Down Club Hurling & Football

[ck]

A shocking performance and scoreline. I thought Armagh would win narrowly but I didn't see an annialation coming.
It was a cruel representation of Down who are better than they showed.

In Tailteann Cup now, this competition is beneath them. Very unlucky to be in it and really shouldn't be if truth be told. Winning it again will not advance this team, maybe developing fringe players for next year would be the best approach.

[brokencrossbar1]

This whole business that the TC is below Down is a weird one. Down haven't won an Ulster or AI since 1994, they haven't won a minor title since 2005 and have the 2 recent u20s wins which are the bedrock of this current team. They haven't won yo-yoed between Division 2 & 3 but have never consolidated themselves in division 2. Themselves,  Westmeath, Kildare,  they are perfect teams for using the TC to develop because they are just a step below the consistency required for top end football. They are not as bad as yesterday in a consistent basis but they are also not as good as they were against Donegal on a consistent basis.

Yesterday was a beautiful aberration of a game and will live long in memory but for Down to really push on from Donegal they should guarantee their spot in next years Sam by winning the TC and then give Division 2 a real rattle from a position of strength 

[guevara]

The lack of physicality was worrying. Armagh get awsy with a lot in their tackling but they push the boundaries and got rewarded.

The amount of times an Armagh player received the ball under no pressure and was able to know no contact was coming.

The errors for the goals killed us and our lack of killer instinct showed our naievity.
Armagh would never concede them goals. They would take the foul and go again.

We went almost thirty minutes without a score because we kept trying to go for goals and not take 1 pointers to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Armagh were excellent and wanted to put down a marker.

[knowbetter]

Now that the football has settled a bit. How do we think the hurlers will fair this weekend against Joe McDonagh favorite's Carlow?

Already played once this year but not exactly under ideal condition for either team.

With the team on form and at home in Ballycran it should be a much closer encounter. In recent years down vs Carlow has been a toss up but Carlow have push on a bit much like kildare. Hopefully we are on the same path.

[snoopdog]

I dont thonk anyone said the TC was below Down. We are where we are becuase of years of poor management of underage structures. Laveety is doing his best with what he has at his disposal. And Down have certainly improved over the last 4 years. Not massively but sunday was the 1st time i would say they gave up under Lav. For me i think Armagh will win the All Ireland. McGeeney is as driven as ive seen, Kildare got rid of him too soon they didnt know what they had and are paying for that now.
It will take a long time to get over that defeat. Winnin gthe Tailteann cup doesnt seem like much of a consolation but it will guarantee what thry need for next summer. Ulsters a minefield and the luck of the draw. We dont want to lose it but an all ireland series from the start would be amuch fairer route.
Lavs biggest challenge now is to keep that grouo together and try and strengthen for next year. A few notable absentees from his own club would be a good addition for next year. Go put and go full tilt at the TC.
 

[APM]

Laverty is liable to cop a bit of criticism for how open he was about their preparation after the Donegal win, which now looks like a mistake.

However, he has Down going in the right general direction and their journey may not be too dissimilar to Armagh's under McGeeney.

Thinking back to 2017 and the 18 point hammering (in old money) at the hands of Tyrone which was equally traumatising and things looked hopeless for Armagh at that stage, such was the gap to the top teams.

The biggest challenge Lavery has after this weekend is to keep that group together and to gradually add to it, building squad depth.

[urbangael]

Agree. Lav put a target on our back after the Donegal win. Too much talk of screen savers and such nonsense. He should've played it down. Kerry, Donegal and Armagh was too much 3 weeks on the trot. Massive task to lift these lads now for a B competition. We are still top 16 team just unlucky the way its fallen. Hopefully the lads see out the summer and dont go to America where there is always the lure of a few quid.

[Ed Hardy]

Agree. Lav put a target on our back after the Donegal win. Too much talk of screen savers and such nonsense. He should've played it down. Kerry, Donegal and Armagh was too much 3 weeks on the trot. Massive task to lift these lads now for a B competition. We are still top 16 team just unlucky the way its fallen. Hopefully the lads see out the summer and dont go to America where there is always the lure of a few quid.

