Derry Club Football & Hurling original

[the half-time show]

Hopefully we get through last 3 C'ship games without any such incidents or we'll end up with no referee's that should be near a GAA pitch for next season.

Regardless of which referees are adjudged to be good enough to be "allowed inside the grounds of a GAA pitch", we surely can't be far away from a situation whereby the whole lot of them go on strike and we're unable to have any games played.  The old question of "who'd want to be a referee" always seemed a light hearted dig at the officials and the abuse they'd put up with from certain sections of the crowd but now it looks to be a genuine question and something that urgently needs addressed with officials being physically assaulted at the drop of a hat.  For Dan Mullan to be met by a mob of Slaughtneil supporters in the tunnel last night is nothing short of disgraceful. Anyone that tries to justify that because they feel aggrieved about a few decisions he made (or indeed didn't make) needs to take a long look at themselves. 

Onto the game itself and it was another fantastic evening of championship football served up by two very evenly matched teams.  Both have come under fire in recent times for playing a negative brand of football but I've always felt that a lot of that stems from how the opposition set up rather than their own styles of play. Against Magherafelt, Slaughtneil had no option but to play keep ball whereas last night gave them opportunities to maraude forward and create some wonderful scores. It seemed like they couldn't miss in the first half last night and like many others I thought the game was done and dusted in the first 20 minutes but credit to Coleraine for coming back into it.

The goal was the clear turning point as it cut a 5 point lead down to 2 and Coleraine looked the more clinical over the closing stages. Slaughtneil looked very wary of taking the shot on towards the end, instead trying to work it around to better positions / players but eventually being bottled up and turned over. I definitely think there were a few instances of players being pushed in the back or fouled when carrying the ball into the tackle but that was the case for both teams with the referee deciding not to make the call.  People seem to forget that Barry Cassidy gifted Slaughtneil a point in the closing minutes of the first game when the goalkeeper was deemed to over carry when being fouled in his small square but there were no cries of corruption or bias after that.

It's a pity that such an entertaining battle between two quality teams will be overshadowed by the antics at the end, but something really needs to be done to address the problem.  However I fear the county board will simply sweep it under the carpet as it's unlikely any video evidence will surface.

One final word on the Slaughtneil team themselves. They have been an absolute credit to the county over the past few years and what they have achieved in both codes is nothing short of remarkable. The players themselves were the ones preventing supporters and others from getting at the officials on the pitch so hopefully they are not all tarnished by the actions of a few idiots in the club.

[Past It]

Things learnt from Owenbeg this evening

Patsy Bradley is done (no shame)
Liam McGoldrick struck twice wasn't cautioned
Niall Holly consistently tackled with a closed fist wasn't cautioned
Coleraine no2 struck with fist wasn't cautioned
Sammy Bradley had a stinker
If Mickey Moran had have been along the line Slaughtneil would have beaten referee and all
Karl McKaigue wasn't fit
Paudie Tad is a joy to watch
Big no10 McGuigan was awful
Coleraine are a decent side
Dan Mullan should never be allowed inside the grounds of a GAA pitch again EVER!
Slaughtneil weren't their best Coleraine played very well but what I witnessed from start to finish was cheating, I can't possibly butter it up!

I fancy Lavey to cause an upset with glen and screen won't be any good to Coleraine even though they'll be tired!

Ridiculous overview, Shane mcguigan rugby tackled liam.mcgoldrick at least 5 times. Liam had no choice but to wrestle free, Dan Mullan was very generous to Slaughtneil in the 2015 final. Jerome mcguigan could easily have picked up 2nd yellow as could mcgrath, brian cassidy executed a perfect rugby tackle and got a yellow. In saying that, the assault on Dan mullan was probably justified....

Arsehole. What a piece of scum you really are.

Detect the sarcasm, point is view of referee is always down to perception....assault necer ever justified

[cornerback]

A selection of posts on Dan Mullan's performance in the 2017 county final between Slaughtneil & Ballinascreen:

Thought the referee was a joke with some of his decisions against Screen. But this didn't contribute to the result.

Again, no real reflection on the end result as we were so well beaten, but the ref was a joke.

However, Dan Mullan certainly favoured Slaughtneil in their semi final win against Glen and also yesterday.  It was clear for all to see

Mullan had no impact on the scoreline.  He was very poor all over. 

On a side note - Mullan was very poor. Didn't effect the result at all but some really questionable decisions. None more so than the foul on Anton Kelly in the first half that was a stone wall penalty.

