Ulster u-21 Championship

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

mullins wrote:
RMD its another new tactic that has crept into the game great when your winning tough when your losing...

Aye ... for further reference check out mutter and utterings from the Theatre of Nightmares this evening ....

I wouldn't cross the road to watch them...Don' t mind listening to them.

mullins wrote:

RMDrive wrote:

Dougal wrote:fair play to donegal,alot closer than scoreline suggests,if ref had of disciplined murphy for unbelievable time wasting,in one incident,then it really could of went either way.hopefully they will go all the way,and maybe play football for most of the game rather than dragging out kickouts and frees.

Jesus Dougal. How about a bit of class. How about the treatment Murphy got off the ball? How about the several dirty challenges on Mark McHugh? How about the Cavan man feigning injury after Donegal got the first goal in order to give time to settle the ship? If Cavan were good enough to win they would have. Talking about time wasting is just making excuses. Another 10 minutes wouldn't have won that game for Cavan.

I'll put your post down to disappointment Dougal. Hard luck.

RMD its another new tactic that has crept into the game great when your winning tough when your losing..Well done Donegal unlucky Cavan..

Aye a tactic you see in most games these days. But in a game that was won by double scores, it was hardly a deciding factor.

Have to say done donegal better side won murphy pleasure to watch and he never got out of 1st gear...
Second goal killed it for cavan as they had it down to 2 points at that stage..
Impressed with givney, reilly, dara tiegh and bud for cavan..
Think by the time the summer comes round Murphy will have done worse to better full backs than dunne so fair play to him, big mistake leaving in one on one in such space in the first half...
Best of luck to donegal in the rest of it...

scoopmine wrote:Have to say done donegal better side won murphy pleasure to watch and he never got out of 1st gear...
Second goal killed it for cavan as they had it down to 2 points at that stage..
Impressed with givney, reilly, dara tiegh and bud for cavan..
Think by the time the summer comes round Murphy will have done worse to better full backs than dunne so fair play to him, big mistake leaving in one on one in such space in the first half...
Best of luck to donegal in the rest of it...

Well said Scoop (Dougal to note ....)

Ill start by congratulating Donegal and (in case I get set upon like Dougal did which is a bit harsh lads he didn't say anything that wasn't the truth) say that Cavan lost this game themselves, the full back dropped the ball on his own line to put a stop to a potential comeback, you cannot do that and expect to win a game. Murphy is a class apart and is a real game winner, Donegal are worthy champions and I hope they go all the way now, they have the look of a team who know what it takes to win.

However; I thought the ref was a joke. At least 4 times he turned over a Cavan free for a throw in because the Cavan player stepped forward before taking the free, no more than a foot in some cases, he did not once apply this rule to Donegal who did it also. He also let Donegal slow down Cavan free taking by standing in front of the free-taker, this is common practice I know, on one or two occasions he moved the ball forward but never showed a card for an offence which was killing Cavan's game.. Cavan were bursting through at a 2 point game and the ref again made a terrible decision against Cavan and gave an extremely soft free out. Very frustrating to watch. As was Donegal having 13 men at least in their own half of the field for the majority of the second half. Its a gameplan and obviously one that works when you have someone like Murphy to win his own ball but by God does it ruin a game as a spectacle..

Fair play to the lads though, reaching an Ulster final is a good achievement in itself. Givney caught everything that was put on top of him, quiet night for his partner in midfield though unfortunately. Barry Reilly is pure class, composure personified. Niall Smith has blistering pace and will cause lots of problems for any defence he faces. Bud Fitz probably the best natural forward he should make the trip to the senior panel now. Rory Dunne will rarely face anyone like Murphy and he didn't disgrace himself by any means.

Best of luck to Donegal from here on in.

Cavan only have themselves to blame and to a lesser extent the ref. The goals came from bad mistakes. 1 from Givney trying dummy solos in middle of field lossing ball and long ball into murphy and there was only going to be one winner. The second the ref did donegal a favour by giving them the free out for a pick of the ground that just didnt happen, but at the end of the day the ball was caught by Dunne over his own crossbar and should not have been lost when he came to ground. I felt that Cavan should have used the long early ball alot more because Donegal didnt look comfortable under it and it definatly caused bother.

