Down Club Hurling & Football

[ardtole]

Anyone any idea when the new master fixture list for the upcoming season is due to be announced.

[T O Hare]

Any word how the Down players got on for the colleges today? Ronan Sexton was centre half forward for the ranch while Niall Donnelly played midfield. I read that Chris Clarke scored a few points for the poly.

[Sheedy]

really encouraging start to the new year. thought aiden carr was stand out performer along with danny hughes. good to see dan back out around the middle. all the new boys did reasonably well especially gough and brady in the 1st half. great to see such a big crowd for the 1st game of the year. as other posters have said tougher tests lie ahead.

[No1]

Good result for Down against a poor Armagh side who missed 2 or 3 scoreable frees and hit the post on 3 occasions.  Final scoreline flattered us I thought, plenty of work to do.  Thought Miskelly and Big Dan were very good today.

Kilclief's manager of last year only committed to the one year.  He will be a very difficult act to follow.

[Square Ball]

Kilclief's new football manager for the forthcoming season is Kevin Blaney.

Feck, he gets about. St Pauls, Bredagh, Tullylish, St Johns, ASK Lecale and Glenavy all in the past seven odd years.

I think these three were all within a year and ASK was only for two weeks

[Mourne Rover]

A satisfactory start for us today against an admittedly under-strength Armagh who looked fairly clueless apart from a few brief flashes. There is genuine competition for places building up, and we will probably see quite a few changes for Clones next week. It is never an easy place to go, but, given today's points difference, a draw would very likely put us into the semis.

McVeigh did not have a save to make and his clearances were good. The full back line creaked a few times, but Daniel improved after a shaky opening. While his cuteness makes up for the obvious lack of pace and height, and he may well start in the corner this summer, we need to try other options at full back during the McKenna campaign. DamienTurley was reasonable, apart from a couple of lapses, but Niall Brannigan did not convince on the other side.

Doyle was excellent at CHB, always knew where the ball was going and it's great to see his fitness slowly returning. McKibben and Quinn had their moments at wing half  without dominating.

Gough needs to fill out, and did not look comfortable in possession, but still had quite a debut for a teenage midfielder. He took three towering catches in a row in the first half, tired understandably after the break but was competing well until he was replaced to a well deserved ovation from the main stand. Peter Turley was solid enough beside him, but a switch to no 3 next time out looks logical.

Carr was just about the man of the match, and reminded us all of the ability he is undoubtedly capable of displaying. He was given less space when McKeever appeared, and it is too early to start talking about life after Marty, but it was certainly a statement of intent. Danny, as we know, is a class act, and his link play was outstanding. He seemed to enjoy being captain, although McKernan, when he returns, may also be a contender for the armband. Big Dan, as the third member of an impressive half forward line, had a couple of dreadful shots early on but got better and better. He absolutely dominated midfield after the break, although, barring the unexpected, it is still difficult to see who else can play at full back when the USC arrives.

Brady worked very hard and took his goal well but is probably on the small side. Miskelly is physically stronger, hit three fine points and often looked the part in a position where, unfortunately for him, he has a long list of talented rivals. Big Kallum was lost at full forward initially but grew in confidence and began to lay on flicks and passes in all directions. He also found time to introduce himself to McKeever, which can sometimes be necessary.

Of the subs, Aidan Brannigan and McConville did not really make an impact, Duffin was steady and Benny look very sharp. Laverty is a gem, and the only debate is whether he should baffle defenders from the start or from the bench.

It is always a good day when we beat Armagh, but we will probably get a better test next Sunday. The first league game against Donegal is a massive one, and the indications today were relatively positive. 

[NP 76]

Good honest summary Mourne Rover nothing missed

[EagleLord]

Yeh agree with everything said there. The lads making their debuts impressed me, Brady got a lot of ball in the first half, and took his goal well, Keith Quinn had a stormer I thought, and Gough did well. Although Danny Hughes was excellent, I would agree with Carr as MoTM. He just looked solid as a rock. Very strong on the ball, just seemed to be holding off men all over him, kept it until the pass was on, the easy 100% pass or even the killer ball, one cross-field outside of the boot pas to Gough sticks out. He was always on hand to take the ball from the defenders, and especially the younger men. Considering he got handled heavily throughout by McKeever, he was superb.

On a footnote, I always love the crowd's reaction when Benny Coulter comes on in Newry, such a massive roar, what an amazing feeling that must be for the man.

