NFL Division 3 - 2026

[AustinPowers]

You could say that a bounce of the ball  literally won it for Down

That was an absolute   freak moment.

[moonster]

We should won that game well but lacked composure. Couldn't buy a free from referee in last 10 minutes and in ET.

Down barely celebrated winning tonight. A county with notions. Tailteann Cup is their level.

On a final note ridicilous game on so late with ET. Facing into hour trip back to Wexford.

[grounded]

Wexford blew it in the second half of normal time. Down there for the taking. Ryan Mc Avoy made a huge difference late in the second half and dragged Down back into it.
    Liam Kerr also made a big difference and some of his direct runs gave the Wexford defence something else to worry about apart from Odhran.
    Down will not be happy with that performance, but they have a lot of room for improvement.
   

[grounded]

You could say that a bounce of the ball  literally won it for Down

That was an absolute   freak moment.

If you look at it again I think he was in two minds whether to toe tap or to bounce and he lost control

[Armagh18]

Do Down realise they need to win this to get into the All Ireland series?

Planning a big ambush in Ulster maybe!

[AustinPowers]

You could say that a bounce of the ball  literally won it for Down

That was an absolute   freak moment.

If you look at it again I think he was in two minds whether to toe tap or to bounce and he lost control

Maybe , but a ball  should never bounce like that.

Maybe Uri Gellar was    above the stadium in a helicopter (one for the  oldies there)

[grounded]

We should won that game well but lacked composure. Couldn't buy a free from referee in last 10 minutes and in ET.

Down arrogance, barely celebrated winning tonight. A county with notions. Tailteann Cup is their level.

On a final note ridicilous game on so late with ET. Facing into hour trip back to Wexford.

That's a bit harsh, Down players seemed overjoyed at the end and well they should as Wexford threw it away in 2nd half.
   I would hope every county should have ' 'notions' of improving themselves and competing at a higher level.
  Wexford are a decent outfit and 2 promotions in consecutive years is super going. Division 2 will be a tough league next year and hopefully both Wexford Down fair better than Offaly and Kildare.
  Anyway safe journey home and good luck in the championship

[Lucifer]

You could say that a bounce of the ball  literally won it for Down

That was an absolute   freak moment.

If you look at it again I think he was in two minds whether to toe tap or to bounce and he lost control

As he manoeuvres the ball in his hand to bring the ball underhand for a bounce, he loses full control. The ball travels further forward than intended so when he then makes contact with the ball overhand, he isn't wrapping his whole hand like normal to bounce in tandem with his movement. He's now only making contact with the back portion of the ball and thus pushing it forward away from himself. Small margins (and over analysis maybe!)

[EoinW]

Strange game indeed.  By the 62nd minute Down had scored only one point in the second half.  Yet from that point on Wexford went 20 minutes without scoring.  Perhaps there is a future for defences in the new game.

The Down issue was pretty basic: they couldn't get possession.  At one point the possession stat was posted and Down had only 30% - which surprised me that it was so high.

I'd like to give Down a consideration as a contender in Ulster(which they must win) except this possession problem is a serious flaw.  They were winning at home to Meath in the league last year then went about 10 minutes with no possession and lost the game.  Then there was the Fermanagh Quarter Final which had the same thing, though Down were good enough to come back late and save themselves.

You'd think an obvious weakness, like this could be addressed and fixed.  Easier said than done, I guess.

Therefore it's hard to have hopes for an Ulster title when, no matter how well Down play, they'll likely sink themselves at some point simply because they can't get the ball.  The Armaghs and Donegals will really punish such a lapse.

[downtothecore]

Fair enough assessment on the lack possession which needs to improve to have any chance of progression.

On a positive..
Down were second best in the second half to Wexford and staring at a bad defeat which would have been devastating for this group but Down done very well to gain control of that game in the Last 10 mins and in extra time. They dug in and grind out the result.  They do have a bit of character this group....which they will need in Ulster championship and div 2 next year.

Wexford are a good team and going in right direction...

[snoopdog]

There was a lot of pressure on that Down team last night. They were expected to win Div 3. The penalty miss and Murdocks shot on goal just before jad either of.those gone in they may have won comfortably. Downs wide tally gave Wexford a bit of confidence in a game where there was no pressure at all for them.
Doens goal at start of year was to win div 3 and play Sam Maguire football. Thats achieved. To say Doen were arrogant is way of the mark.
Had Down lost last night, playing tailteann cup wouldve been disasteeous for thrm. There is no appetite for it amoungst platers or the supporters. We arent midding ourselves we know Sam Maguure footballcwill be tough but thats where we want to be. Can only improve by playing the big boys.
Best of luck to Wexford for the summer and look forward to renewing aquaintance in Newry in Div 2 in 2027.
 

[JPO]

I was in a bar in a Gaa stronghold in Down on Saturday evening to watch this match. There was a good crowd in and a grand total of 2 people were watching the match on tv. I went into a different bar to watch the second half. This bar is owned by a GAA club and is always frequented by current and former players. There was a good crowd in this one too and I observed 4 people watching the match on tv and only sporadically. Last Thursday this same bar was packed with people in to watch the Ireland match.
This is how entertaining people find this shite that we call gaelic football.

[Rossfan]

Stronghold???

[JPO]

Yes stronghold

[Rossfan]

If you insist