So thats U-21s for another year happy enough to have got to final and hope some of these lads push onto seniors. Good luck to Donegal against Tipp.

cavan4ever wrote:The second the ref did donegal a favour by giving them the free out for a pick of the ground that just didnt happen

Ah that brings back memories Cavan4ever ......

Dougal wrote:fair play to donegal,alot closer than scoreline suggests,if ref had of disciplined murphy for unbelievable time wasting,in one incident,then it really could of went either way.hopefully they will go all the way,and maybe play football for most of the game rather than dragging out kickouts and frees.

Great sportsmanship there.....


Fair play to Dún na nGall. Murphy is a player to behold, a superb talent. It's going to be a very interesting U-21 Championship. I'll be backing Roscommon of course-our neighbours need the Wesht's support(Boxty, even yours ) The Rossies need to pick up their game if they want to have a real chance of winning the Championship. They didn't play very well against Sligo at all, and against Mayo they weren't that impressive either. Not a whole lot of the Minors who won the final in 2006 are on this Roscommon team. Best of Luck to all teams!

Yeah fair play to Donegal beating the Cavan B team. Maybe in a couple of months, they can play Cavan again when they have Cillian Sheridan, Eugene Keating, Ado Cole, Barry Watters, Graham Paterson, et cetera, only one u21 champions in Ulster in my opinion.

lads and lassies,can you please point out what isnt true in my last post.

the murphy free that got the second goal....he was time wasting,even took the time to look around and give me a smile,not lying there.

donegal look to be well capable of winning games without playing puke football.they have some very good players,they should be able to win games without resorting to putting 15 men behind the ball.

RM,your ignorance of the last 15 minutes of the game is beyond laughable.cavan were after outscoring donegal 0-4 to 0-1 leaving 2 points in it,we were dominating the game until the goal.1-02 from donegal in the last 3 mins,double scores has very little to do with it.

i think tactics played a massive part in this game,donegals tactics are horrible to watch at times but are unbelievably effective.cavan were doing quite well early on,the long ball in to the forwards was causing the donegal backs a good bit of trouble,but then we started trying to hand pass the ball into the forwards and it just didnt work.again in the second half when we got going we switched mckiernan and mcdermot .we were kicking long ball into bud and him triple marked at times,again .

donegal did what they had to do to win,and the ref was quite happy with it.
incase im still sounding bitter...donegal were the better team,played the way they needed to and won.game was alot closer than the scoreline suggests,in my opinion tactics is about all that separated the two teams.hopefully they can win it out,and hopefully they'll be able to do it without such a negative game plan.


so lads,who do you think will be making the step up to senior?ive seen a bit of bud over the last year or two and am impressed.i saw him in the mckenna cup,and im certain that if he was getting decent ball into him he'd have no trouble scoring several points for the seniors.dunne wasnt great against monaghan and made some bad mistakes against donegal,but i still think he's every bit as good as corr.gearoid wasnt great last night,but him and givney would roast any midfield pairing we have on the county panel.barry reilly is one for the future.

loyal,where is patteson?i thought he was u21 this year alright.not long since he scored something like 3-5 in a championship match.

Dougal wrote:loyal,where is patteson?i thought he was u21 this year alright.not long since he scored something like 3-5 in a championship match.

I believe he is out foreign as well, possibly Australia. But I'm not 100%.

Would he have been starting do you think, Dougal?

dont recall ever seeing him playing,but have heard he's a very good player

Ah Dougal, you’re really doing a disservice to that fine U21 team of yours. I would hope that they are not as bitter about things as you.

Dougal wrote: lads and lassies,can you please point out what isnt true in my last post.

I never said it wasn’t true. I just think it was a bit pathetic.

Dougal wrote: the murphy free that got the second goal....he was time wasting,even took the time to look around and give me a smile,not lying there.

