Down Club Hurling & Football

[The Worker]

Down ran out comfortable 1-16 to 0-8 winners over Kildare in Sunday's NFL Division Two game at Newbridge.

The sides traded points in the first half until Paul McComiskey hammered the ball into the net to make it 1-5 to 0-6 to Down late in the first half.

John Clarke went close to adding a second goal and Down extended their lead to 1-7 to 0-6 at the interval.

The Mournemen continued to pull away after the break, with McComiskey prominent, and won by 11 points.

Down manager James McCartan said he believed the "hungrier team won on the day".

"We were expecting a stern test but were hopeful of winning because they had so many players missing.

"The two points were probably more important to us than Kildare," he added.

[downredblack]

Great preformance from Down today but  Kildare missing a few including Johnny Doyle has to be taken into account .Marty Clarke had a great game spraying the ball around for the Down forwards to win and to their credit they were out in front all day . John Clarke had a great game and would be my man of the match . In the middle Ambrose(capt.) had a very good game and Calum King came into it better in the second half .Defence worked hard , Dee Rafferty was his usual hard working self and McKernan had a great game . Connor Garvey knocked over a lovely point in the second half . So off to a great start and 2pts in the bag .

Any news on Dan Gordan ?

[goldenyears]

Dan was at the Big Stone this morning around 10am with the rest of L'island seniors; along with Ballyholland.

Ballymartin + Bosco occupied Kilbroney as well

[downredblack]

Dan was at the Big Stone this morning around 10am with the rest of L'island seniors; along with Ballyholland.

Ballymartin + Bosco occupied Kilbroney as well

Not good news , the sooner he is back in the county set up the better .

[D4S]

Great performance today by Down.  I thought every man played a part in what was the best team performance since beating Tyrone in 2008...it may be only february but there is a lot to be optimistic about after today!  Was a very strong line up and id say that the team that lined out today we will see around 12 of them line out in may in ballybofey.  Speaking to a kildare man coming out and he thought that was about 10 of kildares first choice so it's a decent indication of how good down were today.

We were the much hungrier and sharper team by a mile, and when kildares discipline started to go in the last 15/20 when they knew they were beaten, Downs' discipline was excellent.  Brendan McVeigh was untroubled all day due to the defence being so strong, Damien Rafferty was fantastic today, kevin mckernan and james colgan were also great in defence.  Ambrose really came into it in the last 15 of the first half and had a really solid 2nd half, scoring 3 points in total.  Kalum King had a decent game overall, Benny worked really hard today and was great not to see Down relying on him so much, letting him play his own roving game was brilliant to watch.  Martin Clarke came into it more as the game progressed but had a fairly quiet one by his high standards...but im sure we'll see much more of him over the coming months!  Young conor maginn had a really steady game at half forward, and in the full forward line mccumisky and john clarke were excellent! Best 3 players for Down would have been damien rafferty, paul mccumisky and john clarke, any one of these 3 could have been man of the match! If had to pick id go for rafferty but id say the papers will give it to mccumisky for his great scoring return today, wasn't counting but id guess at 1-6? 

[Joe Umbrella (hey)]

A very good performance and 2 points.
Its only Feb so i don't want to start calling us super stars just yet but I must say that I thought Rafferty, the Clarkes and Ambrose were outstanding.

It seems Meath will be a much tougher opponent on Saturday night, but if Down can repeat todays performance then they will have a fighting chance.


In my opinion todays starting 15 and the subs that came on make up a very strong panel. But in the long term are Michael Walsh and Doyle recovering from their injuries and will they be back on the panel? And whats up with big Dan? Is he injured?

[Trevor Hill]

When you read the Irish News tomorrow morning the word "hype" will feature regularly when talking about this Down team. There is no hype in Down, there never was. We simply don't do hype, not in the `60s not in the 90s and most certainly not now. The only hype there is, is in the minds of a few two bit, tuppence hal`penny  journalists who are turning what was once a good GAA paper into a soccer style tabloid rag.

