USFC Round 1 : An Cabhan V An Dun

[thewobbler]

Dodgy defences, out of position full-backs, goal-hunting forwards on both sides, a 90 year old in goals for Down - 12/5 that there'll be three or more goals looks a bloody good bet.

[charlie stubbs]

wobbler any odds first goal scorer or should i ask benny

[5 Sams]

Funny that, because i can't remember seeing a down team beat an armagh team, at any level, in competitive football...

Just as I thought Uladh is a 16 year old spotty kid...way back to Hogan Stand

[An Cloch Scoilte]

Funny that, because i can't remember seeing a down team beat an armagh team, at any level, in competitive football...

Just as I thought Uladh is a 16 year old spotty kid...way back to Hogan Stand

Ha ha Uladh!!!

Ripped out!!!

Slan leat a mhic!!

[Fíor Gael]

Ádh mór ort Uladh, níl cead agat a bheith ar Gaa Board go ceann cupla bliain eile, ádh mór leis na GCSEs.

[downredblack]

Down on the up
Carr driven by getting Mournemen back to the summit
Friday, May 11, 2007

By John Campbell

Ross Carr makes no bones about it - he is currently picking his steps through a sporting minefield.

The Clonduff clubman took delivery of two All Ireland medals as a Down player in 1991 and 1994 but this weekend he will be sampling the Bank of Ireland Ulster Championship for the first time as Mourne county boss.


And as he prepares to send his team out against Cavan at Kingspan Breffni Park, he offers a straight from the shoulder assessment of just why his side failed to deliver in the recent National League.


"The consistency of our inconsistency has been a big worry," admits Carr. "The fact that we only garnered a single point in the league has inevitably bred fear. But now we are going into a massive game and we all have to trust each other so that we can deliver a big performance. "


His abrasive style, superb accuracy from long-range frees and a fierce work ethic underpinned Carr's lengthy tenure in the famous red and black jersey.


But today he views the Championship landscape from a rather different perspective.


"When I was playing, I could afford to be selfish - I got myself right mentally and physically and just hoped that everyone else did the same. Now as a manager you have to read minds, look for signs that are either encouraging or discouraging, weigh up selection options and just hope that your judgement is right. In fact, you have to trust your instincts as much as anything," maintains Carr.

"I don't want to be ringing players all the time, being intrusive and a source of irritation. I have faith in them, I want them to do well for themselves and for Down."


He has watched Tyrone and Armagh dominate the Ulster Championship since the dawn of the new Millennium and is in no doubt as to just why they have been so successful.


"The Tyrones, Armaghs and Kerrys of this world know how to close out games, know how to apply the killer punch. They may even struggle during long periods of a match but in the last ten minutes they can turn things in their favour. These teams have the attitude and the personalities to do this - they will always have players who can step up to the mark when they are most needed," insists Carr.


The Down side that will attempt to wrest the Anglo Celt Cup away from Armagh may not, Carr suggests, yet have the overall maturity required to be regarded as a major Championship force.


"If you look at the teams that have been successful of late, invariably they have a few players in their early 30's and a substantial number in their mid-20's with perhaps a couple of youngsters thrown in. We don't have that kind of mix but if things go according to plan we will have a couple of years down the line," he said.





"You can't buy experience. It's a vital ingredient in a Championship context. You need it to cope with match-day pressures, with the atmosphere, with the opposition and even with the refereeing decisions that might go against you."


Yet, for all the foreboding that has overshadowed Down's itinerary to date this year, Carr is genuinely excited about pitching his side into the Ulster Championship - and against Cavan in particular.


"I remember going to see matches in Breffni Park - and not just games involving Down either - in the 70's and 80's and I thought there was fantastic atmosphere there. There is a great volume of noise from the stand, the pitch is big, the tension is electric. If you want to succeed you have to cope in an environment like this," asserts Carr.


And can his team cope with the pressures that await them?


"In a sense, there is no pressure except the pressure you put on yourself. I believe that it is how we perform when we don't actually have the ball that will determine whether or not we win the game. The same principle applies in an Ulster Championship match that applies in an Under 10 game - the first fifteen minutes will be a settling down period, then the next 10 or 15 minutes will see one side get on top, then the other will have a period of dominance but it's what happens over the last ten minutes that will really count," observes Carr.

And that word inconsistency keeps cropping up as Carr plots his strategy for a game that he views as "big as any I ever played in myself."

He adds: "Look at our scores for and scores against in the National League. In one game we scored seven points and in another 1-14 while defensively we conceded 0-9 in a match but have leaked 2-16. That's the kind of statistics we are trying to remedy."

Thirteen years have elapsed since the Sam Maguire Cup was proudly borne into the Kingdom of Mourne.

Maybe Carr's side are not equipped to deliver the blue riband of gaelic football for a sixth time into a sports-mad county but the manager nonetheless feels they have the attributes to regain credibility and perhaps even a ration of glory in an Ulster context.

"We like to think we are realistic with our feet on the ground. Sunday's game against Cavan will give us an insight as to just where we are - and maybe we will get that rub of the green that eluded us in the National League," smiles Carr.

[Uladh]

Ádh mór ort Uladh, níl cead agat a bheith ar Gaa Board go ceann cupla bliain eile, ádh mór leis na GCSEs.

Cheers newbie

[Fíor Gael]

Ádh mór ort Uladh, níl cead agat a bheith ar Gaa Board go ceann cupla bliain eile, ádh mór leis na GCSEs.

Cheers newbie

Maith thú

[Uladh]

Down supporters remind me of liverpool supporters. "we used to be great i tell you...."

But nobody could possibly believe it.


When did down last beat decent opposition in the championship?

even monaghan, cavan, fermanagh and antrim have produced one off performances to take big scalps.



so thats two questions now. 1) when did down last beat armagh at any level, and 2) When did down last beat above average opposition in the championship?

[naka]

liverpool  will have played in 4 finals in 3 years .uladh so to compare down with liverpool isballs

[5 Sams]

Funny that, because i can't remember seeing a down team beat an armagh team, at any level, in competitive football...

Now now Uladh...don't try to deflect attention away from your selective memory by focussing on Down's recent (admittedly dire) record.

As for the Liverpool quote...there's no comparison.....we haven't been beaten in a Final and while we also won the big prize 5 times...we didn't need extra time or penalties....and anyway......using that analogy who would Armagh be??? Aston Villa or Notts Forest......oh thats right it couldnt be Forest...they won it twice.

[naka]

down are probably like preston north end or blackpool who were good/great sides in the distant past but who may never return

[downredblack]

Right that's it for another week , Just like to wish the lads all the best on Sunday and hope all Down posters are in good form on Monday .
We are Down 

[Uladh]

Tyrone weren't decent in 1999.

Lets get real here lads.

I'm sorry to have to point out what you all know in your hearts. down haven't won a single competetive game this year. you have a group similar pedigree athletes who just can't compete in intercounty football to any serious level. your defenders (use of this description of those players is a leap) are hilariously bad. not one of your starting defenders on sunday would make the armagh panel.

You guys are discussing whether its ok to be optimistic about beating cavan and if you win two games you'll have made progress.

having won 6 of the last 8 ulster titles, we are discussing whether winning the anglo celt again or the back door route is the best preparation for an assault on sam.

now.

who's notts forest?

[Uladh]

So you're saying that, although down are crap, you believe armagh will soon be crap also. and Armagh's record of 6 ulster titles, one national league and one all ireland in the last years is so insignificant that you'd rather down stayed in under their rock rather than come out from under it for that paltry lot?