“Dougal reveals time-wasting exclusive!” Christ man, in every game up and down the country, the team that is winning will try to see out the game as easily as possible and if they can shave a few minutes off that then they will do so. Are you honestly telling me that you would condemn such behaviour if it were Cavan in that position? As for him smiling at you could it have been cause you were offering him some encouragement?

Dougal wrote: donegal look to be well capable of winning games without playing puke football.they have some very good players,they should be able to win games without resorting to putting 15 men behind the ball.

You are now reduced to regurgitating Pat Spillane-ism’s? Not a good sign Dougal. Indeed we have some very good players and we play them in the system that gives them the best chance of winning. Of course you won’t see such a system employed by IC teams all over the country this weekend, will you? No, there will be an exclusive focus on attack from Tyrone, Dublin etc.

Dougal wrote: RM,your ignorance of the last 15 minutes of the game is beyond laughable.cavan were after outscoring donegal 0-4 to 0-1 leaving 2 points in it,we were dominating the game until the goal.1-02 from donegal in the last 3 mins,double scores has very little to do with it.

I honestly don’t understand what you are trying to say here. It’s probably cause of my “ignorance”. Cavan came within 2 and Donegal scored 1-02 in response. What’s your point?

Dougal wrote: donegal did what they had to do to win,and the ref was quite happy with it.
incase im still sounding bitter...donegal were the better team,played the way they needed to and won.game was alot closer than the scoreline suggests,in my opinion tactics is about all that separated the two teams.hopefully they can win it out,and hopefully they'll be able to do it without such a negative game plan.

Do you not realise how bitter you sound? It’s been my experience over the years that a gameplan will only get you so far. At the end of the day it’s about every man doing his job on his marker – be that scoring on him or denying him scores. Last night, Donegal’s players played better than Cavan’s. Simple as that. Trying to imply that the ref somehow had a part to play in that win is just childish nonsense.

Dougal, with all due respect, Cavan lost so get over it. You said yourself Donegal were the better team-so why the bitterness? Regardless of whether you think the Ref made some bad decisions, Donegal were the better team on the day, hence it was a deserved win. Because there was a bit of time wasted by Murphy the goal shouldn't have been? Come off it.

There's a thing to be said for 'Gracious in victory, humble in defeat.'

im not denying that IC teams do things like that week in week out.doesnt make it ok.ye,it would take away from the win if cavan constantly wasted time,id have more of a problem with a ref that allows it though,yesterday he actually encouraged it in one case.were you at the game?if you saw the free then you wouldnt believe how he got away with taking so much time.

infact i think ill leave it at that,if you were at the game il continue,if not,il not bother.

EstherMayo1951 wrote:Dougal, with all due respect, Cavan lost so get over it. You said yourself Donegal were the better team-so why the bitterness? Regardless of whether you think the Ref made some bad decisions, Donegal were the better team on the day, hence it was a deserved win. Because there was a bit of time wasted by Murphy the goal shouldn't have been? Come off it.

There's a thing to be said for 'Gracious in victory, humble in defeat.'

Laughable comment from young Esther given her history in circumstances similiar to Dougals. Still has not got over the Mayo defeat to Meath a year ago, mind you look at McHale who still holds grudges now rising on fourteen years.

Dougals entitled to his opinion right or wrong..We all go to matchs and see different things ...This what forums are about letting it out and not bottling it up....

One thing i would like to see in the Gaa-If a manager has a problem the way a referee done the game they should be allowed to come out and say it instead of going away and being silenced thinking the next day we might get them deceisions we didn't get today..

mullins wrote:Dougals entitled to his opinion right or wrong..We all go to matchs and see different things ...This what forums are about letting it out and not bottling it up....

One thing i would like to see in the Gaa-If a manager has a problem the way a referee done the game they should be allowed to come out and say it instead of going away and being silenced thinking the next day we might get them deceisions we didn't get today..

No one is saying he's not entitled to his opinion. My opinion is that his opinion is wrong. As I said before Donegal won the game by 7 points. If a single point had decided the game then a discussion on time wasting may have been appropriate. As it is, it's hard to see it as anything other than sour grapes.

