Football this weekend.

Just briefly a few comments on the football. Plus: A referee accepting his error in the Down-Kerry match and rectifying it straight away.well done. Meath v Kildare the best match for a while, played in the way that we all hope and aspire that our game should be played. Well done to both teams,best of any sport this weekend. On the negative side, poor refs decisions in Portlaoise which seems to be the problem,ie lack of consistency by some refs.Rules are ok but the I cannot understand how certain 'offences' are seen in a different manner by referees.

Dropping his knees deliberately onto the Kerry guy could have been a straight red. If Connolly did it there would be uproar.....

Parouisa wrote:Dropping his knees deliberately onto the Kerry guy could have been a straight red. If Connolly did it there would be uproar.....

He was kneeling in awe to his betters.

Nice to hear the much malighed Eoghan O'Gara did well at the weekend. He gets far too much stick especially off his own fans

Eoghan is a great lad altogether! Sam, O'Byrne, Sigerson! Cabinet filling up nicely!

Parouisa wrote:Eoghan is a great lad altogether! Sam, O'Byrne, Sigerson! Cabinet filling up nicely!

He may have his limitations but he is an effective player and offers something different

He is a bit different and I will freely admit having reservations but would be delighted to see him becoming a regular scorer. Obviously Gilroy et al see promise in him and his stint with DCU seems to have done his confidence the world of good!

Real Kerry Fan wrote:Just briefly a few comments on the football. Plus: A referee accepting his error in the Down-Kerry match and rectifying it straight away.well done. Meath v Kildare the best match for a while, played in the way that we all hope and aspire that our game should be played. Well done to both teams,best of any sport this weekend. On the negative side, poor refs decisions in Portlaoise which seems to be the problem,ie lack of consistency by some refs.Rules are ok but the I cannot understand how certain 'offences' are seen in a different manner by referees.

watched Meath and Kildare on Setanta and it certainly was a cracking game to watch. End to end stuff for the whole 70 minutes and Meath were unlucky to lose it. A draw would probably have been the fairest result

Oh I dunno Meath were at home and scored 2 goals to their opponents none and still lost. Kildare were the better side for me.

Parouisa wrote:Oh I dunno Meath were at home and scored 2 goals to their opponents none and still lost. Kildare were the better side for me.

Kildare were marginally better but must be concerned that none of the forwards know where the back of the net is, Meath hit the upright in their last attack and could have nicked it had that went over. As a Tyrone man i was happy enough to see Kildare come out on top!!!!!

Laois/Dublin: As they always do, Dublin dealt with Laois very easily. The O'Moore men have some nice footballers, and aren't lacking in fight, but they are still too small to compete against the bigger sides. The Dubs will be pleased to win more-or-less without the Brogans, and O'Gara was very, very good. I'm not convinced his form will last but, when his feet are working, he is a handful for defenders. Some of Dublin's bit players are not good enough (Fennell, Paul Brogan), while others look very unfit (McAuley, in particular). Still, early days for the champs, and they will be difficult to beat again this summer.

Meath/Kildare: This was a big game, and it showed in the intensity from both sides. Kildare desperately needed the points and picked 13 of their last championship selection, while Meath have now lost their last 4 against their rivals, which is not the ideal preparartion for a potential Leinster semi-final showdown. Kildare should have won more easily. They dominated the first 10 minutes to such a degree that Meath could barely get the ball, but failed to put up the scores their possession deserved in that period. Afterwards, though, they settled and 18 points is a good tally against any side, with Meath's goals helping to keep them in close contact.

For Meath, I was impressed by Paddy Gilsenan, while Stephen Bray and Kevin Reilly also played well. Graham Reilly showed signs of returning to form, while Burke at corner back was full of running. Of concern would be the lack of mobility in Cian Ward & Joe Sheridan and, despite all the talk of adding pace, they were still much slower than Kildare. Is it the training, or are some of these lads just naturally too slow? They are also too many defenders wearing attacking jerseys. Oh, and Mark Ward is not good enough at this level - is there no better midfielder in the county?

Down/Kerry: Down started quite brightly, but were undone by a sunshower midway through the first half. After that, Kerry took over and ran out very easy winners indeed. The Kingdom had quite a few new faces on display, and the big question for Jack O'Connor in the coming weeks is whether or not he reintroduces the older guard. BJ Keane played very well, while Daniel Bohane looked like the player who made such a good impression when he came on the scene a few years ago - where has he been since?! Concerns would be a huge reliance on Bryan Sheehan in midfield, Donaghy's continued poor form, and Aidan O'Mahony at CHB.

As for Down, they are a poor side, with a lot of decent but average footballers. James McCartan keeps making changes to try and find a spark, but my opinion is that he is simply shuffling a losing hand.

Other games: Not sure what Mossbags thinks, but Galway's defeat to Westmeath, on the back of a draw to Louth, is ominous. His neighbours in Mayo will be happier, as they are 2 from 2, and already look like the side to beat in Connaught this summer. Good win for Donegal. McGuinness was bullish leading up to the game, as though he expected a big performance. Despite Cork being poor travellers, this will be a big boost to RMD's boys. Derry got the win John Brennan desperately needed, as defeat could have led to things spiralling out of control there. Tyrone won comfortably, but were not as impressive as in other matches.