Derry v Longford AIQs 1A - Sat 21 Jun 2014 at 5pm Celtic Park

[Hardy]

Wait we still have to get over the wee county. They shocked us before

They're still shocking.

[Shamrock Shore]

See ya in the next round SS or can we not meet.

From another thread I think we face one of Sligo, Antrim, Tipperary or Wex/Dub

Anyone but Wexford.

[Fuzzman]

Did ye beat Derry before down in Longford or meringue?

Ever since ye got Coleman as yer manager ye seem to have some affinity with them Derry wans high
Was Brolly getting any chat or was he on his own?

[Shamrock Shore]

Meringue....?

Anyhoo the previous 3 Qualifiers (Longford 2 wins, Derry 1 win) were in Longford.

Eamon RIP would certainly be looking down on high with a wry smile. I cannot recall exactly but didnt he leave Derry with a bad taste in the mouth? Maybe he is pulling some strings.

Brolly was with the Mrs. He was on the phone a bit tweeting/texting. He was engaged with a few Derry lads behind him. Not with us. The only thing I said to him when he was passing by at the end "Hey Joe, you are now entering Free Longford"

Well, it was funny to me at the time 

[Billys Boots]

Meringue....?

Anyhoo the previous 3 Qualifiers (Longford 2 wins, Derry 1 win) were in Longford.

Eamon RIP would certainly be looking down on high with a wry smile. I cannot recall exactly but didnt he leave Derry with a bad taste in the mouth? Maybe he is pulling some strings.

Brolly was with the Mrs. He was on the phone a bit tweeting/texting. He was engaged with a few Derry lads behind him. Not with us. The only thing I said to him when he was passing by at the end "Hey Joe, you are now entering Free Longford"

Well, it was funny to me at the time 

If Mrs Shore hears you've been attempting banter in public you won't be let out again. 

[Shamrock Shore]

If Mrs Shore hears you've been attempting banter in public you won't be let out again. 

Yeah - you are sadly correct 

Didn't see Martin McGuinness there - I thought he was an avid supporter. Perhaps the death of Gerry Conlon (RIP) took him elsewhere. See pic I took after the match!
Is it painted over now, I wonder? It wasnt there on the way to game but was there on the way back.

[Main Street]

Congrats to the Longford boys.

Tough one to take but I always expected this one to be tight. Your Longford man at 12 was superb, very impressed. Derry really lacked a ruthless edge, a Sean Cavanagh should have been performed after the Lynch goal. Longford had the shouting boots on and yet again Derry couldn't beat a blanket.

Congrats again.

You'll have to be more specific, do you mean a cynical dive or a cynical foul?

Maybe he meant a beastly run through the heart of a defence?

Let's face the fact. Derry levelled the game and Longford went up the other end of the field and the ball was walked into the net. That ball should have been stopped coming up the field and the pace of the game slowed, that may be cynical, but cynical/ruthless would have won the game, and whoever has sat in a county dressing room has heard it. That for me was the turning point.

Sounds just like the last minute of normal time in Derry's qualifier against Cavan last year when Cavan were allowed to stroll with the ball upfield and score the levelling point. Sometimes a bit of cynicism is appropriate.

[Fear ón Srath Bán]

Let's face the fact. Derry levelled the game and Longford went up the other end of the field and the ball was walked into the net. That ball should have been stopped coming up the field and the pace of the game slowed, that may be cynical, but cynical/ruthless would have won the game, and whoever has sat in a county dressing room has heard it. That for me was the turning point.

Maybe because Brolly engaged in so much hysterical wailing and gnashing of teeth over Seán Cav's 'taking one for the team' last year, the Derry lads were petrified of bringing the same kind of unhinged personal abuse on themselves, countymen of Brolly's or not. Poetic justice, if you like! 

