Donegal were the better team and deserved to win. I cant remember seeing an exciting opening game in the Ulster Championship so it wasnt a surprise the football wasnt great. Both teams were very defensive and cautious of the consenquences of defeat (no football for 2 months) so that contributed to the negative play. Donegal should beat Cavan but Tyrone will be tough for them.

Cmills Fan. (Antrim) - Posts: 508 - 16/05/2011 09:58:28    931700

stekhli
County: Dublin

absolutely horrible conditions sports where handling the ball is a requirement arent made for monsoon conditions ,

stekhli
County: Dublin

i never mentioned anything about the wind ,


you did when you spoke about MONSOON conditions.

Gammy_Knee (USA) - Posts: 1482 - 16/05/2011 10:17:59    931715

monsoon is a tropical storm with high winds and heavy rain

booboo (Cork) - Posts: 1382 - 16/05/2011 10:43:35    931741

booboo
County: Cork
Posts: 705

931452 stekhli as strong as the wind was it didnt blow 15 men behind the ball it was the worst game of football i ever seen.it was like watching a u7s game with everybody chasing the ball i counted 13 players at 1 stage within 3 metres of each other

I take it you didn't watch Cork Limerick a couple of years ago. What did it end 0-08 to 0-06 or something?

Breffni40 (Cavan) - Posts: 12452 - 16/05/2011 12:47:09    931870

Were up and running and it never fails to amaze how if a match isnt a classic all and sundry are lambasted. From all the posts here I think stekhli's account is the most realistic.
At the same venue last year Down scraped to a very unimpressive win and the pundits predicted another short campaign and we all know what happenend next.
Being realistic though, the way football is played now by most counties with an over cautious approach, how many classic games will we see this year?

ballybannongael (Down) - Posts: 547 - 16/05/2011 13:36:31    931931

Looks like some people are buying into the Sunday Game's version of what good looks like. The Sunday Game thinkks that only free flowing is good and everything else is bad. They can't appreciate tense encounters where tactics may mean low scores but absorbing none the less. Its a dancing at the cross roads view. There is more than one way to skin a cat. ( no offence to kk )

ochonlir (Cavan) - Posts: 4343 - 16/05/2011 15:07:33    932071

well folks ulster wont get any better than that nonsense yesterday - complete headless effort with 14 men on both sides chasing the ball- no wonder the gaa is in decline where the fear of losing is more than the will to win

liathroidboy (Mayo) - Posts: 4921 - 16/05/2011 15:27:12    932094

You're bang on the money there onchlair. I really couldn't care less if Donegal were winning games on a scoreline of 1 point to no score as long as they win it is a results based business. F$*k the begrudgers I say! However I do think that the team will open up more after yesterdays game.

Also its funny how Brolly and O'Rourke lambasted Donegal style of play yesterday yet it was good enough to wipe the floor with both of their respective counties this year scoring 2-18 and 15 points in the process.

Break_er (Donegal) - Posts: 798 - 16/05/2011 15:33:26    932106

Yes and Brolly marvels at Tyrone's style of play?...

The Sunday game consists of Panto Dames having hissy fits and school principals being outraged

It's not to be taken seriously as they can't bother to do the job seriously

ochonlir (Cavan) - Posts: 4343 - 16/05/2011 15:41:16    932117

ochonlir
County: Cavan
Posts: 2763

932117 Yes and Brolly marvels at Tyrone's style of play?...

The Sunday game consists of Panto Dames having hissy fits and school principals being outraged

It's not to be taken seriously as they can't bother to do the job seriously
______________________
You were right before ochonlir, I would much rather watch Ulster on the BBC than have to listen that lot.

brendtheredhand (Tyrone) - Posts: 10897 - 16/05/2011 16:15:20    932164

firstly i apologise for my misinterpretation of the word "monsoon", but to my point , before yesterdays match started colm orourke and brolly were going on about the healthy state of football etc after the game it was the usual negative tripe that these pundits say to come across as controversial , they dont exactly endorse the game they supposedly love instead they talk about stupid rule changes such as three handpasses or amount of players in one part of the pitch etc youd swear the game was in jeoprady after yesterdays show , which is baffling considering last years championship was so open and the league were of a relatively high quality , sure yesterdays game wasnt good viewing but lots of sporting occasions flatter to deceive ie madrid v barca , world cup final even the rugby world cup final in 2007 yet these people on rte cant accept a bad game and jump to all sorts of conclusions and influence those who watch them to think the same , on yesterdays game , the conditions were awful , the gael blowing across the pitch , the rain through the match it made it very scrappy and stalled any flow the game could develop , donegal did what they needed to do with little fuss , antrim looked clueless and badly prepared , the baker should have a good look at himself after his antics last week , antrim made donegals defence seem very solid , the one thing that should be taken from yesterdays game is that while everyone is happy to see the championship begin classics should not be expected in the preliminary round , last years armagh v derry game where the standard was worse than yesterday and the dour affair between down and fermanagh the year before are key examples of this , i feel donegal are set for a tilt at ulster while antrim are set for an early ist round qualifier exit

