Messages

That adds up a bit more. I didn't think we had a fielding issue.

That's disgraceful if that is how it panned out. Shows little respect for the lower tier either.

All these competitions are being run off on a week by week basis so there was probably no free slots and these lads would have had to isolate for 10 days.

Down now play Meath this Saturday with the final the following wednesday night.

Why not invite other lads into the panel? You'd be no worse off.

Full Celtic Challenge panel to bring lads in from

Was there not something about "tier 1" counties not being allowed to play lads in the Celtic Challenge and also the championship proper (Leinster in this case) ?

If they'd have pulled lads from the Celtic Challenge panel those lads then could no longer play in the Celtic Challenge..

Possibly but you would like to prioritise minor team over Celtic Challenge if you have the 2 teams. We only enter u17 Celtic Challenge, its our level

Derry aren't tier 1 and IIRC can play the same squad in both the Celtic Challenge and the respective championship.

Down have done it for a few years pre covid.

For all the talk and all the attempts to blame Southgate, the defeat is on Rashford more than anyone else.

Eh? He played 1 minute in the game, help me out here on that one

He handed the initiative back to Italy. Missing his penalty after Donnarumma already committed to his right hand side was inexplicable.

That was the game.

He played one minute ffs . You taken penalties in a European final before?

England didn't press on after scoring and allowed the Italian team to dominate.

But yeah, it's think Rashford lost the game

Quite harsh that, no?

The actual game was 120 minutes of which Rashford played 3 or 4 minutes.

The deciding penalties are a lottery as we know. Can't remember the team, might have been Switzerland who took unbelievable penalties to put France out, yet the next game vrs Spain also went to penalties and you'd have thought it was the first time some of them had ever taken one.

Over the 120 minutes Italy were the better team and deserved to lift the trophy and that's not anti-English bias, that's based on Pickford being much the busier of the two keepers.

That adds up a bit more. I didn't think we had a fielding issue.

That's disgraceful if that is how it panned out. Shows little respect for the lower tier either.

All these competitions are being run off on a week by week basis so there was probably no free slots and these lads would have had to isolate for 10 days.

Down now play Meath this Saturday with the final the following wednesday night.

Why not invite other lads into the panel? You'd be no worse off.

Full Celtic Challenge panel to bring lads in from

Was there not something about "tier 1" counties not being allowed to play lads in the Celtic Challenge and also the championship proper (Leinster in this case) ?

If they'd have pulled lads from the Celtic Challenge panel those lads then could no longer play in the Celtic Challenge..

[There won't be another fighting or sports star out of Ireland the same again in my lifetime.]

Surely the questions should be asked now about him "dominating" a sport and a division in its infancy . . . He's been found out badly since he became champion!

Not really. The top fighters in the division are not new young fighters. McGregor was at the top and then took years off and his lifestyle changed dramatically so I don't think he's been found out. Porier and oliveria have worked on their game whereas Conor time off has cost him.

There won't be  another fighting or sports star out of Ireland the same again in my lifetime.

Taking the piss surely. hes a sc**bag, done nothing for Irekand except show young lads how not to be behave. Coke head

+1 a despicable character & an awful role model. A vile coked up thug.

Well I didn't mean he was a great person. PPV machine and world wide star I was referring to

It's true. He's a global superstar who had a big hand in transforming MMA into the mainstream. We probably won't see a superstar like it for many years. A fantastic business man but a terrible role model for young lads. The early years McGregor was brilliant and then he completely lost the run of himself.

It's where you decide the act ends and the real McGregor starts.

We could all laugh at his press quips, "red panties day" and all that as we know he's getting PPV sales along the way but somewhere along the line when he's throwing digs at a lad in a bar who didn't want to taste his whisky then I think the mask slips and he turns into a sc**bag we could do without.

Shít gets real this weekend;

1st round qualifiers

Laois v Waterford
Clare v Wexford


2nd round qualifiers bye
1. Cork
2. Galway

Similar to others have said, apart from the pens it is clear England have good players but their style of play is totally dictated by Southgate and his flip-flopping from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and back again. They tried to soak up Italy after going 1-0 up. That is clearly a mistake against the best team in the competition but they did alright for a while, but it was never going to last. They are a good team but not a great team. They have creative players and plenty of young boys who should be able to play without fear, but Southgate by his very nature is conservative and has a natural reluctance to deploy these players for fear of leaving gaps behind them. Anyway, the right result for the tournament and the greater good  .

Phew, that was too close for comfort.... Well done Italy, you've saved the rest of us of years and years of analysing a eulogising the tournament for decades and decades.....


first things first, that was a really well taken goal by Shaw so credit there but for most of the game especially in normal time the Italians bossed it and Pickford was by far the busier of the two keepers.

Chiesa doesn't look anything spectacular but he's some player and probably for injuries would and should have been player of the tournament. Class with the ball at his feet but so were most of the italians, neat and tidy in the tight confines and run the England midfield ragged.
Much was made of the age of Cheilline and Bonucci but Kane was pants the whole tournament if the truth was told and never bothered either of the two elderly gentlemen that much. If Southgate was serious about winning this Kane should have been hauled off after half time, he offers that team nothing (not complaining though    ).

There was 60 yards between the English  forwards and midfield for the entire second half. But here blame Kane for not pulling every ball out of the sky and threading a series of passes to Stering's feet.

