Down Club Hurling & Football

[Mourne Red]

Unbelievable display. I can't wait for Sam Maguire football next year. We are back..

By the way, it was Laois you beat. They are Division 4 FFS

Pretty sure Johnny is being sarcastic

[PAULD123]

It's not just about who you have playing but how they play.  We could learn so much from Armagh. Their energy, positive aggression, direct attacking, and speed, bring them to a level above the sum of their parts. We are too slow in build up. Too hesitant on shooting. We get a break and turn back to recycle,  Armagh break and drive for the danger zone.

I honestly believe that we have enough good players to equal Armagh. But we don't have an approach or attitude that brings us to their level.  Yet???

[snoopdog]

Down have a massive learning curve for next year. Div 2 won't be easy. We kicked some poor wides yesterday. And while we never looked like losing, croke pk seems to hold a fear factor for us. That goal line scramble at thr end could've ended up disastrously for Down. A game that shouldve been won a lot easier could also have been lost very easily.
Final won, move on and I'm sure Laverty has already begun planning for next year.

[downtothecore]

Down have a massive learning curve for next year. Div 2 won't be easy. We kicked some poor wides yesterday. And while we never looked like losing, croke pk seems to hold a fear factor for us. That goal line scramble at thr end could've ended up disastrously for Down. A game that shouldve been won a lot easier could also have been lost very easily.
Final won, move on and I'm sure Laverty has already begun planning for next year.

It's good to win to end the year in a positive. The main focus going forward is to stay in div 2 and get the team accustomed to challenging in the sam maguire. Hopefully the management team can find more quality players to bolster the current team and squad because we are still lacking in some areas of the team ro really have a go at winning sam maguire in next few years.

[Sheedy]

Yesterday was all about winning and getting a bit of silverware after a long long wait. People knock the tailteann cup but I think it's been good for this Down team over last couple of years, got them games in croke park and playing in front of bigger crowds.
Promotion from division 3 and Sam Maguire football were the aims at the start of the year both were achieved, heading in the right direction

[Dubh driocht]

Yesterday was all about winning and getting a bit of silverware after a long long wait. People knock the tailteann cup but I think it's been good for this Down team over last couple of years, got them games in croke park and playing in front of bigger crowds.
Promotion from division 3 and Sam Maguire football were the aims at the start of the year both were achieved, heading in the right direction

That's it in a nutshell.
Well done players, management and county board; the culmination of a lot of hard work.
It's been an enjoyable season overall; apart from a disappointing performance in D3 final and a disappointing result in Clones against the All Ireland finalists.
The spine of the team is there, with strong leaders, and the manager rightly expects full commitment. One player whose work often goes unseen is Johny Flynn;delighted he got a point and a full game yesterday.
Looking forward to the 3 championships now and players will want to put themselves in the shop window for selection to represent their county in serious competition next year.

[OgraAnDun]

Down have a massive learning curve for next year. Div 2 won't be easy. We kicked some poor wides yesterday. And while we never looked like losing, croke pk seems to hold a fear factor for us. That goal line scramble at thr end could've ended up disastrously for Down. A game that shouldve been won a lot easier could also have been lost very easily.
Final won, move on and I'm sure Laverty has already begun planning for next year.

Not an expert on football, but Downs in game superiority never seems to be reflected on the scoreboard, Sligo was very much proof of that and yesterday going into the final few minutes with a five point lead looked to be enough and ultimately was, but that goal at the end made it a more nervous wait than it needed to be.

There'll be a lot less possession for Down next year in Div2 and in the Sam Maguire, so whatever possession we do get needs to count.

I think Down are so error prone in part because they're mostly not punished for it in Div 3/Tailteann Cup as they're considerably stronger than most other teams. They'll have to tighten up next year or the Division 2 & Sam stay might be a short one.

[Ed Hardy]

Now the dust has settled, glad for this current Down team to finally have won a trophy. Wasn't pretty at all but I think Down were good value for the win, psychologically it should give them a decent boost going forward. Be interesting what new players can force there way into Lavertys plan for the 2025 season. I'm sure he'll be looking to add more power and strength to the team.

[Truth hurts]

We will be happy to remain in Division 2 next year, but we will need a few more players. Hopefully, the championship will yield some.

[Hard2Listen2]

We will be happy to remain in Division 2 next year, but we will need a few more players. Hopefully, the championship will yield some.

I'm not sure there are too many yet to be discovered. I'd say Conor & his team know about most of the players in the county.
Possibly some of the U20 players stepping up at least onto the panel to bring depth.

Personally I think the team needs more physical presence particularly at midfield & in the full forward line. That would give another option to the current running game.
Where those players come from though I just don't know.

[Ed Hardy]

We will be happy to remain in Division 2 next year, but we will need a few more players. Hopefully, the championship will yield some.

I'm not sure there are too many yet to be discovered. I'd say Conor & his team know about most of the players in the county.
Possibly some of the U20 players stepping up at least onto the panel to bring depth.

Personally I think the team needs more physical presence particularly at midfield & in the full forward line. That would give another option to the current running game.
Where those players come from though I just don't know.

I would imagine it's more that certain players get an injury free run of games and can prove themselves again, likes of Owen McCabe or Ronan Beatty, McCormick from CPN, Anthony
Morgan, O'Rawe from Breadgh maybe? And big O'Hare from Saul might get more game time season, probably still only 22 or 23.

As you say they would obviously already know these players, more a case of them staying injury free and finding form again. 

[Johnnysboys]

Double round of league fixtures to enjoy this week. Preparation for championship begins now the county are done. It's the best part of the season by far, teams get stronger and closer to their starting 15 for championship - quality of games gets better.. Laverty would do well not to be standing on a sideline and actually be out scouting for new players for Division 2 and a tilt at Sam next year.

[Truth hurts]

Saul appears to be playing well; a few more matches, and they'll get promoted. Seeing that would be refreshing.

[Square Ball]

Double round of league fixtures to enjoy this week. Preparation for championship begins now the county are done. It's the best part of the season by far, teams get stronger and closer to their starting 15 for championship - quality of games gets better.. Laverty would do well not to be standing on a sideline and actually be out scouting for new players for Division 2 and a tilt at Sam next year.

not this week, 4 fixtures left and we go, Friday 26/07, Friday 02/08 Monday 05/08 and finally 09/08

[SuperRed]

Division 2's promotion battle is looking really exciting now with all eyes on Saul and Bryansford's game. Will Saul finally get over the line, or is there another twist? RGU had a massive win in Bryansford and have blasted their way back into it... An Riocht and Saval will be very pleased with their work to date, although will be keen to keep some form of momentum heading into quite an open intermediate championship. St John's on a bit of a roll. Looking good to stay up if they can get another win (very much so if it comes against Liatroim). Shamrocks going down because there is no way they win their last four games and Longstone lose theirs. Rostrevor have done enough from their good start, but need to beat Shamrocks and put the matter finally to rest - then they can plan for championship and getting their injury list down a bit. Longstone will be disappointed with their season, but a win against Liatroim will keep them out of trouble in the re-fixtured game... It looks unfortunate but very probable that the relegation fight will be non existent in the last two weeks so all eyes on the top three.