stekhli (Dublin) - Posts: 3121 - 16/05/2011 16:26:14    932180

the square ball blog backs up what i just said , compare cyril farrell and ger loughnane to orourke , spillane and brolly ,we need positive people endorsing our games not people like this who just add to the glum society we live in , i hope the two games this sunday are class

stekhli (Dublin) - Posts: 3121 - 16/05/2011 16:32:43    932186

I agree stekhli, the tv experts missed the main point, which was that Antrim weren't good enough to give Donegal a game, and that was the prime source of the boredom. Instead of highlighting in some detail the obvious quality gulf between the sides, the 'experts' set about slagging off Donegal's style on the day.

Pope_Benedict (Galway) - Posts: 4321 - 16/05/2011 16:50:49    932208

Surely at intercounty level defenders should be picked for their ability to defend and attackers for their ability to attack: yesterday's game resembled a juvenile match where the kids follow the ball and you end up with 20+ players challenging for the same ball in one corner of the pitch: this is not what championship football should be about: yes there are allowances for conditions, nerves, being under pressure from the opposition but it does not excuse poor decision making, poor executiuon and poor tactics: these players are intelligent, fit athletes who represent the cream of the talent available within the county: decent, (not excellent or exciting) passages of play were the exception not the norm yesterday; virtually everthing else was poor, sloppy and sub-standard for this level of football.

KevHill (Antrim) - Posts: 271 - 16/05/2011 17:20:08    932257

would have to disagree with my fellow galweigan there :P yes, antrim were not able pose a challenge to donegal, but if donegal realised this, why didnt they just go and attack and give the blanket defence a day off. in 2008, in the pi**ing wet up in croker, galway and kerry played in one of the matches of the decade, simply because they left their blankets at home and just attacked. this is the reason alot of people, including pundits, like watching the two teams play. they may not like us as a county, but almost everyone likes the style of football they play. a suggestion was made a few years ago on this that intercounty football be reduced to 13 a side. the login behind it is fairly simple - teams attack, lose the ball, the other team counter attacks, and all of a sudden theres less backs for the attacking team to run at, increasing the need for the attacking team to make the most of their possesion ie: pass the ball more quickly, therefore moving it closer to the goal with every pass at a much higher intensity.

galwayman95 (Galway) - Posts: 292 - 16/05/2011 17:29:20    932278

yes but the best players are picked for county panels rather than the best players in that position being picked , david henry a prime example , most of donegals players are aurthodox in their position but play to a certain style where their natural ability comes to the fore which is what happened with henry , i cant beleive the media attention this preliminary round game got , did they expect to be playing it in the sports files in 20 years time or something it was a preliminary round game on the first game of the all ireland on a filthy day ! lets get real

stekhli (Dublin) - Posts: 3121 - 16/05/2011 17:34:36    932285

15 aside is the way to go leave gaelic football the way it is comparing kerry and galway in a quarter final match in august to a preliminary round matcgh in mid may featuring antrim and donegal is unfair and uncalled for as they are two completely different scenarios

stekhli (Dublin) - Posts: 3121 - 16/05/2011 17:55:43    932297

I would say that defensively both teams were fairly happy.

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 16/05/2011 18:02:55    932303

In regards to the Donegal and Antrim game i was really looking forward to a exciting start off to the GAA championship but was greatly upset at the standard of play from both sides (Very defensive). At this early stage of the championship i will rule Antrim out of all ireland contenders but still think that the ulster final will be contested with both Donegal and Down.

BlackSpot10 (Down) - Posts: 36 - 16/05/2011 21:44:52    932518

Ochonlir, Stekhli and Pope_Benedict are all on the money here.

O'Rourke and Brolly come out with negative comments and suddenly everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Two League results this year come to mind which O'Rourke and Brolly might be interested in:

Derry 2-12 Donegal 2-18 (Celtic Park, Derry)
Meath 0-9 Donegal 0-15 (Páirc Tailteann, Navan)

If Brolly had been at the Donegal v Derry game he would have seen a master class in attacking football from Donegal. Instead such a load of over-the-top claptrap about a preliminary game on a wet, windy day where conditions were awful. Donegal did what they had to do and if people don't like it then too bad. But a bit of realism in the comments on here would be nice...!!

Lifford Gael (Donegal) - Posts: 1925 - 16/05/2011 22:02:24    932541