Westmeath Football thread - 8 Like(s)
I'm a Down supporter and was at the game and I feel some supporters are being very hard on the Westmeath team. They were too good for Down for about 45 minutes of the game. I was impressed by how efficient their attack was compared to Downs especially in the first half. They got up the field quicker and dispatched their shots without all the endless circling of the perimeter by the Down team. They won plenty of ball in midfield, and probably could have and should have scored more to leave a bigger gap at halftime. A few tactical changes by Down, a more direct attacking approach and maybe a bit of tiredness in the Westmeath team opened the door for Down. One of the things that maybe hurt Westmeath was when they were on top they didn't really try to finish Down off, they started to slow things down and the backs started passing the ball sideways and back and I think this disrupted their rhythm. I know from reading the Westmeath forum that the team has difficulty playing effectively for a full seventy minutes but that's a problem for a lot of teams including Down and takes time and experience to change. I didn't see any lack of effort from your players and John Heslin is a treat to watch. It's not easy winning away and you have a new management set up, I think there's more to come from the team and wish them well.

Newmitch (National) - 27/02/2023 18:54:18

Ticket Fiasco - 3 Like(s)
Supposedly an All Ireland Association the GAA. If you live in Northern Ireland you can't purchase tickets at Super Valu stores or Centra as you could previously. Not everyone has a smart phone or knows how to navigate on line ticket sites. The ticket vans outside the grounds are gone. The attendance at Downs last National League at home to Clare was measured in the low hundreds, if you make it difficult for people to access tickets this what you get.

Newmitch (National) - 05/04/2022 19:23:17

Down GAA thread - 2 Like(s)
Great start by Down, decision making was excellent taking their points and seeming to dominate. The goal seemed to take the wind out of their sails, they never got back on track. Meath according to commentators looked stronger and fitter which is to be expected of a Division Two team. Down who usually finish strongly in the last twenty minutes were completely run off their feet. I don't know why, is the fitness that takes years to build up not there yet, or did the occasion get to the team. Meath showed more maturity, didn't panic or force things the way Down ended up doing. Meath were deserved winners on the day. Down seemed to be set up very deep, with too many men behind the ball and every time I heard that Pat Havern was working away in defence I thought this set up is wrong. There was no sign of Downs strengths pace and running. Disappointing ending to an overall very good season where the highs out weighed the lows. The team are in good hands I believe and have done much to restore pride in Down football and deserve praise for all their efforts.

Newmitch (National) - 15/07/2023 17:13:26

Down Football thread - 2 Like(s)
We saw the difference between a team and a collection of players. I was impressed by Roscommon, they played much better than Galway did against Down, although the gale force winds didn't help Galway. Roscommon are very well coached, have an excellent midfield, are inventive in attack, support each other well and run some beautiful attacking lines. Down could learn a lot from them. I thought Liam Kerr was excellent, a player of great promise. Pat Havern looks a useful addition in the forward line as does young Gilmore. I was disappointed by our defending, fifteen men behind the ball and yet Roscommon had no trouble finding space, running through the heart of our defence unopposed. We put no pressure on the Roscommon players never got close to them. Down are supposed to be afraid of missing out on the All Ireland series and ending up in the Tailteann Cup, I'd say playing in the All-Ireland would be an embarrassing experience given the current state of Down football.

Newmitch (National) - 27/02/2022 13:16:41

Where Is Down Footballers Going Wrong - 2 Like(s)
Thanks for the corrections, I took the info from the Official Down GAA website, maybe the players were having a laugh, or someone got their wires crossed. Disappointing that an official site would have misleading information. It doesn't seem to give the full squad and details for the National League. How can you hope to generate interest in the team when you can't even be bothered to get a simple thing like a players age right. The match programme for the Derry game has Kevin McKernan as a Castlewellan player and the Irish Times had him as playing for Burren. Who knows, or cares?

Newmitch (Down) - 07/02/2020 17:58:07

Down Footballers 2019 - 2 Like(s)
Appalling somebody said of the Louth game, spot on, as bad as some of the low points of Eamonn Burns reign, maybe worse. Paddy, find a midfielder who catch the ball, a pair would be even better. You don't have to do anything else with the mark, just catch the ball and give it to somebody who can play. Until we can win two thirds, at least of our own kick outs we are stuffed. We are so poor we can't even get a decent share of breaking ball. Without a decent share of possession everything else is a waste of time. Louth had two dominant midfielders but on such a windy day still went short. What did Down do, we kicked ball after ball into their two big men, then when the goalkeeper went short he kicked straight into the hands of a Louth player. I could fill pages about how bad Down were, but I'll just give two small examples. Down won the ball back with some good work, Mooney picks the ball up in midfield, fifteen meters ahead of him is Donal O'Hare out in front of his man ready to take a ball into his chest or either side of him, then he is in on goal. What does he get? He gets a ball dinked up in the air, with a gale force wind behind it, its now made it easier for the defender to get a hand over O'Hares shoulder and win the ball. Then we have Kevin McKernan making a good run into the Louth defence, all it needs is a simple tap over from about twenty meters, what do we get,? Kevin with a gale force wind at his back decides to be clever and hit the ball with the outside of his foot, the ball slides right of the post and wide. When your experienced players do this, what chance do the young lads have watching this? Tally said this was a three or four year project, you got that right Paddy. Sheer arrogance to think having won five in a row we could turn up and Louth would roll over. Louth were up for this game and played a team game. They were physically stronger and quicker than Down. They had a game plan for the windy conditions and worked really hard. Their forwards just breezed past Down players like men against boys. Well played Louth, especially after a tough campaign last year, I hope you get promoted.

