Down Club Hurling & Football

[Lazer]

any single tickets going folks?

I think I have a spare hill.ticket if you interested?
Available for collection in Castlewellan/Newcastle area

[ardtole]

Are we expecting any changes for Saturdays game? For me McEvoy has to start.

[snoopdog]

Will many Down people travel to croke pk tomorrow.? Not much of a build up from the national press, they're all about the semi finals. Hope we get over the line. Can't afford a poor start like the longford game. 2 great performances since that.

[ardtole]

I'm concerned about the weather, the forecast is similar to the Amagh game in Clones this year. This game is definitely gone under the radar barely gets a mention.

[Sheedy]

Will many Down people travel to croke pk tomorrow.? Not much of a build up from the national press, they're all about the semi finals. Hope we get over the line. Can't afford a poor start like the longford game. 2 great performances since that.

Down will have big support tomorrow, lots travelling down, hopefully weather isn't too bad.

[ardtole]

I'm in Dublin today, and it's lashing rain and very windy and the same forecast for tomorrow. Dreadful conditions for football.

[urbangael]

Conditions will be a leveller.  Makes it more difficult to play the running game but I'm sure Down will not be afraid to go direct at times.  Can't see McEvoy start.  The Armagh game done him no favours. Andre Murnin had a field day.   He  can't play the same game he does for Kilcoo as he does for Down.  Full back needs to stay at home and marshall the square.  Let the corner men attack if need be. Meath will go direct and probably more physical.  Won't be much between the teams.  Down by 2.  I hope we haven't used up all our goals!!

[ardtole]

I'd have somewhere in the middle 8, particularly with the conditions forecast.

[Truth hurts]

Good luck to the boys on Saturday

[Dubh driocht]

Looking forward to a day in HQ.
Laverty, Clarke, Morgan and Donnelly are to be congratulated for their professional and focused approach over last 8 months- there have been setbacks but clear progress. Those who thought Conor would be a divisive figure couldn't have been more wrong. He loves Gaelic Football and loves winning. Players respect this and even those who have had disagreements with him personally, and Kilcoo generally. have jumped on board. Careers are short and we will never get a manager who ticks all the boxes, but Conor ticks most of them. Fair play to the County Board who have backed him and especially to the players who are an honest and dedicated group of young men.
We have only lost 4 games all year ( I don't count the Derry McKenna cup defeat on penalties as ,along with Cavan in the TC, that was one of our best performances) and I've been at 3 of the defeats. Only Armagh beat us well so the management team learned from that and pushed on.
In terms of team selection , I think it will be similar to the starting 15 against Laois.
Niall Kane has been fairly steady; a couple of wobbles in Ederney and Clones cost us but he should have had more protection. He has pulled off a couple of excellent saves out of the bag at crucial times; his 45 conversion rate is about 2 out of 3 and Conor trusts him.
Paddy McCarthy is quality, our captain Pearse is a much improved player and leads well despite conceding height and Anthony Doherty has been a revelation.
Management may be tempted to throw McPartland ( if fit) in from the start against a physical Meath hf line but more likely they will stick with Rooney, C Doc and Paddy Brannigan; these boys don't let you down although all have had off games.
Ryan McEvoy is a good option and again brings physicality but I think he's better held in reserve to wait and see where the pressure points are. Same with Ryan Magill.
Nothing more needs to be said about Odhran Murdoch- would get on to any of Down's all Ireland winning teams.
Daniel Guinness will be named at 8 but play in the middle third and is Laverty's type of player. Pat Haven will alternate between mf and ff and plays like a man who loves playing for Down.
I reckon they will stick with Kerr, Mason and Danny Magill; three very different players but all have qualities that have been missing in recent years. Mason finds time to find the right ball, never gets flustered and hits frees for fun. Kerr's energy is electric while Magill has the swagger of a Down man destined to win at Croke park. Shelan Johnson, Ross Carr and McAleenan are likely to feature and are good men to bring in.
I reckon he will stick with Ryan Johnson ( who is flying), Havern and Eugene Brannigan. Brannigan will never win a popularity contest but he does what has to be done, has learned from Laverty and , more importantly, is trusted by him. Poland and Francis have played their parts this year and  deserve a run in HQ but Laverty doesn't do sentiment unless we are 10 points up in injury time.
Happily the weather is not going to be as bad as some predicted; there will be showers but it won't be persistent. I didn't see anything in Parnell Park or Croke Park that tells me Meath are great shakes;while it will be close, we should win.

[Johnnysboys]

If the team don't win this - there is no hope for us. Meath are poor but will stick with us for 40 minutes and then we should see the real Down take over.

[supersub]

Will many Down people travel to croke pk tomorrow.? Not much of a build up from the national press, they're all about the semi finals. Hope we get over the line. Can't afford a poor start like the longford game. 2 great performances since that.

Plenty on official gaa social media to be fair. Paths to final, stats, graphs etc.

[Louther]

Have a pair of adult Tickets for lower Davin. Well covered from the rain. Going spare, €80 would take the pair.

Also a pair for Lower Hogan. Same.

[befair]

Not surprised at that; we were totally over-rated after the Laois game. The flukey early goal seemed to unsettle us, and after that  we had no composure in the forward line, kick-outs were a disaster. Meath much the better team, physically stronger all over the pitch, but Tailteann Cup is the level for both teams

[Nanderson]

Meath set up perfectly against us. They know we struggle around the middle and like to build from the back so they set to push up from the start. The middle 8 players really struggled to get any real impact on the game. I'd agree thag the dodgy goal knocked us for 6 at a time when we wwre well on top. Thats where you want a keeper to be more commanding or communicative. Really should have bknown that that shot was going to hit the post. Havern seemed to be caught by surprise when it came off and couldnt adjust himself. Forward line really misfired after a dream match against laois. Ryan J probably only player that played any sort of a decent game today