Down Club Hurling & Football

[Splash]

are all management teams now in place ?

Kilcoo?
Burren?
Warrenpoint?
Rostrevor?
Saval?

Sean Morrison to Saval.

Management team includes Patrick Morrison and Padraig Rafferty.

[Splash]

Gut wrenching for Portaferry. Should have got the win today.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' on the long road back to the Ards Peninsula from Armagh. There were chances when they could have sealed it, but there's a lot of positives to take away from today nonetheless. They gave it a lash. Couldn't have asked much more of them.

Plenty of young players stood up today when it was needed, and there'll be plenty for them to take away from this game.

If Portaferry perform like that regularly,  the future could be bright for this group.

Ultimately Neil McManus was the difference. Other players played their role, but not many can do what McManus did today. To score half of Cushendall's points, keeping the Antrim men within touching distance of Portaferry, before putting the free in the net with the last puck of the game, to put the match to extra time, was phenomenal on his behalf.

Genuinely think the Ports gave it their best shot, and couldn't have done too much more today. Did themselves proud.


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Very sad to hear about Sean McCashin.
Did a lot of good work for Down.
May he Rest in Peace.

[Truth hurts]

Rest in Peace. Sean, a decent man who always stood up for East Down clubs .

[johnnycool]

Gut wrenching for Portaferry. Should have got the win today.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' on the long road back to the Ards Peninsula from Armagh. There were chances when they could have sealed it, but there's a lot of positives to take away from today nonetheless. They gave it a lash. Couldn't have asked much more of them.

Plenty of young players stood up today when it was needed, and there'll be plenty for them to take away from this game.

If Portaferry perform like that regularly,  the future could be bright for this group.

Ultimately Neil McManus was the difference. Other players played their role, but not many can do what McManus did today. To score half of Cushendall's points, keeping the Antrim men within touching distance of Portaferry, before putting the free in the net with the last puck of the game, to put the match to extra time, was phenomenal on his behalf.

Genuinely think the Ports gave it their best shot, and couldn't have done too much more today. Did themselves proud.

White line fever...

They had it in sight, four points up. 5 minutes of ordinary time to go and spurned the additional few points that would have put the game beyond Cushendall..

Making the right call, not shooting wildly in panic comes with experience and that bit of knowhow in tight situations.

The injury to Eoghan Sands was pivotal all the same, he ran himself into the ground.

[dingle82]

Gut wrenching for Portaferry. Should have got the win today.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' on the long road back to the Ards Peninsula from Armagh. There were chances when they could have sealed it, but there's a lot of positives to take away from today nonetheless. They gave it a lash. Couldn't have asked much more of them.

Plenty of young players stood up today when it was needed, and there'll be plenty for them to take away from this game.

If Portaferry perform like that regularly,  the future could be bright for this group.

Ultimately Neil McManus was the difference. Other players played their role, but not many can do what McManus did today. To score half of Cushendall's points, keeping the Antrim men within touching distance of Portaferry, before putting the free in the net with the last puck of the game, to put the match to extra time, was phenomenal on his behalf.

Genuinely think the Ports gave it their best shot, and couldn't have done too much more today. Did themselves proud.

White line fever...

They had it in sight, four points up. 5 minutes of ordinary time to go and spurned the additional few points that would have put the game beyond Cushendall..

Making the right call, not shooting wildly in panic comes with experience and that bit of knowhow in tight situations.

The injury to Eoghan Sands was pivotal all the same, he ran himself into the ground.

Portaferry left it behind them some great young players on the team.. End to end game huge physicality.. All the same expect Slaghneil to win the final with likes of Brendan Rodgers etc..
RIP Sean, a true Gael of Down GAA (Wouldn't it be a honour towards him to see Ballykinlar revived in the future)

[Splash]

Gut wrenching for Portaferry. Should have got the win today.

I'm sure there'll be a lot of 'what ifs' on the long road back to the Ards Peninsula from Armagh. There were chances when they could have sealed it, but there's a lot of positives to take away from today nonetheless. They gave it a lash. Couldn't have asked much more of them.

Plenty of young players stood up today when it was needed, and there'll be plenty for them to take away from this game.

If Portaferry perform like that regularly,  the future could be bright for this group.