Yes RMD a gameplan is there to be stuck to by the players. But I'd take a guess at saying that if I took 11 players from my Junior club and stuck them all within the 45 metre line Cavan still would have the same trouble scoring. It does a disservice to the talent of the players and to the game I don't care if it's Tyrone or Dublin or Cavan or Donegal or an Under 12 team in Killkenny it's not pretty.. If Monaghan had gone through I'd be saying the same thing that is not bitterness talking.

And Esther "With all due respect Cavan lost so get over it" No that is not a statement said with all due respect, it's childish and lowers the standard of debate on the site. The game is being discussed, everyone is entitled to their point of view and and the minute someone speaks against the winning side they are immediately branded as bitter? If Boxty had written what Dougal did would it be considered as bitterness or just an opinion on the game?

Jonsmith wrote:Yes RMD a gameplan is there to be stuck to by the players. But I'd take a guess at saying that if I took 11 players from my Junior club and stuck them all within the 45 metre line Cavan still would have the same trouble scoring. It does a disservice to the talent of the players and to the game I don't care if it's Tyrone or Dublin or Cavan or Donegal or an Under 12 team in Killkenny it's not pretty.. If Monaghan had gone through I'd be saying the same thing that is not bitterness talking.

And Esther "With all due respect Cavan lost so get over it" No that is not a statement said with all due respect, it's childish and lowers the standard of debate on the site. The game is being discussed, everyone is entitled to their point of view and and the minute someone speaks against the winning side they are immediately branded as bitter? If Boxty had written what Dougal did would it be considered as bitterness or just an opinion on the game?

If anyone had written it, it would be considered bitter. Have your pops the Donegal system all you want lads. I look forward to watching the Cavan team this summer and seeing you criticise them when they retreat behind the ball.

If your team wasn't good enough to break down a defensive setup like Donegal's then they didn't deserve to win. And I'd love to see your 11 junior players execute it. You would swear that all that was involved was standing in your own half. You need excellent fitness, excellent tackling skills, good dicipline, good communication, excellent awareness and many other things to defend well.

it's effective,it's extremely hard to do as well as donegal did,and it takes a smart man behind the players to get the system to work that well.it's disgusting to watch,but you cant blame a team for using it if it wins them games,i still hate seeing teams doing it though.

Jonsmith wrote:
And Esther "With all due respect Cavan lost so get over it" No that is not a statement said with all due respect, it's childish and lowers the standard of debate on the site. The game is being discussed, everyone is entitled to their point of view and and the minute someone speaks against the winning side they are immediately branded as bitter? If Boxty had written what Dougal did would it be considered as bitterness or just an opinion on the game?

Jon, I felt that there was a bit of bitterness involved especially after reading this statement from Dougal:

'hopefully they will go all the way,and maybe play football for most of the game rather than dragging out kickouts and frees.'

As for Boxty writing something like that, the simple fact is, he wouldn't.

I suppose there's a fine line between having pops and having an opinion RMD... It's a pity that you can't distinguish one from the other just because my name is in Blue.
I apologise for the Junior footballers comment it belittles the effort put in by the Donegal lads lastnight, a foolish comment by me. But could you honestly say that you enjoy watching football being played that way? That type of defence takes committment and fitness but, in my opinion, a lot less skill than I'm sure those lads possess. If Cavan playing in this years Championship defend a lead with 13 men in their own half for the second period of the game I will be the first to criticise them for it.

EstherMayo1951 wrote:

Jonsmith wrote:
And Esther "With all due respect Cavan lost so get over it" No that is not a statement said with all due respect, it's childish and lowers the standard of debate on the site. The game is being discussed, everyone is entitled to their point of view and and the minute someone speaks against the winning side they are immediately branded as bitter? If Boxty had written what Dougal did would it be considered as bitterness or just an opinion on the game?

Jon, I felt that there was a bit of bitterness involved especially after reading this statement from Dougal:

'hopefully they will go all the way,and maybe play football for most of the game rather than dragging out kickouts and frees.'

As for Boxty writing something like that, the simple fact is, he wouldn't.

Have a day off Esther, Dougal is no more bitter about Cavan losing to Donegal than you were when Meath beat Mayo.