Down Club Hurling & Football

[Sandstorm]

Disgusting the team a certain Div 1 club fielded in the latter part Of the ACFL.
Seems they have been targeting the premier reserve championship with little respect for other clubs, especially those fighting relegation. Not showing much ambition and let's hope it backfires on them in the final and also senior championship.
Up the yellows.

If you are referring to who I think you are referring to did that match or could that match have had any bearing on relegation ?

Have a look at their last four or five resilts and team selections . Up the yellas.

[Leftmidfield]

Disgusting the team a certain Div 1 club fielded in the latter part Of the ACFL.
Seems they have been targeting the premier reserve championship with little respect for other clubs, especially those fighting relegation. Not showing much ambition and let's hope it backfires on them in the final and also senior championship.
Up the yellows.

If you are referring to who I think you are referring to did that match or could that match have had any bearing on relegation ?

Have a look at their last four or five resilts and team selections . Up the yellas.

Got ye now 👍. I was only looking at last fixture

[Get Over]

Two fantastic reserve finals took place at the weekend past With Mayobridge and Burren coming out with the wins. Two clean hard hitting games that had a bit of everything!

Can not wait for the senior Championship to get underway tomorrow. Does anyone see any big surprises? I believe Saval will put up a fight against a weak point side. Mayobridge will test Carryduff also.

Excited to see the young Drumgath team test themselves again the very best in Kilcoo.

[imtommygunn]

I went to the big Carryduff Bredagh derby in the SHC last night. A late goal for Bredagh got them in the lead for the first time with ~5 minutes ago and then they scored I think a point to put the lead up to 2 points and hold on. Bredagh were very dominant in the second half so despite the lead coming so late I would say they deserved the win. Carryduff were maybe 10 up in the first half after scoring 3 goals in a very short space of time. They very much sat back in the second half and allowed Bredagh to push on. Other results from what I saw looked to go as expected.

[johnnycool]

I went to the big Carryduff Bredagh derby in the SHC last night. A late goal for Bredagh got them in the lead for the first time with ~5 minutes ago and then they scored I think a point to put the lead up to 2 points and hold on. Bredagh were very dominant in the second half so despite the lead coming so late I would say they deserved the win. Carryduff were maybe 10 up in the first half after scoring 3 goals in a very short space of time. They very much sat back in the second half and allowed Bredagh to push on. Other results from what I saw looked to go as expected.

For me, Bredagh have the most scope for improving and pushing on and challenging beyond a mid table senior team. The team is young enough to learn at this level, although there are a few young lads in the Carryduff team, I'd have the Bredagh lads a year or two more advanced in their development. Bredagh maybe lack a bit of kick up front, someone to get them a goal when the game is in the mix.


I didn't get to our game v Liatroim due to being double booked with our senior camogs away to Clonduff the same night!

By all accounts our shooting is still a bit off with a wide count well into double figures and that needs sorting before we go into Portaferry in 2 and a half weeks time.

The Ports team if lined out as listed would have been a missed opportunity for Ballycran who have gotten themselves a pretty settled line up they're going to need to keep fit throughout and that's the challenge.
Ports will be content, 2 wins from 2 and not having to exert themselves.

[Nanderson]

Is anyone else's downgaa.tv coverage shocking this evening?

[johnnycool]

What has happened with the Castlewellan U18 hurlers?

They've failed to make the championship semi-finals, coming third in their group, behind both Ballycran and Portaferry.

At U14, Feile and U16 they were wiping the floor against us and the other Ards teams, as well as Bredagh and Carryduff!

Has the big ball come a calling?

[Maurice Moss]

From dominating Ards teams at U14 to missing out on U18 semi finals, all while sinking to Div 3 in senior football. At least they're consistent across both codes

[Be even better]

Tough week for them. Lost out in MFC after extra time. 3 or 4 key men out injured for Hurling. The Tuesday / Thursday minor championship schedule caught up with them in fairness.

[johnnycool]

From dominating Ards teams at U14 to missing out on U18 semi finals, all while sinking to Div 3 in senior football. At least they're consistent across both codes

Everything is cyclic Maurice, so enjoy your time on top at the football, it will come to an end at some time.

Also,
 Lets see how your U16 and U14 camogs progress through the years, I've a feeling they could go the same way as the Castlewellan underage hurlers. Hope I'm wrong as there's some good people involved with them but they too will meet the inevitable decisions further down the line.

[Akinfenwa]

On a more positive note, I was looking at the locations for our football championship matches this weekend and last weekend, and I compared these to previous years, and it must be said that we have a lot more grounds hosting championship games now.

I think it's a testament to clubs within the county for the hard work and effort that has gone in to improving facilities. Quite a few clubs have improved their pitches or built a new pitch, improved changing rooms, parking etc and gotten the grounds to a standard where championship games could be held there.

In previous years, particularly pre-COVID, the reliance on Pairc Esler was evident, with the ground often holding 2, 3, even sometimes 4 matches on a given weekend. Now the games are well spread out so the workload isn't nearly as big on the county ground.

Very well done to the clubs on their continued progress.

[Be even better]

From dominating Ards teams at U14 to missing out on U18 semi finals, all while sinking to Div 3 in senior football. At least they're consistent across both codes

Easy to criticise. At least they are giving their youth the opportunity in all 4 codes unlike some.

