Down Club Hurling & Football

[Square Ball]

BTW

the third div play offs are down for 22nd and 29th of Sept and the 6th of oct

oops

[behind the wire]

no matches in october square ball? any word on division 2 playoffs?

[goldenyears]

where have all the football posters gone?

nothing but fkn div3 football and poxy hurling threads. where have the div2 and div1 posters all gone?

[Brick Tamlin]

i second that, im still here, albeit lurkin in the shadows.

whats your take on the ol playoffs this year Goldenyears, and/or your surprises/disappointments etc from div 2 this year, also anyone that ross could potentially use this coming year???

shoot

[Statto-Gael]

League fixtures down from Fri night before the championship takes over again:

Friday 7th September 6.30pm
O'Neills International Sportswear League
Div One
Liatroim v Kilcoo
Div Two
Shamrocks v Carryduff
Div Three
Ardglass v Drumgath

This should settle a few more unknowns in the league shakeup

- if Liatroim don't pull out a local derby win over a Kilcoo side prepping for the top4 games, then its another year in the releg playoffs for them - I can see a close scrap here - draw
- Shamrocks to run up a big winning score to consign Warrenpoint to the releg playoffs
- Ardglass/Drumgath - did I miss the reasons that have led to a replay rather than a points award to Drumgath? Anyway, can Drumgath motivate themselves to end a miserable season on a semi high and jump out of the bottom 4 (& playoffs with Mitchels and St Pauls)? It depends what Ardglass pull together on the day - with the aul assoc football down for Saturday, I reckon Drumgath need to just turn up focussed to overcome a stuttering home outfit

On the championship and with an East Down focus, good luck to Darragh on Sunday against the hooped townies    I'd luv it, just luv it if you could max out and beat them 

[Whitehair]

Padraig Mageean from Darragh Cross, 04 minor corner back was called up by Ross the day before he did his cruciate last spring. Talking 12months with that injury arent ya!?

[passedit]

jump out of the bottom 4 (& playoffs with Mitchels and St Pauls)?

Statto are you sure about this? I've had the updated bylaws quoted to me and although it's top four playoffs heading north its bottom three down among the traffic cones so, as far as I can see it, the only thing at stake for Drumgath is whether they want to play junior or intermediate next year.

Unless of course you know different?

[Statto-Gael]

jump out of the bottom 4 (& playoffs with Mitchels and St Pauls)?

Statto are you sure about this? I've had the updated bylaws quoted to me and although it's top four playoffs heading north its bottom three down among the traffic cones so, as far as I can see it, the only thing at stake for Drumgath is whether they want to play junior or intermediate next year.

Unless of course you know different?

To be honest, passedit, I don't know for certain but I asked our club secretary last night on why it was being played at all (he wasn't sure of playoff places at the base of Div 3) and we reckoned it must be because of playoff positions. Common sense suggests it would be a lot cleaner if the bottom 4 were in playoff positions and also established the JFC candidates next season - but then all thats for a higher mind than mine 

[behind the wire]

imo division two was very open this year with some great football played. biggest surprise for me was how little the county players stood out in some matches ( apart from ronan murtagh). all in all a good league, just a pity about some of the refereeing.

does anyone know when the RFL Final is to be played and who is in it. as far as i know ballyholland are in it, not sure who else though.

[goldenyears]

me thoughts are as follows:

mayobridge v bryansford -

closer than many think probably but i expect the bridge to run out by three or four clear points. it still isnt proven that anyone can live with them consistently or that their standards have dropped sufficiently and i think the bridge have had their one and only hiccup this season.....normal service resumes

darragh cross v downpatrick -

i just cant see d cross getting anywhere near the level that dpatrick can get to, and for that reason i expect dpatrick to win by at least 6. i have no doubt this is prob the biggest game d cross have had in 4 or 5 seasons if not ever, and they will have work rate and will to win to match, but quality will not be there and i think dpatrick are on such a good run that they look hard to stop

burren v longstone -

looks like we have such a contrast in playing style. burren are very physical and altho lacking real scoring threat up front still have that championship pedigree. longstone are a team i really like to watch - lovely football, played at speed and some real good old fashioned attacking forwards....i would hope the latter wins.....could they then go on and beat the bridge? i doubt...would burren be a better alternative in the final? i think so.....i think longstone will win by 1


harps v ballymartin   -

really tough one to call. whites beat harps well in ballyholland, then harps beat whites well in ballymartin. both on decent form; both in top 4 play offs so will see each other again before end of year. harps have a few injury worries, but with ronan murtagh in form i dont see any team in div2 coping with him, he really is that potent! a close one to call, possibly even a reply, but i fancy harps by 1