You read like a man with a pre ordained notion rather than someone who watched the match

What I'm saying is that Kane wasn't the man for that role. England were always looking to play on the counterattack and that's not his game, but by being England Captain was deemed untouchable and was kept on when it was obvious Rashford in a more central role would have caused the Italian midfield to sit deeper to ensure their two aging centre backs weren't exposed by a long ball. Bonucci had an armchair ride as Kane was neither willing or able to make those runs. Veratti and Jorginho were calling the shots barring the first 10 minutes.
If there's a heat map for Kane it'll be pretty blue and he's not entirely to blame for that.

Similar to others have said, apart from the pens it is clear England have good players but their style of play is totally dictated by Southgate and his flip-flopping from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and back again. They tried to soak up Italy after going 1-0 up. That is clearly a mistake against the best team in the competition but they did alright for a while, but it was never going to last. They are a good team but not a great team. They have creative players and plenty of young boys who should be able to play without fear, but Southgate by his very nature is conservative and has a natural reluctance to deploy these players for fear of leaving gaps behind them. Anyway, the right result for the tournament and the greater good  .

Phew, that was too close for comfort.... Well done Italy, you've saved the rest of us of years and years of analysing a eulogising the tournament for decades and decades.....


first things first, that was a really well taken goal by Shaw so credit there but for most of the game especially in normal time the Italians bossed it and Pickford was by far the busier of the two keepers.

Chiesa doesn't look anything spectacular but he's some player and probably for injuries would and should have been player of the tournament. Class with the ball at his feet but so were most of the italians, neat and tidy in the tight confines and run the England midfield ragged.
Much was made of the age of Cheilline and Bonucci but Kane was pants the whole tournament if the truth was told and never bothered either of the two elderly gentlemen that much. If Southgate was serious about winning this Kane should have been hauled off after half time, he offers that team nothing (not complaining though    ).

Galway the 2020 Minor All-Ireland champions. Galway: 1- 17
Kilkenny: 1-14

First time in hurling for a four-in-a-row.

Galway supporters rightfully nearly went mad with ref. Sean Stack for a few baffling decisions when the game was in the melting pot late on, nearly costing the team the win. Completely missed a rugby-style head tackle from KK FB on Galway attacker Molloy when racing through. Why a Leinster ref with a Leinster county in the final?

That was one crazy decision alright, the fullback more or less dropped his head into the oncoming Galway lad and took him out at the neck, shoulder area and then awarded a hop ball......
Kilkenny penalty was on the soft side only to be compounded by not giving the Galway lad a penalty decision a few minutes later for a very similar challenge up the other end. If you're going to give one, the other should have been given.

Thought Stack was a Clare man, but there you go.

Well done Galway in 4 in a row but the real thing is getting some of those really talented lads through to senior.

That adds up a bit more. I didn't think we had a fielding issue.

That's disgraceful if that is how it panned out. Shows little respect for the lower tier either.

All these competitions are being run off on a week by week basis so there was probably no free slots and these lads would have had to isolate for 10 days.

Down now play Meath this Saturday with the final the following wednesday night.

Why not invite other lads into the panel? You'd be no worse off.

There are plenty not taking the vaccine, but doing everything else right to prevent spread. And there are many more that are double jabbed and doing feck all in terms of stopping the spread, wearing masks etc.

Benny still doesn't realize that getting the vaccine means you're very unlikely to pass on Covid. Not impossible, but very unlikely.

And by wearing masks, social distancing, etc etc means you're unlikely to pass on covid either.

Are people going to continue to do this when things open up, I think not.

You know what, come the 19th, every ballbag whose had their "freedoms" restricted will be out and about, no mask even on public transport and confined spaces irrespective of what the local guidelines are as Boris has decreed so in England..

Looking like Meath have proceeded into the next step of the competition;

https://leinstergaa.ie/competitions/electric-ireland-leinster-minor-hurling-championship-2017/

[how Chielini (spelling) handles Kane who tbh is one of the biggest divers I have seen in the game]

I honestly think England will really struggle to break down that Italy defense but the question is will the reverse also be the case. To be fair England are a very good team but Kane is having to drop too deep to get the ball and it's bringing him out of danger areas. It'll be interesting to see how Chielini (spelling) handles Kane who tbh is one of the biggest divers I have seen in the game. Very good player no doubt and makes things happen.

There are too many nerves for them to win it IMO. Pickford is a mistake waiting to happen.

I thought Saka was very good for England. Mount I am not sure about would be my main question on their starting 11. Foden definitely added a lot and Grealish has very good touch and can win a free kick. (to be fair he isn't that bad a diver)

Not sure how Mount and Saka are in ahead of Sancho, Grealish, Rashford, Greenwood and whoever else I'm probably forgetting.


And as for the bolded, hopefully with a headbutt to his smug diving face when Italy are 3 nil up!

Oh for a Marco Materazzi in his pomp..

Did we not play down last week in this age group?

Yes, the winners (Antrim) were to go into the Leinster minor championship proper last night and the losers (Down) went into the Peadar O Liathain Cup which they won the first round of last night..

Down minors beat W-Meath in the U17's last night in Daver and move onto the semi-final in that competition.

Sad if Antrim minors have had to drop out, but surely there'd need to have been quite a few Covid cases for that to have happened..

Best team won even if it was by the skin of their shíte...

Loved their playing down of the national anthem booing.. It's not as bad as the booing of the German anthem I think I heard one of the commentators muttering just after it happened.

Hard to stomach their jingoism at the minute.

Sterling is their man threat with his carrying of the ball and winning frees for big Maguire to come up and head.

They rely on the pace of Kyle Walker quite a bit when hit on the counter and he is very quick. Any opposition would be better going down the other wing.