Laois v Donegal

[drici]

Quarter Final Draw takes place anocht after Tyrone v Meath.

[laoislad]

Ah well that's that.

A few wasted chances including a great goal chance in first half didn't help our cause.
Not sure if we really had the belief we could win.

Best of luck to Donegal in the rest of the Championship.

[Asal Mor]

Cheers for the updates drici. Had Laois +8 as part of my accumulator.

[Syferus]

Laois showed kicking skills that'd have embarassesd an U16 team in the first half. Clancy's injury was unlucky as he was driving Laois and dominating the middle. They spent that half lumping balls down Donegal's throat and they didn't win a single one.

The whole game was a pitched battle, much more remenistant of Donegal 2011 than the 2012 version. Lethargic, poor in attack, lots of balls kicked away. This performance next week would mean a loss to any opponent, even Kerry.

Lacey made an appearance and looked ok, he might be ready for next week.

Oh, and the "national anthem". The ould tannoy in Carrick is on the blink at the best of the times (and it's virtually inaudible on the terrace side) but this evening it managed to pump silence into Pairc Sean until the last few notes of it blurted out and the whole ground started laughing their asses off. Half the people around me thought we were observing a minute's silence. The moment of the evening.

[BluestackBoy]

Laois showed kicking skills that'd have embarassesd an U16 team in the first half. Clancy's injury was unlucky as he was driving Laois and dominating the middle. They spent that half lumping balls down Donegal's throat and they didn't win a single one.

The whole game was a pitched battle, much more remenistant of Donegal 2011 than the 2012 version. Lethargic, poor in attack, lots of balls kicked away. This performance next week would mean a loss to any opponent, even Kerry.

Lacey made an appearance and looked ok, he might be ready for next week.

You are right about today's game bein a "pitched battle" but Laois used the template which is now accepted as being the best way to stop Donegal. Carrick is a tight pitch & Laois employed two sweepers at all times even at the end when the game was moving away from them. No team is going to look great in attack against that sort of defence but I feel that from here on in teams will play to their own strengths as opposed to setting up to frustrate.
Donegal will give it a rattle next Sun but they have too many key players injured & coming back from injury. This wasn't an issue last year when they led a charmed life injury wise but this year is a different story.

[Syferus]

Laois showed kicking skills that'd have embarassesd an U16 team in the first half. Clancy's injury was unlucky as he was driving Laois and dominating the middle. They spent that half lumping balls down Donegal's throat and they didn't win a single one.

The whole game was a pitched battle, much more remenistant of Donegal 2011 than the 2012 version. Lethargic, poor in attack, lots of balls kicked away. This performance next week would mean a loss to any opponent, even Kerry.

Lacey made an appearance and looked ok, he might be ready for next week.

You are right about today's game bein a "pitched battle" but Laois used the template which is now accepted as being the best way to stop Donegal. Carrick is a tight pitch & Laois employed two sweepers at all times even at the end when the game was moving away from them. No team is going to look great in attack against that sort of defence but I feel that from here on in teams will play to their own strengths as opposed to setting up to frustrate.
Donegal will give it a rattle next Sun but they have too many key players injured & coming back from injury. This wasn't an issue last year when they led a charmed life injury wise but this year is a different story.

Pretty much on the button, Bluestack. Laois could have shown more composure in front of goal in the first half - they even had a goal chance which if netted would really have set the cat into the creamery.

Likewise when Laois hauled themselves back to within three (10-7) late on they had enough chances to equalise or even go ahead and only hit one of them. I suppose you need luck to fall your way when you're underdogs and Laois' really wasn't in this evening.

[StephenC]

Laois lacked belief that they could beat us - and they certainly could have. While our performance was better than that against Monaghan, we are a long, long way off the level of play that we showed last year. Our defence was solid enough but up front we lacked any kind of edge. Our attacks broke down on Laois' 45 repeatedly and while we demonstrated patience, the late runners and men coming onto the ball at speed that was such a feature of last year were completely absent.

Pairc Sean is a fine place (the stand is excellent) and there was a brilliant turn-out of Donegal people, making up about 80% of the crowd I'd say.

It's disappointing that one of the national papers is claiming that big Jim had a go at McNulty on the side-line. It happened right in front of me. Jim was trying to talk to the linesman (to highlight a bad tackle which the ref subsequently awarded a yellow for) and McNulty pushed him back several times (McNulty said after that he was telling him to get back to his own side). Fair play to Jim who held his cool. Sideline handbags was all, but not instigated by the Glenties man.

In short, this year we are good enough to get to the QF but not good enough to beat Mayo.

[laoislad]

Dont Matter didn't take yesterday's result well.

[Syferus]

Why is Rory Kavanagh's name on that car? Does he own it? Drive it? I feel a bit sorry for the poor ladeen.

A picture I took of fight night:



I also spotted Eammon Fitzmaurice in the stand in one of my pics - strange bet for him to make to go to the Carrick game when five of the teams Kerry could have drawn were playing in Croker. Must be worried about those Donegal yokes.

[orangeman]

Can't beat a bit of pushing and shoving along the line.#


There should be bonus points for this sort of thing.


And if you point fingers at the opposing managers, you should get points deducted instead and points added on if you connect with them !!


Walking away gets you a 4 week ban from the sideline.


By my reckoning then, Fermanagh won that game v Cavan a few weeks ago.

[Dont Matter]

Dont Matter didn't take yesterday's result well.

They're just lucky I got rid of the big mac meal I had in one of Pairc Seáns toilets or ther'd be a real mess.

[orangeman]

Donegal at 7-4 is tempting.

[johnneycool]

Dont Matter didn't take yesterday's result well.

They're just lucky I got rid of the big mac meal I had in one of Pairc Seáns toilets or ther'd be a real mess.

Is that one of those new dual fuel cars? Diesel and ethyl glucoronide?

[Fuzzman]

After the Ulster final the talk on TSG was only 2 teams have ever won after the 6 day turnaround.
Then during the week that was corrected to only being Down as the other team did it after 7 days.

Now in the Irish Times it's back saying Donegal are now only the third team to do it?
Who was the second team and when was it?

[StephenC]

After the Ulster final the talk on TSG was only 2 teams have ever won after the 6 day turnaround.
Then during the week that was corrected to only being Down as the other team did it after 7 days.

Now in the Irish Times it's back saying Donegal are now only the third team to do it?
Who was the second team and when was it?

Dublin in 7 days AFAIK