Newmitch (Down) - 25/03/2019 21:06:44

Tailteann Cup 2023 - 1 Like(s)
I don't know if Down threw the game away, Meath just looked the superior team on the day. The worrying thing for the management team is that this was a worse display than the two point loss in Parnell Park in the group stage against Meath. Down had three weeks to prepare for the Final and I don't know what they were doing but instead of improving and learning from that game they went backwards. Colm O'Rourke said they spent their time tightening up their defence and working on their ball skills and it showed yesterday especially in the second half. Meath always kept a man up and were generally untroubled by the Down attack. Down with fifteen men behind the ball did not look secure in defence at all. There were also question marks over Downs fitness, the usual second half surge was absent. Maybe the occasion got to the players, it's hard to explain why so many players underperformed. The simplest explanation could be that Meath were simply the better team, playing at a higher level in Division 2 against better opposition. The stats were pretty similar for both teams except in two areas, Meath outscored Down from open play and Meath lost three of their own kick outs whereas Down lost nine. It's the old Down problem, lack of dominant midfielders and a problem winning the ball in the air. It's tough to say this but Meath were the braver team on the day , finals are there to be won and Meath went for it leaving it all on the field. They looked fitter, more powerful, kicked more and fielded the high ball much better. They say teams learn more from their defeats than their triumphs and there is much for Downs management and players to ponder after this loss. It will take a, while to get over but they have shown that you can make huge improvements in a short time, it has to be remembered that this group of players and management have only been together for about nine months.

Newmitch (National) - 16/07/2023 11:57:33

Down Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Some nice cameos from the younger players. Obvious fitness issues. Still the old, old problems. Kickouts a disaster area, little pressure on Derry's restarts. The shooting was woeful as usual. The goalkeeper makes me very nervous and he doesn't look like he's very big. One plus point the Down players look very comfortable on the ball and there is plenty of pace in the team. The returning players should help. It'll be a relegation battle no doubt, a loss to either Clare or Offaly and we will need some unlikely wins against the favourites for promotion. The longest journey starts with the first step, here's hoping the destination is worth it.

Newmitch (National) - 30/01/2022 16:54:35

Down Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Last night the Official Down twitter account congratulated Eugene Branagan of Kilcoo on his being named AIB GAA Club Player of the Year at an event at Croke Park. Eugene was also named to the team of the tournament along with six of his team mates. In an interview with the Irish Times Branagan used the opportunity to say he had no interest in playing for Down and most of his team mates were of a similar mind. His thoughts on the Down players were these, " I think there's a a core of players who don't know how to win. They haven't a winning the mentality. I think thats why a lot of the Kilcoo boys don't want to be involved - they're just there but I don't think it's they're there to win That's the difference between Kilcoo and the County. The journalist then says, "Yet not all Kilcoo players turned down the county". Branagan responds, "Yeah, two lads went in-and took a lot of abuse for it". It's not made clear where this abuse of the Kilcoo players came from. The journalist than asks, " Does this uncompromising attitude not run the risk of making Kilcoo disliked elsewhere in the county?" "Oh yeah I think that really fuels our fire. Everyone seems to be on our backs and thats really what keeps us going, that's what we love. We feel everyone is against, county boards, the whole lot, but thats what we want". I was delighted to see Kilcoo win that All Ireland club title, it was well deserved. Yesterday should have been a day to celebrate that achievement, but that interview and there was more in the same vein, especially some remarks on the manager, left a very bad impression.

Newmitch (National) - 04/05/2022 17:46:19

Where Is Down Footballers Going Wrong - 1 Like(s)

Newmitch (Down) - 03/03/2020 22:20:44

Down management - 1 Like(s)
If you want to get an idea of what is going on in Down football take a read of Ross Carr's article in the Irish News. Shambles just about sums it up. There's not just an Elephant in the Down football world, there's a herd of them. One of those Elephants is Ballykinlar. The cost with inflation must be going through the roof. The Meath County board have had to call a halt to the refurbishment of Pairc Tailteann in Navan because costs had increased by forty per cent and that was months ago and inflation and material costs like steel and concrete are escalating. Labour costs are shooting up. Does anyone know how Ballykinlar is being paid for, what part is being financed by Down or GAA HQ. Or more likely does the Down County board expect the bill to be picked up by the UK Government, ie taxpayers.