[Syferus]

Let's face the fact. Derry levelled the game and Longford went up the other end of the field and the ball was walked into the net. That ball should have been stopped coming up the field and the pace of the game slowed, that may be cynical, but cynical/ruthless would have won the game, and whoever has sat in a county dressing room has heard it. That for me was the turning point.

Maybe because Brolly engaged in so much hysterical wailing and gnashing of teeth over Seán Cav's 'taking one for the team' last year, the Derry lads were petrified of bringing the same kind of unhinged personal abuse on themselves, countymen of Brolly's or not. Poetic justice, if you like! 

It certainly hasn't effected Seaneen's approach to the game, so I doubt it.

[LaurelEye]

Paddy Heaney displaying typical graciousness in the Irish News today:

On Saturday afternoon, a Longford side that was relegated to Division 4 celebrated a brilliant victory over a Derry side that reached the National League Division One final.

For some, Longford's win provides a compelling argument for why the Qualifiers should be retained in their current format. I disagree. Ultimately, Longford's fine win will count for nothing. They are not going to win the Sam Maguire Cup.

For counties like Longford, each round of the Qualifiers is simply a stepping-stone towards a deep pool where they will eventually drown.

I like the use of "brilliant" and "fine" as adjectives there. I suppose it means that we can't accuse Paddy of being bitter at yet another qualifier defeat for his native Derry against Longford.

Once a team is knocked out of its provincial competition it would make much more sense for the Qualifiers to be seeded.

Using the National League to dictate rankings, any county in the top 10 could compete for the Sam Maguire Cup.

"Any county in the top 10". Like, presumably, Derry.

Teams below that level would enter the Michael Cusack Cup.

Know your place.

There is plenty of merit in having a third competition for the lowest ranked counties.

"Lowest ranked counties". Like, presumably, Longford. It would at least ensure that they wouldn't embarrass Derry.

Strangely, the greatest resistance to these new competitions usually comes from the counties who should be competing in them. The Tommy Murphy Cup was a good idea, but the GAA failed to promote the competition properly.

We'll give Paddy a clue here. There was resistance in the weaker counties to having their club programmes further disrupted in the cause of a pointless competition which none of the players cared about and which only served to brand the counties taking part as being of a lower standard. We may be "weaker counties" but the gaps between the counties in football are not as massive as in hurling (as you might just have noticed last Saturday night) and we didn't (and don't) like being patronised by our imagined betters.

Many weaker counties suffer from a severe dose of inverted snobbery. Instead of competing in a competition that actually suits their players' ability, they'd rather rub shoulders with the bluebloods and lose.

Even worse, they might end up rubbing shoulders with the bluebloods and win. That would never do.

The footballers from Longford and Tipperary played like true champions at the weekend. All being fair, they would be playing in a competition that offers them a chance of success.

Of course, it's not all about winning. It's about participation. It's about enjoyment and fulfilment.

It's about patronising shite.

But teams have a better chance of achieving those aims when they are competing against opponents of a similar standard.

Unlike Derry.

As it stands, Longford and Tipperary are marching towards an inevitable defeat.

At least we're still marching somewhere. Unlike Derry.

If they reach Croke Park, they will be cannon fodder for the ruling classes.

Who the f**k does he think we are? Mayo?

The really demoralising thing is that a significant number of people in the GAA think that this is an entirely acceptable state of affairs.

Paddy, three words.

Take. Your. Beating.

[imtommygunn]

That's shocking!!

Would make beating them all the better!

[panc56]

What a horrible shite. The qualifiers are there to give teams a second chance , some take em some don't. At a very best the target for any team outside the normal group (dub, ker, cor, Mayo,tyr and don) to make the quarters

[LaurelEye]

What a horrible shite.

It's clickbait. I suppose it's worked in that we're talking about it.

[Hardy]

Excellent, LaurelEye.

[Shamrock Shore]

What teams are deemed 'acceptable' to beat Derry in Heaney's eyes?

Thanks to Laureleye for posting this load of tosh!