[goldenyears]

whats your take on the ol playoffs this year Goldenyears, and/or your surprises/disappointments etc from div 2 this year, also anyone that ross could potentially use this coming year???

shoot

i have been so disappointed with the standard of football in down and can totally see how the county team can be so poor. we just dont have the footballers; the standard of play is very bad; whilst teams seem generally fitter the lack of quality score taking and kick passing depairs me; the standard of refereeing is atrocious with many so inconsisent its frigthening.

surprises have been how many points banbridge picked up considering their hammering in ballyholland in game1 - they learned very quickly and fair play to management for sorting them out so quick - would hazard a guess that they picked up a lot of points on that sh1te pitch of theirs tho - is there a worst ground in down football?

cant believe shamrocks and wpoint skirted with div3 all year. shamrocks in particular have been a shambles. wpoint will bounce back well next year as they have a great crop of young lads.....they will do well with this year's learning experience behind them.

ballymartin are the other big surprise - mid table for 3 or 4 years, their younger lads have gotten bigger and stronger and their undoubted ability now showing through......

i have said for 2 or 3 seasons including POR's reign; the county team is generally made up of the best players with a few exceptions. in the last year ross/dj took some real leaps of faiths on a few who i think would be nowhere near a good div1 team never mind a county team....some of the lads on from div3/div4 should simply not be anywhere near the squad......

i dont believe there are many players not currently in the county panel that should be there - the problem is the way the county team is sent out to play....but thats for another topic!!

if I go through div2, there are a few names I could throw into the mix for next year's mckenna cup....as follows:

saval - stephen sands / domhnall murphy / jonny hughes

ballyholland - damien campbell / damien mccrink / james patterson

annaclone - i dont know their names, but brothers one of them a midfielder were impressive and the full back....cant remember his name either

downpatrick - telford definitely a county player on club performances

ballymartin - centre back impressed me, darren o hanlon impressed me too

[behind the wire]

you are definitely right about james patterson, played alongside him at the abbey - was always a very strong player, never said much, just got the job done. i think the fact that hes such a quiet big fella works against him.

as regards the clann, pitch is very bad, unfortunately no other place to put it. land too expensive at present. a new school is being built beside the field, we thought we could work something out there but it didnt happen.
believe it or not our own field doesnt suit us at all, we dont have enough big men to win the physical games in such a big field. we took points off annaclone, darragh cross, glassdrumman, warrenpoint and carryduff all away from home. think we more than held our own though, hope we dont end up going down, especially after what happened to us against shamrocks.

[thewobbler]

Non-county players who've caught my eye in Division II this year:

Saval: Johnny Hughes, Domhnall Murphy, Stephen Sands
Ballyholland: Damien Campbell, James Patterson, Kieran Murphy, Joe Murphy
Ballymartin: Darren O'Hanlon, Sean McManus, Peter Fitzpatrick, Darren Magennis
Downpatrick: Peter Telford,  Kevin Gracey, John Fegan, Damien Turley
Annaclone: Benny McArdle, Pete McColgan, Gary McArdle, Martin Farrell
Kilclief: Ronan Strain, Ciaran Sloan, Ricky Kerr
Darragh Cross: Marcus Miskelly
Shamrocks: Mark Digney, Ciaran Courtney
Warrenpoint: Gary Boyle, Ryan Boyle
Clann na Banna: Paddy Feeney, Ruairi Gillen
Glassdrumman: Connaire Harrison
Carryduff: Ruairi McKay, Ronan McLaughlin

Best single performances against Ballyholland were Benny McArdle (away), Darren O'Hanlon (home), Ronan Strain (away) and Paddy Feeney (away). For my money Benny McArdle and Peter Fitzpatrick are the pick of that list.

[goldenyears]

wobbler how the hell do you know all those names!

[thewobbler]

I just keep an eye out for players who get the better for you. The list is getting longer every year