[Ty4Sam]

Took a trip across the into the dark side to watch this, first time watching a Derry Club Championship match in a few years. Enjoyed the match, like everyone I thought Slaughtneil would run away with it after 20 mins. They have a very simple game that is based on doing the basics very well, I see a few calling the 2 teams very defensive which I feel is unfair. No sign of the double sweeper which you see a lot of in Tyrone. Coleraine got going towards the end of the first half and probably were happy enough going in at half time 4 down after a very slow start. Slaughtneil kept Coleraine at arms length for a lot of the second half but the goal changed the swing of play. Only one winner for me after the goal, I thought Slaughtneil started to look very sluggish/tired and seemed to run out of ideas. No shame in them looking tired or lethargic after the efforts that they have put in over the last few years. On the ref, where I was sitting both sets of fans were not happy with him, personally although I thought he got a few decisions wrong. I think a lot of the frees Slaughtneil were looking for towards the end were dubious enough and he got a few of them correct. I can see why Slaughtneil were angry with him to an extent but in my opinion the match was win because Coleriane looked fresher and hungrier.

[allseasons]

I might sound a bit ironic posting this on here but social media and every fool having a platform is a real problem. I see a few twitter users from neighbouring clubs slating the referee looking for cheap likes and retweets.
The nailers haven't been at their normal level this year for a variety of reasons and it opened the door for a result like this to happen.

[theticklemister]

Things learnt from Owenbeg this evening

Patsy Bradley is done (no shame)
Liam McGoldrick struck twice wasn't cautioned
Niall Holly consistently tackled with a closed fist wasn't cautioned
Coleraine no2 struck with fist wasn't cautioned
Sammy Bradley had a stinker
If Mickey Moran had have been along the line Slaughtneil would have beaten referee and all
Karl McKaigue wasn't fit
Paudie Tad is a joy to watch
Big no10 McGuigan was awful
Coleraine are a decent side
Dan Mullan should never be allowed inside the grounds of a GAA pitch again EVER!
Slaughtneil weren't their best Coleraine played very well but what I witnessed from start to finish was cheating, I can't possibly butter it up!

I fancy Lavey to cause an upset with glen and screen won't be any good to Coleraine even though they'll be tired!

Ridiculous overview, Shane mcguigan rugby tackled liam.mcgoldrick at least 5 times. Liam had no choice but to wrestle free, Dan Mullan was very generous to Slaughtneil in the 2015 final. Jerome mcguigan could easily have picked up 2nd yellow as could mcgrath, brian cassidy executed a perfect rugby tackle and got a yellow. In saying that, the assault on Dan mullan was probably justified....

Arsehole. What a piece of scum you really are.

Detect the sarcasm, point is view of referee is always down to perception....assault necer ever justified

Caught me early in the morn 😅😅

[theticklemister]

Me da rung me last night to tell me about the match ( Every Championship match in Derry he is on the phone to me tell the craic, love our conversations about the football and i miss our time going to the matches together)

Anyway, he informed me the  ref was okay and Slaughtneil looking a few soft ones at end of the game, but dan rightfully said no. Me da is a hard man to please!!!!!

[tonesfirstandlast]

I thought what happened Slaughtneil last was a disgrace, it was obvious the referee was out to beat them. It had to be tough on those Slaughtneil players this year playing under that management after having the great Micky Moran in charge of them.
I don't care who wins it now as long as it's not that crowd of inbreds from Draperstown

[Hejustkeepsdroppingballs]

The abuse levelled at Dan Mullan after the game and on social media is a disgrace. Coleraine started slowly but by the end they were much the better team and bar some way ward shooting early on they could have won by more than 1.  Get over it the best team won and I have seen many bad referring performances in my day and Dan Mullan last night wasn't one. Strong officiating. Well done.

[Franko]

Was informed by a very well placed source that this is the EIGHTH incident involving a physical altercation with a referee in Derry THIS YEAR.

Time for some tough action.

[The Trap]

Well if nothing is done about the previous 7 what do you expect?

[Franko]

Well if nothing is done about the previous 7 what do you expect?

Shout it loud brutha

[BackInTheGame]

Well if nothing is done about the previous 7 what do you expect?

Bang on.

It's a disgrace.

[Glenman93]

I am actually in shock at the abuse Dan Mullan got and the comments on here from Slaughtneil supporters.  For years they have been given the rub of the green with referees and refereeing decisions (one referee in particular - seems to favour them and is given a championship game of theirs every year).

Every club out of the Championship at the minute could gripe about a refereeing decision here or there.  Bottom line is most teams/players/managers made mistakes themselves and that is why they are out.

[Low and Hard]

Heard few reports today, all saying ref had a few 50/50 calls but he didn't influence the outcome of game. Was there any players involved with officials ?