Down Club Hurling & Football

Mourne Rover · January 06, 2013, 01:56:16 PM

According to the Down GAA Twitter, the team for Cavan is M Cunningham D Mc Cartan B Mc Ardle R Boyle D O Hagan G McNulty C Garvey K King K McKernan R Turley A Carr D Savage C Harrison P Turley Mc Comiskey. It's due to be live on Destination Newry.

Mourne Rover · January 06, 2013, 02:47:58 PM

HT Cavan 0-8 Down 1-5. We got off to a decent start and McComiskey got a goal with our first real attack. Savage looks the part and Harrison got a fine point. However, we seem to have lost our way at midfield and the momentum was all with Cavan coming up to the break,

wildrover · January 06, 2013, 03:18:51 PM

Does anybody know who is supposed to be marking cavans corner forward Dunne?..hes scored 3-4 of his 7-8 point haul without a defender in sight!!!...is Boyle or McCartan on him?!

DownFanatic · January 06, 2013, 03:37:36 PM

Workmanlike effort today against Cavan. Not a bad game to watch. Down eeked it out for most of the 2nd half. Ryan Kelly was the standout performer on the Down team for me on a day when there were no real stars. Young Michael Cunningham on his debut in goals done rightly.

Mourne Rover · January 06, 2013, 03:47:27 PM

It was a good result from a patchy enough performance. There's a fair amount of work to be done on both fitness and tactics, but it is clear that we are going to keep plenty of bodies back and the days of man to man marking are over.

Neither Boyle nor McCartan could handle the Cavan corner forward Dunne, who must have got about nine points, but the overall defensive display was not bad and the new keeper, Cunningham, did particularly well.

Midfield was a struggle, with both King and McKernan booked, but the attack produced some decent flashes and the younger faces showed plenty of pace.

The Armagh game on Wednesday week effectively becomes a quarter final and should tell us much more about our prospects.

Ed Hardy · January 06, 2013, 09:24:28 PM

Anybody know if Phillip Bonny or Keith Quinn are invloved in the panel this year?

wildrover · January 07, 2013, 11:42:27 AM

Few points on yesterdays McKenna Cup opener V Cavan:

- Thought Michael Cunningham in nets had a very good debut. Had a fair bit to deal with in regards long-range shots dropping short and the one v one which he tipped onto the crossbar. His booming kickouts are also an asset although we didnt see much variation with regards playing short kickouts. His 45' effort at the end will have disappointed him but the fact that he was called upon to hit it must mean that he has demonstrated his ability to hit them.

- Full Back Line was a mixed bag. Ryan Boyle burst forward repeatedly in the first 20 minutes and supported the play well. He also registered a good point. Dan Mccartan was switched onto Dunne but was unable to get close to him either. However, he used his strength to good effect a few times when coming out with the ball. Brendan Mccardle looked assured and purposeful when striding forward.

- Half Back Line was alright. Gerard McAnulty didnt offer much other than a lot of sideways hand-passing (perhaps the movement wasnt there from the forwards). Darren O Hagan was tenacious and played some good accurate balls forward. Not Sure what happened Garvey that he had to be replaced in the first 10mins.

- Kalum lost his battle with the impressive McKiernon but the gametime will do him good. Mckernan fielded a few nice catches before dropping them in the slippery conditions and will again improve.

- Danny Savage would not have been suited by the heavy ground conditions and the referee (who i felt let a lot go unpunished) and although tried hard not much came off for him. Aidan Carr supplied some good ammunition for the inside forward line but his work rate remains questionable. Great to see McComiskey back and he showed some of his star quality with a well timed run and well-taken finish for his goal. His work-rate is excellent and he will get better with games. He looks hungry.

- Ryan Kelly was Down's best player I felt and won any ball played to him before using it wisely. Connaire Harrison. Peter Turley used himself as a battering ram around the middle making his presence felt.

Subs included Benny Coulter who did well and must be keen to get a bit of gametime before national league, Conor Laverty who injected a bit of life into the forward line, Liam Doyle who gracefully stroked over some lovely scores and Owen Costello who looked tenacious and tough-tackling.

All in all a decent work-out. Down looked a deal more direct than Cavan when going forward and thus looked more dangerous. However, they lost the midfield battle and the full back line was cleaned out. Sound familiar?

