Down Club Hurling & Football

[Minus15]

anything to report there torgael? Did yous have much the same team out as against Glenn last week?

[TORGAEL]

Not a lot to report Minus, except that both teams did well to play any football as the weather conditions made it treacherous. The rain didnt stop for the whole game. And yes, it was practically the same team that lined out against Glenn, just a few positional changes.

[Rois]

Any Kilcoo board members around today?

[DownFanatic]

Any Kilcoo board members around today?

Mid Down Gael would be the man your looking for

[dodgy umpire]

pangurban- with 2-3 against kilcoo and playing the football of his life i wouldnt say calling for walsh back is clutching at straws. can take your point about the management but remember thats the management who led us to victory against tyrone and to playing football in august in 2008

[mournerambler]

pangurban- with 2-3 against kilcoo and playing the football of his life i wouldnt say calling for walsh back is clutching at straws. can take your point about the management but remember thats the management who led us to victory against tyrone and to playing football in august in 2008[
A lot of Down supporters on the board would argue with that statement!

[DownFanatic]

Any ED Minor results from tonight's matches?

Our Minors bate Teconnaught by 2 to make it 2 wins out of 3 in Section B. In reality Ardglass are going to walk this section.

[In the Onion Bag]

Bryansford v Bredagh minors was a super game and ended in a draw 0:14 to 2:8 respectively,
Both teams deserve great credit for their contributions to this see/saw game that saw Bredagh come very late from the dead to earn a deserved draw.

Any word or how Kilcoo, St Marys and Downpatrick minors went? 
Hey shit, look at the time, I should be in bed now. Bye.

[Leo]

pangurban- with 2-3 against kilcoo and playing the football of his life i wouldnt say calling for walsh back is clutching at straws. can take your point about the management but remember thats the management who led us to victory against tyrone and to playing football in august in 2008[
A lot of Down supporters on the board would argue with that statement!

Add relegation to Div 3, subsequent faltering and lucky promotion, and the Wexford debacle.

[Pangurban]

Dodgy Umpire i have not questioned the fact that M.Walsh is a good even great club footballer, so was J.Trainor, but neither of them ever delivered consistently in a Down Jersey

[Trevor Hill]

Dodgy Umpire i have not questioned the fact that M.Walsh is a good even great club footballer, so was J.Trainor, but neither of them ever delivered consistently in a Down Jersey

In fairness Shorty was more often in the pub than he was on the training/playing field. He has only himself to blame for not winning 2 all Ireland medals. And that is not taking anything away from his playing abilities, he was a fantastic footballer he just wasn't that committed to the county squad.
Michael Walsh is a different case altogether. Walsh was in Longford earlier in the season to watch the Longford v Down game. I thought it was sad that a player of such quality was confined to the stand when there were other players on the field who weren't good enough to clean his boots. He is still the best CHF in Down. He is obviously still interested in how the county are doing if he is willing to drive to Longford to watch a league game on a wet and windy Sunday afternoon. Maybe this is lost on the management.
It is unbelievable, given the state of the county panel at the minute, than we are not using the best players available to us. Walsh isn't an isolated case.

[dodgy umpire]

pangurban- with 2-3 against kilcoo and playing the football of his life i wouldnt say calling for walsh back is clutching at straws. can take your point about the management but remember thats the management who led us to victory against tyrone and to playing football in august in 2008[
A lot of Down supporters on the board would argue with that statement!

Add relegation to Div 3, subsequent faltering and lucky promotion, and the Wexford debacle.

[/b]

all the managers' fault? 

[Lecale2]

Tonights hurling results

ACHL Division 1
Bredagh    4-7   2-15   Portaferry
Ballela        1-8   2-10  Ballygalget      
Kilclief v Shamrocks OFF
Liatroim v Ballycran OFF

ACHL Division 2
Ballycran    3-10   0-6   Ballygalget          
Ballyvarley    2-13   2-13   Clonduff    

[mournerambler]

pangurban- with 2-3 against kilcoo and playing the football of his life i wouldnt say calling for walsh back is clutching at straws. can take your point about the management but remember thats the management who led us to victory against tyrone and to playing football in august in 2008[
A lot of Down supporters on the board would argue with that statement!

Add relegation to Div 3, subsequent faltering and lucky promotion, and the Wexford debacle.

[/b]

all the managers' fault? 

I've always been reluctant to post an opinion on management issues because I believe that these men will never make decisions that will please everybody, but I am a firm believer that every team should play to it's strength's & when our county has a number of quality players out of favour for whatever reason, this can hardly be classed as playing to your strenght's, hopefully for the good of Down football someone can offer the hand of friendship & bury the hatchet very soon.

[Lecale2]

It seems Shamrocks didn't turn up for the re-match with Kilclief after a rough affair in the Ulster league on Saturday night.  I saw this on Hoganstand. Kilclief are managed by Growler McGrattan from Ballygalget..

Kilclief v Shamrocks
The scene was set on the beautiful shores of Strangford Lough, Knights of Malta and St Johns ambulance were both sitting parked as forecast by Seannie Og with a Coastguard helicopter circleing overhead just in case.

Growler's Gladiators were warming up below where I was standing. I was lucky to get a £3 ticket for the match from a Kilclief connection as both ticketmaster and gaa website had sold out, you-tube were asking crazy money for these much sought after tickets.
The mighty man himself was walking up and down the side of the pitch were the Kilcief Ultras were positioned, standing with a posh words phrase book and on his third tin of Red Bull muttering phases such as "fiddlesticks", "Tally-Ho", "by-Jove" to be used when the battle commenced.

The referee for the match appeared with body amour and a hurling helmet on, the first time ever in this part of sleepy East Down and surely the first time ever in the 125 year history of the GAA. He also seemed to have a flare in his back pocket but this could not be confirmed.

After 20 mins there was no sign of the opposition, the Ultras started to get restless throwing jelly babies onto the pitch, even the cheerleading routines from the local cailíní not enough to keep them and the rest of us quiet.

Kilclief officials made frantic calls to County Board , PSNI, Interpol to see what had happened to their opponents, one call was made to the Tom Tom company to see if their sat nav equipment was working properly but all to no avail.

The referee had enough, removed the helmet and called the match off. Players, officials, cheerleaders, SKY Sports camera crews and the Ultras headed home to watch the second half of the foreign game.

The mighty man himself picked up his empty tins and phrase book and headed to the ferry terminal, disappointed in the knowledge of what could have been a classic didnt happen.