Rant over and a bit about the game. Kildare opened brightly and had a score on the board inside the first minute, but McComiskey quickly had Down back on level terms with a well taken point, before he slotted over a free to leave down ahead by 2-1. Kildare scored two points before John Clarke levelled the game on 18 minutes when he had the goal at his mercy. A Martin Clarke free put Down ahead by a point and a few minutes later John Clarke added another to leave down ahead by the minimum 5-4. Kildare added another 2 points before a great ball from Martin Clarke put Paul McComiskey in on goal and he made no mistake to leave the score 1-5 to 6 points in favour of Down. McComiskey lobbed over another free on 30 minutes before Ambrose Rogers got in on the act with a fine individual point to leave the score 1-7 to 0-6 in favour of Down at half time.
Down started the second half very brightly and Daniel Hughes added a point within 30 seconds. Connor Garvey had arguably the score of the day on 42 minutes to leave the scores at 1-9 to 0-6. Another Martin Clarke free followed by 2 points from Ambi left the score at 1-12 to 0-7 as the Kildare fans headed for the gate. McComiskey took a blow to the face, before slotting over the resulting free on 56 minutes, quickly followed by a point from sub Steven Kearney.  McComiskey added another from play before another of Down subs, Conor Laverty deservedly got on the score sheet to leave Down ahead by 11 points at the final whistle 1-16 to 0-08.
This was probably Downs best performance since beating Tyrone in Newry in2008, but no one will be getting carried away. We played with a purpose and cohesion that has been missing for too long. There were very few negatives today everyone played well, but Kildare made it easy for them. Kildare did not go out there to play football today, they went out to bully and foul Down and were very lucky to end up with 13 players on the field. They lost 1 player after a straight red card and a second in the dying minutes for a second yellow, but they could and should have had a few more players sent off. McGeeney really needs to have a look at this, but maybe this is what he wants.
The much maligned Down full back line didn't have much to do today. D. Rafferty was outstanding, while the others were steady enough after a shaky start. The half back line is very strong, they hardly put a foot wrong, though I was very impressed with James Colgan today. The midfield came into the game after a sluggish start. Ambi had 3 fine points from play, while Calum King added a physical aspect that has been missing for a long time. The forwards as a unit worked hard and took their scores well, with very few chances wasted. Martin Clarke did all that was asked of him, without being outstanding. He rarely wastes a ball and has the ability to find space in a crowded area and also play great balls into the corner forwards. He instinctively knows where John is and the two of them were worth the admission price alone. McComiskey had a great day, took a few knocks, but took his scores very well. Coulter, while not his usual flamboyant self put in a good, hard days work. For a while in the last 10 minutes he was playing in the full back line, in fact everyone seemed to want to defend. Its a pity Martin McHugh wasn't there to see it, I would have bought him a fish supper after the game.
All in all a good day at the office. My Man of the Match was D. Rafferty, though it really could go to any one. Next up, Meath on Saturday night who will be a much tougher test.

Down Scorers.
P. McComiskey  1-5 (3F), J. Clarke 0-2, M. Clarke 0-2 (2F), A. Rodgers 0-3, D. Hughes 0-1, C. Garvey 0-1, S. Kearney 0-1, C. Laverty 0-1.

[down desperado]

for the past 5 to 6 years damien rafferty has been downs best defender. He would be one of the first names on my teamsheet,. I dont know him personally, but his atitude on the field is exempelary, no back chat, no moaning, does his job, selfless worker, an excellent player in my opinion

[Dubh driocht]

D4S and T Hill have got it right but the debate in our car coming home was more about how poor Kildare were.They were missing their 2 of their 3 best players of last year ( Doyle and Smith) while the 3rd, Earley, was poor poor poor.Or was King bringing something that we haven't had in a few years to the midfield sector ?Or does Mc Geeney know how to get players big and strong but beyond that, can he read a game and analyse the opponent's weaknesses ?
It was a joy to watch Benny, Mc Comiskey and the Clarkes today - it was clear they were enjoying it also - and the defenders showed that the inputs from the Loughshore and Kilcoo bring added value to the managerial set-up. It was interesting to see Earley's Uncle Paul ( who was an excellent pundit on the Derry-Tyrone game on Setanta) deep in conversation with ma and da Clarke after the game- or maybe he was still feeling guilty about taking the all-star from the father of our wonderful captain ?All in all, a good show , and James kept the feet on the ground afterwards on the radio. After this performance we must push on and build confidence as the trip to Ballybofey in May will be critical- we don't want to be going through any back doors with the talent in our forward line especially.

[Trevor Hill]

for the past 5 to 6 years damien rafferty has been downs best defender. He would be one of the first names on my teamsheet,. I dont know him personally, but his atitude on the field is exempelary, no back chat, no moaning, does his job, selfless worker, an excellent player in my opinion

If we can get Luke Howard fit again (does anyone know how he is getting on?) we will have potentially solved 2 of our 3 problem positions on the pitch. I still think Kevin McKernan would make a great full back, but on todays performance I cannot fault McArdle, though tougher tasks lie ahead.
DD, Kildare were poor today, but they should concentrate on playing football instead of getting too physical. McGeeney seems to have gone for physicality over footballing ability. A player like Doyle would be a big loss to any team, but if he had behaved himself he would have been eligible.
Strangely enough the main talking point from the Killdare supporters was not Martin Clarke, they were more interested in Dan Gordon and why he wasn't playing. I told them we didn't need him. We only use him for big games.