Mid Down Gael · January 07, 2013, 06:22:20 PM

Dan McCartan started on Dunne and conceded 7 points from play to him. Boyle was never on him. Dan McCartan and King need to be forgot about if we have any serious ambitions.

thegael · January 07, 2013, 07:12:40 PM

You are unfair there.
The guy is a brother of the manager.He hasn't had too many chances over the years and go easy on him .It is the first time anyone has ever had the better of him............blah blah .Catch a grip !!!
January football and all that !Is this going to be a taste of what is to come ...
This joke actually is getting to be unreal .Does anyone actually challenge management on this ,or are those guys really just happy to be in the big picture and yes men .

the gael takes no prisoners !

ardtole · January 07, 2013, 07:24:25 PM

You are 100% right mdg. I remember reading Mickey Hartes book and he was explaining how Dublin exposed Gavin Devlin. He was a key player for tyrone playing a sweeper role but the dubs moved Alan Brogan on him and his pace troubled Devlin, Harte realised straight away Devlin was finished at inter county level he had been found out. I think something similar has happened with King, in his first couple of seasons his physicality, ball winning ability, dispossessing players etc was key in Downs success but opposition managers have exposed his weaknesses in recent years, regarding his mobility for one and opposition players to a large extent, avoid going into contact with him prefering to lay off or kick pass rather than let him smother them up which for a couple of seasons he excelled at.
Id like to see Duggan from Bosco given a chance, I feel he might have something to offer and no better time to give him a go than the mckenna cup against armagh.

Leo · January 07, 2013, 09:02:23 PM

Quote from: ardtole on January 07, 2013, 07:24:25 PM
You are 100% right mdg. I remember reading Mickey Hartes book and he was explaining how Dublin exposed Gavin Devlin. He was a key player for tyrone playing a sweeper role but the dubs moved Alan Brogan on him and his pace troubled Devlin, Harte realised straight away Devlin was finished at inter county level he had been found out. I think something similar has happened with King, in his first couple of seasons his physicality, ball winning ability, dispossessing players etc was key in Downs success but opposition managers have exposed his weaknesses in recent years, regarding his mobility for one and opposition players to a large extent, avoid going into contact with him prefering to lay off or kick pass rather than let him smother them up which for a couple of seasons he excelled at.
Id like to see Duggan from Bosco given a chance, I feel he might have something to offer and no better time to give him a go than the mckenna cup against armagh.

Conor Gough??

Mourne Rover · January 07, 2013, 10:24:19 PM

Dan McCartan did not mark Dunne for the entire game but certainly struggled against him for long periods. However, we hardly have enough strength in depth at the back to drop someone of McCartan's experience from the squad at this stage of the season. While there is no doubt that Kallum King lacks pace, he is still a considerable asset when it comes to winning possession and laying off a simple pass. We should clearly try at least one new midfielder against Armagh, but it is also far too early to be writing off King. Conor Gough is tall with a good pair of hands, but he would need to fill out considerably before he could be regarded as a serious option.

ardtole · January 07, 2013, 10:37:26 PM

i woudnt rule king out entirely, I just dont think he is as influential as he was a few years ago. Id agree Gough has an awful lot to do before he is ready for inter county football as well. If Ambrose is out long term and Dan Gordon is still going to be picked at full back we dont have a whole lot of options.

Gaa for life · January 08, 2013, 08:01:24 AM

I am lead to believe Niall mcaleenan has been appointed as Castlewellan manager? I think thats a great coup by the town if this is correct. A young keen manager who would be up to date on current training methods and who would also have his dad Barney to bounce ideas off! Can anyone confirm this?

Regarding the Cavan match... It's very hard to judge a team in those conditions but about from the dunne lad I think we can b happy with the overall performance.

Fíor Gael · January 08, 2013, 10:24:06 AM

Quote from: Walter Cronc on January 08, 2013, 09:56:38 AM
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/northern-ireland/20943879?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook

I see the 2 Brannigans have had their bans reduced. Complete joke!! Must be 2 bright boys.

It's a joke that they ever got suspended in the first place. Anyone who knows Daryl Brannigan will know that he rarely opens his mouth on the field never mind giving anyone abuse. And there is no evidence whatsoever against Aidan except for the word of another player. If county boards or the ulster council are to start giving out suspensions on the word of one player against another it'll never stop, 'he called me names'. Trial by media, jumped all over by the BBC and UTV.