Ultimately Neil McManus was the difference. Other players played their role, but not many can do what McManus did today. To score half of Cushendall's points, keeping the Antrim men within touching distance of Portaferry, before putting the free in the net with the last puck of the game, to put the match to extra time, was phenomenal on his behalf.

Genuinely think the Ports gave it their best shot, and couldn't have done too much more today. Did themselves proud.

White line fever...

They had it in sight, four points up. 5 minutes of ordinary time to go and spurned the additional few points that would have put the game beyond Cushendall..

Making the right call, not shooting wildly in panic comes with experience and that bit of knowhow in tight situations.

The injury to Eoghan Sands was pivotal all the same, he ran himself into the ground.

Portaferry left it behind them some great young players on the team.. End to end game huge physicality.. All the same expect Slaghneil to win the final with likes of Brendan Rodgers etc..
RIP Sean, a true Gael of Down GAA (Wouldn't it be a honour towards him to see Ballykinlar revived in the future)

The attempt to go hunting for goals at the end, as opposed to taking several chances at points, ultimately let Cushendall back into it. Was understandable given how McAlister had played. If they had got a goal, we'd be talking about how deadly Portaferry were and how they took their chances. Fine margins.

Would agree about Sands. The man had some game.

Portaferry's performance was a great response to anyone who doubted their quality after last year.

Cushendall showed they are a top team in extra time, but still would imagine Slaughtneil to win the final.

Be interesting next year with the Down Champions having a bye to the final. We've seen Down teams are able to compete with other teams in Ulster. Another performance like that next year, in a final, who knows what could happen.


Agreed, it would be great to see Ballykinlar revived, particularly in tribute to Sean McCashin. Imagine this is different again from the Mitchell's situation. Did Ballykinlar fold due to lack of numbers? What would need to be done to bring a team back to the parish?

[marty34]

Small margins really. Great 2nd half.

Cushendall looked as if they were comfortable in the game but kept conceeding silly goals (from their point of view). An early one, then 2 very soft ones in the 2 nd half. Portaferry got the goals at the right time and it gave them something to fight for.

Great entertainment in 2nd half. Mc Manus came out to No. 11 and got on a lot more ball.  I think he's more danger out the pitch a bit, rather than full-forward. Never mind the goal he got but he kept Cushendall in it - picking off crucials points from play at crucial stages to keep the Antrim men just about in touch.

Funny if Portaferry man didn't foul him in injury time, he probably wouldn't have scored a goal from open play. He'd had been crowded out. The lad just wrestled him to the ground and take the chances with the free.

Should you tell the defenders not to pull a man down in that case as there's usually enough bodies back but just a rush of blood?

Portaferry will be gutted as they played well. Cushendall will be also but in a different way - they'll be glad to get a good 87+ mins of high energy sapping hurling plus a good week to recover. 

[johnnycool]

Small margins really. Great 2nd half.

Cushendall looked as if they were comfortable in the game but kept conceeding silly goals (from their point of view). An early one, then 2 very soft ones in the 2 nd half. Portaferry got the goals at the right time and it gave them something to fight for.

Great entertainment in 2nd half. Mc Manus came out to No. 11 and got on a lot more ball.  I think he's more danger out the pitch a bit, rather than full-forward. Never mind the goal he got but he kept Cushendall in it - picking off crucials points from play at crucial stages to keep the Antrim men just about in touch.

Funny if Portaferry man didn't foul him in injury time, he probably wouldn't have scored a goal from open play. He'd had been crowded out. The lad just wrestled him to the ground and take the chances with the free.

Should you tell the defenders not to pull a man down in that case as there's usually enough bodies back but just a rush of blood?

Portaferry will be gutted as they played well. Cushendall will be also but in a different way - they'll be glad to get a good 87+ mins of high energy sapping hurling plus a good week to recover. 

That's white line fever... Big Barry wouldn't have done that in normal circumstances, panic set in rather than the cool head, holding him up and pushing him out the field and forcing him to pass. They'd the numbers back to do just that.

[marty34]

Small margins really. Great 2nd half.

Cushendall looked as if they were comfortable in the game but kept conceeding silly goals (from their point of view). An early one, then 2 very soft ones in the 2 nd half. Portaferry got the goals at the right time and it gave them something to fight for.

