Down Club Hurling & Football

[full back]

We have a hard run in

[Colonel Cool]

The minor hurling final takes place on Sunday at Cherryvale. Ballycran v Down Academy. Now Ballycran will win this fairly handy I reckon. They're the best team in the county by a mile, won the minor league and this group of lads have won everything all the way through u12, u14, u16. The Academy team bullied Portaferry in the semi with a rough display of hard hurling. The ref (from the mainland) was very easy on them. No team from outside the Ards has ever won the minor championship and this Academy team won't be the first.

Now that said, a couple of things about the final.
1) Why is it being played on 3 December? The highlight of a minors career play in the wind and rain in December. A disgrace. There were only 4 teams in the A championship so why did it take so long to run it off?
2) Why in Cherryvale? There is no fence around the pitch and you can't charge in. I hope all goes well on Sunday but if anything happens involving spectators the County Board have only themselves to blame. What was wrong with Kilclief, Saul, Downpatrick or Ballykinlar?
3) Why give the game to a Bredagh ref when there are Bredagh players on the Academy team? Hardly neutral!! It's not fair on the ref either, no matter what happens he can't win. It should have been Mowglie or Deccy Magee Portaferry.
Rant over. Good luck to both teams.

[Bacon]

I take it you are a Cran Colonel Cool? Or are you a relative of Johnnycool? You're all very cool on the Ards! 

If Ballycran are starting to complain about the pitch and the ref before the game they must be very worried!! IMO they should be. The East/South Down team absolutly stuffed Portaferry in the Semi Final. The 2-11 to 0-01 was not down to hard hurling - it was down to skill, commitment and a good game plan on the side line.
Why shouldn't the game be played at Cherryvale? I haven't been there for a while but the facilities were excellent last time I was. It will save you the ferry fare. Kilclief, Downpatrick and Ballykinler pitches are all closed for the winter. The semi final was played in Saul and it looked like the grass had'nt been cut for 6 months. 2 of the smaller Portaferry forwards got lost in the long grass.
As for the ref, I know who you're talking about and he's a decent, fair, ref. It's impossible to get someone completly neutral when you have an Ards team playing a selection from the rest of the county

[downredblack]

Any word on Panel ?

[Colonel Cool]

I don't know Johnnycool at all Bacon. As for Ballygcran being scared? Wise up. When was an Ards club ever scared of meeting a team for across the water?
I was just pointing out that the basic requirements for a championship final are a proper pitch and a nuetral ref. Both these are missing. But as I said in my original post, Ballycran will still win and win well.

[Lecale2]

Colonel Cool - you seem to have got the wrong end of the stick some how  . The cherryvale pitch was re-layed during September and is in excellent condition. There will not be a Bredagh ref. The ref is a former Ballygalget member now living in Downpatrick.
Having put those two rumours to bed, I expect a close game on Sunday. This is a very talented and well prepared Academy team. They are a credit to their clubs and management team (Ronan Sheehan, Brian murphy & Ciaran Donnelly) and I expect them to push Ballycran all the way.
No team from outside the Ards has ever won the MHC. I hope these lads make history on Sunday.

[Flat Hedgehog]

Good luck to the academy team. What clubs do the non Ards boys come from? Will you be at it Lecale2 or will you not be able to drag yourself out of the Parador?

[johnneycool]

Firstly, I don't know Colonel Cool at all, he/she is no relation.

The academy team beating Portaferry was no big surprise to anyone involved with juvenile hurling, the margin of victory was probably more emphatic than expected, but to but that down to rough, hard hurling speaks of sour grapes.

So, Paul Braniff is refereeing, so what, I don't think there are any Downpatrick lads on the team so I can't see how he may be perceived as biased.

I've seen a few of the academy lads playing for the disasterous Down minor team earlier in the summer and they were no worse or better than the other Ards lads on the team.

Ballycran aren't a great team, they've just had no competition in Down for the last few years and that's no fault of their own, more so Ballygalget and Portaferry's lack of effort at this age group giving them a free run and to date they've been found out in the Ulster minor club series against better opposition.

