more!!

Was it a co-incidence that the teams with wind advantage were vastly superior???

Or was this only missed by those  who watched on television?

[Main Street]

It was more the 3 or 4 easy points opportunities missed in the 2nd half  that cost Monaghan, not the first half misses.

[Aristo 60]

Ineptitude is the only word to adequately sum up today's referee. I'd love to think that his wife, mother, sons and daughters are tiptoeing around the house to night in fear of this man's form!   

Well done Down, you did us proud.

B McArdle my MOTM.

[Mourne Rover]

Today demonstrated why we put ourselves through the emotional wringer with Down year after year.We were unbelievably poor in the first half, and should have been behind by 12 to 15 points at the break. We then took over completely and would have won pulling up with a half-sensible referee. However, what we did manage to show is that we do have both talent and guts when we put our minds to it.


We have all seen Down through away leads in the championship year after year, but we very seldom come back from a significant deficit. The biggest recovery I can recall was when we were seven behind after the first quarter away to Tyrone in 08, and got a draw before winning the replay, so today is probably some kind of record for us.


The early stages were genuinely alarming, as we were clueless, shapeless and did not seem to realise that we were being taken apart. We could not retain the ball in the Monaghan half and they scored at will by exploiting huge gaps in most of their attacks. If they had got a goal, which looked inevitable, it really would have been all over. Luckily, through our little genius, we got one instead totally against the run of play and, with their lead down to six, we had something to cling to.


The wind was more of a factor that we initially realised, and it got stronger in the second half as we found our confidence. We actually could have been level within ten minutes of the restart, but we were well on track until a joke of a goal for them. The free Duffy initially awarded looked a little dubious, but he clearly stopped the play and was about to issue a booking. Allowing them to take the quick free from completely the wrong place was ludicrous, although after Enniskillen we should have been better organised, and their goal would have finished off a lesser side.


Our self belief in the last ten was impressive, even if every decision went against us and Clerkin's late miss was verging on the amazing.


McVeigh, as often happens, mixed the excellent and the poor. He made a crucial save and had a great fisted clearance, but his kick-outs were mixed and put us under pressure far too often.


You would have to feel sory for Dan McCartan, as everything went wrong for him. He was caught out of position, misplaced passes and he might have been replaced even earlier, although he played a part behind the goals late on when balls needed to be returned swiftly. McArdle struggled early on but became a transformed figure, making catches and tremendous runs from defence. Gerard McCartan was as poor as the rest from the start and was also lucky to avoid the hook.


Garvey, our most reliable defender, was pretty dreadful, and can only improve. McKernan was also all over the place, and is not really a centre half, although he pushed up well late on. O'Hegan nearly gave away a goal by misjudging a long ball but he has ability and determination and his winning point was a gem.


Ambrose was one of the few to show some leadership when the early pressure was on, and he very nearly got in for a couple of goals. King was off the pace initially but eventually dominated and was in full flow towards the end.


Hughes, like several others, was not at the races in the first half, but his fitness and pace was a big factor when the crunch came,  Poland could not get involved for the opening stages, but is a class act and was at the centre of our revival. Carr had some good and bad moments, but eventually proved his quality and the late free was crucial.


Eoin McCartan made one great catch but made very little difference otherwise, and it was surprising that he was not replaced after his booking. O'Hare only played in flashes, although a couple of his frees were vital.


To save the best until last, Conor was magnificent throughout. He knew we were in trouble and he took the fight to the opposition. He probably picked up the ball in our half before the run for the penalty, and he had only one thing on his mind. It turned the game, and his points in the second half  were fantastic. When Clerkin missed, he had the alertness to ask the ref abut the time left and his dance of joy when he realised we had snatched it was memorable


Of the subs, Duffin made a huge difference and should start in the final. It was baffling that he should have been the one to make way for Doyle, but a quality player then left his mark and he made a difficult free look early. Benny's arrival got a massive ovation and the roof nearly came off when he kicked his point with some authority.


We will be big underdogs for the final, which is exactly where we want to be.

[Pangurban]

Today we won a game,but we lost our credibility as a serious football team capable of challenging for major honours. Monaghan exposed our ineptitudes in a ruthless manner. To talk of problems in defence would be silly, when quite simply we do not have a defence. The lack of basic skills, pace, and any semblance of tactical awareness rendered them redundant, indeed i have witnessed better defenders at U16 level.  That we are in an ulster Final is due too the individual brilliance of Conor Laverty over the two games to date. There is insufficient time available to address our serious shortcomings, so i very much fear we are in for a tanking from either Donegal or Tyrone. I would dearly love to know what exactly they do at Down traing sessions, as there is little evidence of any work

[timmyot501]

Why do teams have to bring on players not listed on the program. Who are they kiddin. The whole of ulster knew tommy freeman would make an appearance today. I did believe that coulter was injured and out for another few weeks but low and behold down have a lazerous of their own. If a player is doubtful surely its up to the manager to either take the risk and name them in the panel or just leave them out. Anyway aside from that as a monaghan man i was gutted after the match today. Prob our best half of ball in about 2 years followed by one of the worst. I do feel sorry for clerkin. He had the bottle to take on that last chance but unfortunately made a mess of it. Down in fairness are prob better equipped to take on the winners of the other semi

[Stevie g 8]

Down to nice and not ruthless enough at this level.saying that they done well to hold in there all the second half even when things went against them they kept plugging away.referee was awful and I guess that will be his last inter county game this year

[onefaircounty]

Still major problems in that Down team.

But still, to win against that referee took some doing.

[sheamy]

Today we won a game,but we lost our credibility as a serious football team capable of challenging for major honours. Monaghan exposed our ineptitudes in a ruthless manner. To talk of problems in defence would be silly, when quite simply we do not have a defence. The lack of basic skills, pace, and any semblance of tactical awareness rendered them redundant, indeed i have witnessed better defenders at U16 level.  That we are in an ulster Final is due too the individual brilliance of Conor Laverty over the two games to date. There is insufficient time available to address our serious shortcomings, so i very much fear we are in for a tanking from either Donegal or Tyrone. I would dearly love to know what exactly they do at Down traing sessions, as there is little evidence of any work

First Ulster final in nearly ten years and you can't give those lads a bit of credit! That's a wee bit harsh imo. They did what was asked and have a clean slate to work on now. They showed unreal character to come back from 9 points down. You'd probably have said the same in 2010 when it took an Aidan Carr goal to get over the mighty Offaly. We know what happened after that. Same man produced the goods yesterday too. Down are in the final with nothing to lose which is a great place to be.