[Get Over]

On a more positive note, I was looking at the locations for our football championship matches this weekend and last weekend, and I compared these to previous years, and it must be said that we have a lot more grounds hosting championship games now.

I think it's a testament to clubs within the county for the hard work and effort that has gone in to improving facilities. Quite a few clubs have improved their pitches or built a new pitch, improved changing rooms, parking etc and gotten the grounds to a standard where championship games could be held there.

In previous years, particularly pre-COVID, the reliance on Pairc Esler was evident, with the ground often holding 2, 3, even sometimes 4 matches on a given weekend. Now the games are well spread out so the workload isn't nearly as big on the county ground.

Very well done to the clubs on their continued progress.

I completely agree with your perspective, it is fantastic to see a wider variety of clubs hosting championship matches at their own grounds, but the fixture scheduling certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

It is incredibly harsh to expect Saval and Saul, two teams that pushed through extra time on Sunday evening —to turn around and play again this Friday night. A schedule like that demands much more careful consideration for player welfare. Meanwhile, Clonduff enjoys a ten-day break before their next game, which is more than double the recovery time given to Saval and Saul. The organizers definitely need to put more thought into creating a fairer, more balanced schedule.

[Akinfenwa]

I completely agree with your perspective, it is fantastic to see a wider variety of clubs hosting championship matches at their own grounds, but the fixture scheduling certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

It is incredibly harsh to expect Saval and Saul, two teams that pushed through extra time on Sunday evening —to turn around and play again this Friday night. A schedule like that demands much more careful consideration for player welfare. Meanwhile, Clonduff enjoys a ten-day break before their next game, which is more than double the recovery time given to Saval and Saul. The organizers definitely need to put more thought into creating a fairer, more balanced schedule.

I believe you were alluding to this already but it would be remiss of me not to reiterate the point; I was commenting on the venues alone, not the scheduling.

I would be lying if I said I hadn't already spotted and considered that. In addition to the examples you already raised, in the intermediate I seen Newry Shamrocks had a 6 day turnaround to play this Saturday, whereas An Ríocht v Longstone in the same round of the same competition have 9 and 8 day turnarounds respectively.

With that being said, I'm not sure if there are other factors at play. Firstly (I assume), the scheduling committee need to assign a "fair" venue. It has always been an unspoken rule that the pitch selected either lies between the two clubs, or if not possible that each club has a similar distance to travel. When we see the draw, we are normally able to say with a fair degree of certainly "that game will be held in _____".
Secondly, what days is said venue available. The Rostrevor v St Johns Intermediate 1st Round was moved to Atticall because original hosts An Riocht had an underage tournament at the same time on their pitch.
Then do they need to factor in streaming services?
Next, are there any external factors? Are there any events in the area, parades etc.
Finally (for my thoughts at least), are the teams themselves available? Perhaps there is one day they are just unavailable to field, maybe a wedding or whatever.

There could be a lot more than this to consider; there may be multiple points I haven't even considered. However the scheduling committee normally have about 2 hours after the draw to get everything out.

I'm not going to pretend like I know the exact process, but I'd like to believe that we have people in that room with a wealth of experience and much more intelligent than myself doing what is best for the county, the clubs, players and supporters alike, all within very short time constraints.

[The Windy Mill]

Turnaround times for the teams competing in Championship this weekend

Senior Championship Rd 2A

Burren(7 days) v Clonduff(10 Days)
Kilcoo(7 Days) v Carryduff(8 Days)
Bryansford(8 Days) v Saul(5 Days- Played Extra Time)
Loughinisland(7 Days) v Warrenpoint(6 Days - Played Extra Time)

Senior Championship Rd 2B
Glenn(8 Days) v Saval(5 Days - Played Extra Time)
Mayobridge(8 Days) v Ballyholland(6 Days)
Bredagh(6 Days - Played Extra Time) v Castlewellan(7 Days)
Drumgath(6 Days) v Downpatrick(8 Days)

Intermediate Rd 2A
Newry Shamrocks(6 Days) v Liatroim(7 Days)
An Riocht(9 Days) v Longstone(8 Days)
Tullylish(9 Days) v Rostrevor(7 Days)
Teconnaught(10 Days) v Annaclone(7 Days)

Intermediate Rd 2B
Dromara(8 Days) v Ballymartin(8 Days)
Darragh Cross(7 Days) v Atticall(9 Days)
St John Bosco(8 Days) v Clann Na Banna(6 Days)
St Johns Drumnaquoile(8 Days) v Ardglass(8 Days)

It is clear to see from the turnaround times of all the clubs playing this weekend that Saul and Saval have been given a raw deal, expected to play 5 days after their previous fixture and on top of that having played extra time in those fixtures also. It is very clear that the decision makers could have placed other ties on the Friday and given those teams 6 day turnarounds and allowed the extra day or so rest for both Saul & Saval. Unfortunately Down GAATV is obviously a factor in this and seemingly the county board has been swayed by thoughts of £££ and prioritised this over player welfare. Why no Intermediate matches on Friday night? At least 3 of those Intermediate matches would have involved a team with no less than a 6 day turnaround from the previous round.