Down v Meath official thread

[bridgegael]

aye and those same people-if down win- will be back on the bandwagon again!!! those aren't real supporters. 

[Mourne Rover]

Pangurban, I would not like to predict the outcome of the game but I would still guess that there will be more supporters from Down than Meath on the night. Although the qualifiers traditionally attract much smaller crowds than championship matches, I also suspect there will be a decent turn-out in Newry. Meath have just played in front of two packed houses at Croke Park when they provided between a quarter and a third of the fans - somewhere between 20,000 and 30,000 people. Down's last two USC games at the Marshes had gates of around 15,000, meaning that we had somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 supporters present. It is not very far from Meath to Newry, but it seems reasonably likely that the stay-at-home factor will have a bigger impact on the visiting followers. The Meath fans are certainly not writing off their chances on this basis, and I don't think we should either.

[lisdoon1]

Very winable - as you say - if we play as a unit. Benny will be a marked man yet again. Is paul Murph fit or injured at the minute does any one know??

[goldenyears]

scullion expected to start, as will stephen kearney. mcguigan will move to left half back. murphy hasnt trained all week with calf problem, and danny hughes is out after breaking two bones in his hand at weekend practice match

[meathie]

Well Geraghty is off the panel      so that should help yee on saturday... bust up in training

[Hardy]

What? Is that certain? It's a bit of the old Tom Jones, really, in GG's case. He'll be back again. But losing Geraghty and Sheridan, even if only temporarily, seems a bit careless on the part of the management.

(It's not unusual).

[Stagmeister]

Geraghty in serious bust-up at training

By Colm Keys
Monday July 02 2007


GRAHAM GERAGHTY'S inter-county career is hanging in the balance again after a serious training ground bust-up over the weekend.


Geraghty is not expected to be part of the M**th squad for next Saturday's All-Ireland football qualifier against Down in Newry as a result of the incident.

He is understood to have reacted angrily to a tackle from a 19-year-old squad member and lashed out repeatedly near the end of an internal practice match in Navan on Saturday morning.

The serious nature of the incident shocked colleagues and onlookers at the practice session in Simonstown as Geraghty had to be restrained by a team-mate.

The session broke up immediately and M**th manager Colm Coyle gathered his players together in an attempt to cool things down. But Geraghty left the pitch seething and is not expected to return.

The incident could potentially bring down the curtain on his inter-county career.

The latest outburst will inevitably draw parallels with the stand-off he had with last year's manager Eamonn Barry he took exception to remarks Geraghty had made during a challenge match with Antrim to M**th referee Jim Smith.

Geraghty refused to apologise to Smith and was off the squad for up to six weeks but agreement was reached to bring him back.

He has courted much controversy over the last 12 months from the incidents with the Australians during last year's International Rules series to his sending off against Louth in the O'Byrne Cup earlier this year.

He was one of M**th's stars in the two matches against Dublin but faced calls for possible suspension over two incidents involving Dublin defender David Henry.

His departure from the squad on Saturday leaves another void in the M**th attack after Joe Sheridan withdrew from the squad last week.

- Colm Keys

[Jinxy]

Lads, does anyone have any inside info on what actually happened? It's not like you can trust the Indo to give you the real picture on something like this.

[lisdoon1]

Good news for Down!

[meathie]

Well what Keys has written is pretty spot on. Geraghty lost the plot during a training game. The young lad was marking him hard through out and Geraghty didnt like it. They exchanged a few elbows etc but then Geraghty just lost it and went for him, fist boots and all. A few lads went in to break it up and he was fuming. Coyle asked him to apologise and get on with it but he refused saying that Coyle wanted him off the panel and basically f**ked off.

[downredblack]

Don't be surprised if this is all sorted out by the weekend but if not Down will face a tough task with or without GG . Good to here Skullion is back and that Kearney is getting his chance , he has impressed coming off the bench . So the big question is who is going to  play where . Giving GY's team news I'll go for the following ...

               McVegh
  Cole  Skullion  McCartan
Murtagh  Rooney McGuigan
         Lynch  Gordan
    Kearney Carr Sexton
Walsh  Coulter McComiskey

[lisdoon1]

Brerndan Grant not make it for you redandblack?

[downredblack]

We have to try and change it at the back and  Grant has done a job for us in the past and I'm sure he will do again but  they are just the six I went for this time . He'll probably be man of the match at full back on Saturday (hope he is ).

[agorm]

Sounds as if there is no way that GG will be back. Though Boylan was on TV3 this morning saying that what he had heard about it was not as bad as was reported. I hate to say it but I nearly believe Colm Keys in the paper more. Boylan must be one of the worst GAA analysts that I have heard - he brings sitting on the fence to a new level. Maybe TV3's general sporting incompetence has rubbed off on him.

If it is as bad as some of the reports suggest then Geraghty should be left off, apology or no apology. Pity because he has been one of our best players in a golden era for Meath football.

[goldenyears]

forgot to add; downey out, walsh at 14 and benny in half forward line, probably on wing.