Great entertainment in 2nd half. Mc Manus came out to No. 11 and got on a lot more ball.  I think he's more danger out the pitch a bit, rather than full-forward. Never mind the goal he got but he kept Cushendall in it - picking off crucials points from play at crucial stages to keep the Antrim men just about in touch.

Funny if Portaferry man didn't foul him in injury time, he probably wouldn't have scored a goal from open play. He'd had been crowded out. The lad just wrestled him to the ground and take the chances with the free.

Should you tell the defenders not to pull a man down in that case as there's usually enough bodies back but just a rush of blood?

Portaferry will be gutted as they played well. Cushendall will be also but in a different way - they'll be glad to get a good 87+ mins of high energy sapping hurling plus a good week to recover. 

That's white line fever... Big Barry wouldn't have done that in normal circumstances, panic set in rather than the cool head, holding him up and pushing him out the field and forcing him to pass. They'd the numbers back to do just that.

Yeah, rush of blood. He just dragged him down.  It wasn't as if he tried to tackle him even.

Portaferry had a chance of a point just before that to put 4 pts in it (iirc) but they went for goal and keeper saved it with his leg.

A point there and the game was over. As I say, small margins.

[johnnycool]

Small margins really. Great 2nd half.

Cushendall looked as if they were comfortable in the game but kept conceeding silly goals (from their point of view). An early one, then 2 very soft ones in the 2 nd half. Portaferry got the goals at the right time and it gave them something to fight for.

Great entertainment in 2nd half. Mc Manus came out to No. 11 and got on a lot more ball.  I think he's more danger out the pitch a bit, rather than full-forward. Never mind the goal he got but he kept Cushendall in it - picking off crucials points from play at crucial stages to keep the Antrim men just about in touch.

Funny if Portaferry man didn't foul him in injury time, he probably wouldn't have scored a goal from open play. He'd had been crowded out. The lad just wrestled him to the ground and take the chances with the free.

Should you tell the defenders not to pull a man down in that case as there's usually enough bodies back but just a rush of blood?

Portaferry will be gutted as they played well. Cushendall will be also but in a different way - they'll be glad to get a good 87+ mins of high energy sapping hurling plus a good week to recover. 

That's white line fever... Big Barry wouldn't have done that in normal circumstances, panic set in rather than the cool head, holding him up and pushing him out the field and forcing him to pass. They'd the numbers back to do just that.

Yeah, rush of blood. He just dragged him down.  It wasn't as if he tried to tackle him even.

Portaferry had a chance of a point just before that to put 4 pts in it (iirc) but they went for goal and keeper saved it with his leg.

A point there and the game was over. As I say, small margins.

And a few poor wides, most notably big Fitzsimmons had just entered the fray, had went on a decent run through the middle of the Dall defence, had Daithi Sands in a good position to his right but pished at a shot that went harmlessly wide.

[Johnnysboys]

Any word how the county board meeting went last night? Proposals for league/championship and underage structures all up for decision....

[Splash]

Best of luck to Liatroim this weekend.

Cullyhana a tough game. Few Armagh men tell me that really Cullyhana should have been playing in the Senior Championship.

Take what you like from that. Doesn't make a difference to Liatroim, now.

Would be seriously impressive for them to win ulster in both codes in two years, but let's not tempt fate.

Always good to get a win over an Armagh side, anyway.

Wonder which is more dominant in Liatroim- football or hurling? Would have said a few years ago the big ball but the hurlers good form of late seems to have changed that.

Fair play to them. Massive respect to any team that can be competitive in both, particularly a small, rural area like Liatroim.

Been plenty of discussion the past year over who was lining out in a hurling shirt for the Fontenoys. Any interesting facts on the football front?

[Ed Hardy]

Heard on L.O.B. Podcast that Jack McCartan been called into the provisional panel,definitely worth a run imo. Any others called in?

[Hard2Listen2]

are all management teams now in place ?

Kilcoo?
Burren?
Warrenpoint?
Rostrevor?
Saval?

Sean Morrison to Saval.

Management team includes Patrick Morrison and Padraig Rafferty.

Rostrevor had post on facebook advertising their senior football manager position

[DuffGael]

Heard on L.O.B. Podcast that Jack McCartan been called into the provisional panel,definitely worth a run imo. Any others called in?

Pearce McCabe and Ronan Beatty from Carryduff