Newmitch (National) - 30/07/2022 17:21:08

Down GAA thread - 1 Like(s)
I read that Conor Laverty said the dressing room was gutted by the loss against Meath and I can believe that. It would be easy to go over board with the criticism but it would be pretty pointless bearing in mind the really low point Down had reached in the season before the new management took over. Realistically we're two to three years away from seeing the best that this team has to offer and the same would apply to Meath. It was well summed up by a pundit who happened to be an ex Meath player when he was asked what he thought Meath winning the Tailteann Cup meant. Anthony Moyles said it's nice to win things, especially for the efforts put in by players and management but all it proved was Meath were the 17th best team in the country. They hadn't qualified for the Sam Maguire this season and that's where they ranked. Down find themselves where they were last year having to reach an Ulster Final to play in Sam next season. I wouldn't read too much into players storming off. Everyone reacts diffently and not every player in a forty man odd panel gets on with everyone. There are always niggles and personality clashes, that's for management to deal with. The stuff about modern day players over doing the online media stuff, I have no problem with, it's a different world we live in. Conor Laverty said the management would let the dust settle and review the season, what had gone right and where things had gone wrong. That's important, everyone needs to learn from the mistakes if the team is repeating the same mistakes next season then criticism would be justified. All in all a much better season than the one that preceded it. With Barry O 'Hagan hopefully returning fully fit and the players improving with this years experience we can look forward to maybe an even better season coming up. I got plenty of enjoyment from this team and it's only fair to recognise the time, work and effort they and the management put in, backed up by their families. I know I couldn't do it.

Newmitch (National) - 19/07/2023 16:07:17

Down Senior Footballers 2018 - 1 Like(s)
I was sorry to hear of the passing of Maurice Hayes in December, a man who played a huge part in Down's late 1950s and 60s successes. I have heard him referred to a a visionary in regards to Down football. He and other likeminded men and women revolutionized Gaelic football at the time, humbling the mighty Kerry who dominated the game like the modern day Dublin. Mickey Harte, Kevin Heffernan, Mick O'Dwyer, love them or loathe them changed the way the game was played. Giants of the game, all I see in Down are pygmies, more interested in defending their own little fiefdoms. We in Down are shaping up to join Derry and Cork, counties where there seems to be perennial trouble between the players and County Board and fans. We'll see what sort of crowd turns up in Newry on Sunday, at Pairc Esler which is fast becoming the graveyard of Down football, the players must dread the sight of it. I'd love if Down could play their games in Newcastle again, and I'm a Newry man.

Newmitch (Down) - 28/03/2018 21:06:54

Down Footballers 2019 - 1 Like(s)
I'd question if Down have a kick out strategy, all I saw was a goalkeeper kicking to the right hand side of the half way line to a cluster of players which included two tall Louth midfielders who picked off almost all balls cleanly. Louth continually went short with a ball to their left back, they played against a strong breeze in the first half so that was sensible. With McKernan as a sweeper they always had a man over to break our press, which to me was too far up the pitch. They broke our press in numbers on several occasions and a better team would have scored a couple of goals before halftime. I hope it was just a really bad day at the office, a one off, we did put together five wins in a row. We eventually went short when it was too late, but the worrying thing was the crowd could see the long kickouts weren't working, but none of the players or management went to plan B, maybe there was no plan B. Lack of a midfield cost us an All Ireland in 2010, and has dogged us ever since.

Newmitch (Down) - 26/03/2019 21:57:47

Down Football thread - 1 Like(s)
Resident in Northern Ireland, and trying to buy tickets for the Down v Galway game a website tells me to try my local Super Valu or Centra store or buy them online or travel to the County offices in Newcastle or wherever. Well Super Valu and Centra seem to only sell tickets in the Republic of Ireland. I don't drive so the County office is out. You can't buy tickets outside the ground anymore. If you don't have a smart phone, computer and printer and know a basic amount of tech good luck to you. The GAA are using a slogan at the moment, "The Game is for everyone". That's nice to know that.

Newmitch (National) - 18/02/2022 17:58:32

Tailteann Cup 2022 - 1 Like(s)
Listened to Anthony Moyles ex Meath on his experience at Meath v Dublin in Croke Park with his kids at the weekend. Zero atmosphere without a large crowd. Promised the kids a hot dog at half time. Went early to get hot dogs, no hot food available. Came back with a bag of wine gums as there wasn't much else available, cue major disappointment and tears from the kids. At half time managed to get two small cartons of chips at a fiver a piece. Tickets for himself and two kids ninety euros as a family ticket wasn't available in the stand he wanted. No entertainment at half time, if that's how a big game in the All Ireland is treated, The Tailteann Cup experience will be interesting. Anthony Moyles said he was trying to get the kids interested in following Meath, good luck with that after that experience at the so called premiere home and show piece of Gaelic games

Newmitch (National) - 16/05/2022 19:45:21