Good point about the Kerry game aswell. There should hopefully be a few games in the Tailteann cup now that Lav can experiment a bit with, whilst making sure we do enough to get a win (Scullion,Brown,O'Hare,Savage hopefully  all see game time) and I would imagine there will a few others called into the squad also, maybe a few of the u20s and boys standing out in the opening league games for their clubs?

Any idea how the Kerry man is getting on playing for Clann Na Banna?

[downtothecore]

Definitely need to use tailteann to develop the squad particularly the physical size aspect of the team. Ross carr, eamon Brown, tom close, and tom gilroy all need to be looked at and developed so they can add to the current set up...

[ranch]

Agree. Lav put a target on our back after the Donegal win. Too much talk of screen savers and such nonsense. He should've played it down. Kerry, Donegal and Armagh was too much 3 weeks on the trot. Massive task to lift these lads now for a B competition. We are still top 16 team just unlucky the way its fallen. Hopefully the lads see out the summer and dont go to America where there is always the lure of a few quid.

That's debatable. At present they're a yo-yo side, anywhere from 14-18 if you were ranking teams.
Yes Down have good players but the drop off outside of your top 2/3 players to the rest is massive. Other counties have had the same issue in recent years (Louth with Mulroy for example) but over time have managed to develop players and create a bit more depth. Laverty's challenge over the next few years will be steadying the ship in division 2, ensuring they actually are a solid top 16 team and that will inevitably lead to players developing quicker and creating that depth they're currently lacking. From there, you can push on to division 1 in a good year. Division 2 next year won't be easy however, but if the key men stay fit Down should probably be ok. If Murdock was to be injured you'd question who would step up in his place.

[LosDodgers]

I think this is a fair point. We have a few stand out players who are top tier and start for pretty much any team in Ireland - Murdock, Guinness & Burns.

After that we have a couple of very good players, Pierce Laverty, Havern, Ceile Doc. (Danny Magill when fit)

The next tier is where we really need to develop - lads like Cummins, Rooney, Fegan, McPolin, Rogers, R.Magill, Annet,  Kerr (unlucky with injuries) have done really well for us but o feel we need these lads to step up to that next level and the more exposure they get to top level football hopefully helps that.

In this Tailteann Cup I would like to see someone get a run at corner forward weather this be Brown,Savage, Scullion and also maybe likes of Ross Carr and Tom Close get more time. What about Rauri Madine who scored well for the 20s? 

[Ed Hardy]

Did any of the county players line out for their clubs tonight?

[seanaglis]

I think this is a fair point. We have a few stand out players who are top tier and start for pretty much any team in Ireland - Murdock, Guinness & Burns.

After that we have a couple of very good players, Pierce Laverty, Havern, Ceile Doc. (Danny Magill when fit)

The next tier is where we really need to develop - lads like Cummins, Rooney, Fegan, McPolin, Rogers, R.Magill, Annet,  Kerr (unlucky with injuries) have done really well for us but o feel we need these lads to step up to that next level and the more exposure they get to top level football hopefully helps that.

In this Tailteann Cup I would like to see someone get a run at corner forward weather this be Brown,Savage, Scullion and also maybe likes of Ross Carr and Tom Close get more time. What about Rauri Madine who scored well for the 20s? 

Agree that Murdock and Guinness are top tier. They are exceptional. Burns badly exposed last week, although performances up to that point were good.

The ones you quoted as very good.... Dont agree. Can be good one day, poor the next. No consistency that you need for the top level.

[Green+Gold]

Did any of the county players line out for their clubs tonight?

Liam Kerr and Ryan Magill played for Burren.

[Ed Hardy]

U20s into All Ireland b final, not exactly where we want them to be but a final nonetheless. Is the full forward from Drumgath out injured for them, and Barra McEvoy?