[PAULD123]

I agree with everything said above. So I wanted to instead to think about the significance of the match and performance. In all honesty the most significant thing is that it was an entertaining afternoon. It doesn't have much bearing on how the league or championship will go. The only important thing is to see if we can find a player who looks like adding to the quality of the squad. But at least beating Armagh is a pleasant way to start the season.

Aside from that it is worth considering the performances. Given that it was virtually an entirely new team formation they played really well together. That shows the training is obviously good and the players know how to react to each other. A few times we were under pressure at the back and the defenders were very cool about moving the ball till the opportunity came to clear it. So overall I thought as a team the boys did very well.

Individually (apart from the regular performers who we already know about) -

Carr showed that he has been hard done by this last few years and he could have been an edge in a few games we struggled in.

Gough looks like he has a really bright future in county football. Very young yet, but with some more experience and strength he will be the part. Some of his catches were superb and I thought more importantly his movement was very good too. 

Dan was fantastic at midfield, even with that big lump of a No.26 hanging off him. I hope that James tries to accommodate him a bit more in the middle, as controlling midfield reduces the pressure on the defence and the reason we have needed him so badly there in the last few years.

Brady and Miskelly were excellent, I don't think we could have asked for more of them. But sadly there is a negative. Once again we are looking at fast skilful forwards that are short and light. Brady especially looks waif-like. It is nice to see that we have so much skill in or attacking options but with McComiskey and Laverty already established, how could we fit in either Brady or Miskelly? But at least we have them and their performances impressed.

Overall I felt that the performances of Gough, Brady and Miskelly were high points and we could happily say they will make good additions to the squad. So in that respect the match was a success for us. I don't think Armagh could say the same.

[DownFanatic]

I see Cathal Murray has been appointed as the new Saul manager. Must of taken a serious amount of cash to tempt him to a Division 3 club.

[ardtole]

Saul have been going well at underage level recently, Murray will be a great appointment for them. As a club they seem to be heading in the right direction, a year in div 4 might have done them no harm in the long run, from what I hear they blooded a good few of their younger players. It will be interesting to see how they get on this season.

[No1]

You can't train donkeys to win the National.

[real food, real people]

You can't train donkeys to win the National.

I wonder will Kevin Blaney be thinking the same this time next year.....

[PAULD123]

Thinking about the Down team and in particular WhiteGM's comments before about Turley playing CHB.

I actually thought physically Turley did well, but as has been said, didn't make a great deal of catching. But Turley perhaps added a physical presence that allowed Gough to catch. So I think our best four midfielders are Ambrose-Gordon-King-Gough. However I would like to see Turley at CHB with Doyle and McKernan either side of him. Both those players are skillful attackers and are probably better suited to wing back than CHB where a more physical defensive nature is beneficial. This has been the one downfall of McKernan, he doesn't defend well enough. But at wing back in the current game good attacking can push an opposing forward back down the pitch (look at Aaron Kernan, hardly a great defender but highly effective at wing back). Also I wouldn't want to rely on Garvey and Rooney who seem to have too many injuries.

What do other people think?

[whitegoodman]

Whilst acknowledging that high fielding maybe isnt Turleys biggest asset I would still feel he could be a great foil for either Ambrose or Dan at midfield in the Kalumn King mould only more mobile.  He has immense strength, probably as strong as Ive seen in a Down shirt in quite a while, breaks play up and and can do the dirty/donkey work.  As said he should be an option for the 2 central positions in the defence as well although may lack the pace for FB.  He may not be the answer but he should be given a shot as its not as if we are overcome with options.

One thing I dont want to see is an Ambrose/Dan midfield.  If Dan has to play midfield as some on here are demanding then put Ambrose to the wing in the Sean Cavanagh role and let him roam about the pitch.  Just dont feel Ambrose/Dan compliment each other as a partnership, neither is the "donkey", neither are the grafters, both are nice footballers who like to get forward.  Always though Ambrose shown better with King rather than Dan when he has played midfield.  That doenst mean King is a better player than Dan, just he brings the best out in Ambrose.

On the WHB positions I seem to be in the minority on here that feels Doyle wouldnt have the legs to moving up and down the wings.  Can you imagine him running after a Danny Hughes, Paul Galvin, Brian Dooher type player??  I actually rate Aaron Kernan as a good defender, especially having seen him at close hand in the club championship, certainly a better defender that McKernan anyway.  As has been said McKernan is a great footballer but he wouldnt make my defence.

My opinion would be to stick with Rooney and Garvey.