[Guillem2]

If this is going to be a competitive match I'll probably go along. What time's throw in? You don't get a chance to watch much hurling in December.

[sabhallphadraig]

Decided to take a step across into the new world here - looking good. This is the time of year to be talking football and hurling rather than trying to play it. Why do we end up hosting U21's, playoffs and finals on pitches that have been hammered through the season and then hit hard by the weather that they should be closed for the winter rather than prolonging the damage - I certainly agree that this is in no way hurling weather. I caught part of the Down Academy/Portaferry semi at Saul and it was a credit to the lads on both teams how they battled through gale force winds and a constant downpour.  Down Academy would appear to have enough about them to at least trouble Ballycran in the final.

Finally, I couldn't leave it without responding to the sting from Bacon on the Saul pitch. Even though our seniors had been relegated 2 week previously, the grounds at Saul were prepared (by the hardworking committee folk at Saul), cut, lined and flagged plus scoreboard setup for the Darragh Cross and Ardglass playoff game on the Sunday prior to the Hurling semi so I know a week is a long time but come on!! 6mths!  It pains that this received no mentions on any front compared to Kilcliefs pitch getting credit in the local rag for the condition and setup for our playoff game (even without lines, scoreboard and with only corner flags in place). No disrespect 001 but that just highlights that different strings than the ones we're pulling need to be found to get credit in this county...  but anyway, bring it on ...

[DownFanatic]

Fintan McGreevey, Aidan Burns and Mickey McVeigh are the 3 Castlewellan players that have been selected for the provisional Down squad. I got wind of it last night.

[Lecale2]

Hedgehog, I'll be there alright! The Parador holds no attractions compared to a good game of hurling! Here's the squad. 6 clubs represented and there's some good hurlers among them, including Micheal McCartan from Liatroim who is the best minor in the county this year.

Paul Doolel                      Bredagh
Paddy Bryne                 Bredagh
Eoghan Donnelly                Bredagh
Rowan Smart                 Bredagh
Michael Murphy             Warrenpoint
Brendan Murphy            Warrenpoint
Danny Grant                  Warrenpoint
Alan Higgins                  Warrenpoint
Karl Maxwell                  Warrenpoint
John O'Kane                  Warrenpoint
Conan O'Neill                 Warrenpoint
Micheal McCartan          Liatriom
Liam Morgan                 Liatriom
Daniel McCann              Liatriom
Paul McAleenan            Liatriom
Paul Sheehan                Newry Shamrocks
Mark Cribben                 Newry Shamrocks
Shane Courtney             Newry Shamrocks
Gary Courtney               Newry Shamrocks
Mal Magee                    Ballela
Paddy Mc Cambridge     Ballela
Sean Kennedy               Ballyvarley
Paul O'Neill                   Ballyvarley

[Bacon]

Apologies Sabhall phadraig. I went a wee bit over the top. The grass was probably ok for football but it was definently too long for hurling. We done to your committee for all the other arrangements. It must be hard to get folk motivated when the senior footballers have just been relegated.

Guillem2 - the game is at 1.30pm

[Cloc Mor]

Fintan McGreevey, Aidan Burns and Mickey McVeigh are the 3 Castlewellan players that have been selected for the provisional Down squad. I got wind of it last night.

No problem with Mc Greevy and Burns.  Mickey Mc Veigh is no longer one of the top keepers in the county and really shouldn't be there.  His old nemeses, Peter Travers, is around the same age and is playing much better (especially under the high ball). 

One of the problems about guys the same age as Pete is that they were shafted by Pete Mc Grath in the late 90's and early 2000's and they have no interest in playing for the county because of this.  As a staunch College man, I respect Pete Mc Grath for what he did for St. Colman's but thats where it ends.  Some guys were just cast aside when they had alot to offer.   Thats why there are no guys in the prime of their career (late 20's) who have been there before, interested in playing for Down at the minute.  I hope things change under the new regime.

[Square Ball]

Hopefully there will be a good turnout for the match on Sunday, looking forward to seeing what sort of talent there is out there. I have only seen a few of the non Ards guys close at hand so dont know what to expect, but come on the academy!!!