[down6061689194]

Hype was the talk in the irish news today and will continue to be.

Possibly the most pleasing part of the game was that marty clarke by his standards had a good game. But wasn't the best Down player. In fact may not make the top 3.

Rafferty & Ambrose Men of the Match. John Clarke a close third.

Referee was very kind to us, a few hand passes were the only harsh frees against.

[Aghdavoyle]

It's immediately prior to the 2008 Ulster semi final since i saw down spirits so high...

[D4S]

Joking aside T Hill what is the story with Gordon? Was at the donegal game in enniskillen wednesday week ago and he didnt look at his best at all, but was veruy surprised when i heard yesterday he wouldnt be on the panel today, does he want a break? Seems a strange one if so.  DD on your debate about how poor kildare were, its hard to understand the answer.  The kildare man i was chatting to on the way out also said to me the kildare lads have been training 6 nights a week and said he'd love to know what they've been doin?!  Injuries and suspensions aside I think the kildare fans and players were a bit dumbfounded today at how good Down were....but the big challenge for Down now is consistency, we need back to back great displays! We had great days at the office under O' Rourke + Carr but we need consistent good performances to be able to improve long term and challenge for ulster titles and in the latter stages of the all ireland series.  Meath next saturday night will ask a lot of tough questions of us, they will be coming now expecting one tough game, hopefully be a big turnout in Newry to cheer the lads on (unfortunately im workin late), a win here would be another huge boost!

[D4S]

It's immediately prior to the 2008 Ulster semi final since i saw down spirits so high...

In hindsight we had just come from 7 points down in omagh, taken a replay to newry, beaten the all-ireland champions elect in a thriller after extra-time......any team in the country would have had high spirits! 

PS See my comment above RE: consistency and back to back good performances....thanks

[Oldhacker]

Trevor, whether you call it hype or profile, we have not had much of either over the last 16 years. Today's result from Newbridge will be a talking point across the country, but the players are well capable of dealing with a little extra attention while it lasts. It might all help to get someone like Benny, who is in his 11th year of senior county football and has managed a single championship appearance at Croke Park for Down in that time, closer to the All Star he deserves.

While we can only judge our league campaign when it is over, this ranked alongside our best performances in the competition since we had a purple patch in the early to mid 80s. I would say it was our best away display since a memorable trip to Navan about a quarter of a century ago when we hammered Meath and Mickey Linden was close to unplayable.

The health warning has to be that Kildare were desparately poor, and had lost their shape and their discipline by an early stage in the second half. Still, they were a team which was widely expected to win promotion and a place in the AI quarter finals, and they could not deal with us at all.

McVeigh did not have a save to make, but his kick-outs were reasonable and he was usually able to find a colleague. McCartan did not have much to do, but kept his man quiet, and,despite a couple of sloppy hand passes, finished the game fairly strongly. McArdle was also largely untroubled and will have tougher tests ahead. Rafferty was outstanding from start to finish, won every ball down his wing and against stiff competition was probably MoM.

Colgan was practically as good in the half back line, providing strength, leadership and organisation throughout, while McKernan worked and tackled like a Trojan, and Garvey improved after a slightly shaky start to kick arguably the point of the day.

The midfield had a special day, leaving Early, who was the best in Ireland in his position last year, a frustrated and dejected figure long before the end. Ambrose is begining to look like the player we all know he can be. He provided a captain's role throughout, and his three points from play were precisely the type his father loved to score. King was almost equally effective, and his physical presence made a huge difference.

Maginn and Hughes both ran themselves into the ground, helping the defence while supporting the attack, and were always available to take a pass. Marty Clarke is still finding his feet, but some of his passing - especially the one for the goal - was breathtaking, and he is only going to improve.

John Clarke has a fantastic understanding with his younger brother, and was back to his best, while Benny terrified the Kildare backs every time he got the ball without quite getting into overdrive. McComiskey was pure class, and his tackling was almost as impressive as his finishing.

There's not much point in going through the subs, as Kildare had thrown in the towel before they appeared, but Down had a gameplan and a presence which suggests that further progress is possible.

Meath will be an entirely different game, and may tell us a bit more about where we stand, and we need big Dan back soon - although, amazingly, not necessarily at midfield. It's seldom easy being a Down supporter, but today was one of the good days.