Dublin v Down

First time to play Down in the League since the mid 90s-looking forward to this one Jedward being the live entertainment should bring us our second biggest crowd of the season..

Dublin 6 -12 Down 2 - 12 with 23 wides..

We owe Down a good hammering some of us will never forget-their carry on when they won Sam in 94..

Was listening to Q102 this morning and the retro year clue was Down beating Dublin on the All Ireland Final.

Lets have a little wager with Hogan and the boys on this one. If they win they can come back down for the Hogan - if we win they have to take Jedward with them.

Suggestions on what to do while Jedward are making a disgrace of themselves on the hallowed turf?

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Was listening to Q102 this morning and the retro year clue was Down beating Dublin on the All Ireland Final.

Lets have a little wager with Hogan and the boys on this one. If they win they can come back down for the Hogan - if we win they have to take Jedward with them.

We were relegated that year and Won Sam as a Div 2 team..I think

Jonsmith wrote:Suggestions on what to do while Jedward are making a disgrace of themselves on the hallowed turf?

IMO

Jonsmith wrote:Suggestions on what to do while Jedward are making a disgrace of themselves on the hallowed turf?

Borrow a snipers rifle from a neighbour and cut it short .. very short ...

Jayo Cluxton wrote:

Jonsmith wrote:Suggestions on what to do while Jedward are making a disgrace of themselves on the hallowed turf?

Borrow a snipers rifle from a neighbour and cut it short .. very short ...

Might not be that hard considering they're finding Grenade Launchers in the long grass around Ballinamore these days.. I'll be the one in the Blue Jersey cheering for Down.

Fortunate win for Dublin tonight. Draw was the fair result although Down really (and literally) threw it away at the end. Very questionable performance by the ref, so inconsistent in his decisions and, dare I say it, maybe leaned towards Dublin just a wee bit. But credit where credit is due, they defended very well and stuck to their plan. They used the space of Croker more economically, it being their home turf after all. Down's running game probably would have been much more effective in Páirc Esler but they were much too hesitant to push forward although I was impressed at their ability to score from distance.

Ah well...all this league talk will count for nothing in May. Fully expect Dublin to win it but I'm not totally convinced that they will be there in late September. They certainly are a much more cohesive outfit these days but their winning streak masks a wee bit of luck and in the long run may give them a false idea of themselves.

Apologies if I sound like I'm whingeing. Just can't help but feel a little sickened by that result.

Not the first League match that looked to be going away from Dublin - only for them to finish strong.

Considering Dublin teams of recent vintage displayed traits not very like this, you have to be impressed.

All-Ireland champions waiting in the wings.

a very poor game by 2 poor teams tonight would have to agree about the ref he was very much a down man tonight but i still dont know why he booked the down corner back for a free on brogan which was no free , these 2 teams will be lucky to make the qualifiers if they play like that again ,i know dublin have been in heavy training and suspect so have down i think cork will do the double again this year

hipster 2 wrote:a very poor game by 2 poor teams tonight would have to agree about the ref he was very much a down man tonight but i still dont know why he booked the down corner back for a free on brogan which was no free , these 2 teams will be lucky to make the qualifiers if they play like that again ,i know dublin have been in heavy training and suspect so have down i think cork will do the double again this year

I thought you'd be a little more satisfied with your 6/6 Division One record - so surprising to see you label Dublin as "poor"?

Totally disagree. Tonight you were looking at two teams who are certainly among the best in Ireland at the moment cancelling eachother out. This happens sometimes...when two excellent teams meet it doesn't always mean that the game will be excellent. People are too quick to label teams on the basis of one game. I thoroughly enjoyed the match from start to ..well...near the finish.

Hopefully though that flukey goal will provide Down perfect incentive to serve Dublin a 1994 style whipping when the two sides meet in in the 2011 All-Ireland final ;-)

Flukey goal? If Kalum King is gonna throw the ball down to Alan B with no pressure on him then a goal's gonna happen! No fluke - just panic by your midfielder. I agree with Hip - thought it was a strange and poor enough game. Dunno what Dublin were at tonight tbh. Conceding space right to the HF line is mad - McKernan coming up and kicking points - 2 I think. Bernard made a big difference when he came on and Alan did well too. Marty C was poor enough. From a Dublin point of view playing that poorly and winning can only be good but if we play like that v Cork there'll be no title. Ref was poor but definitely not a homer - thought he gave more to Down meself. Dublin defence tight enough but Down didn't ask many questions on the FB line - Paul Brogan could be an option at 3. Mossy just too slow for this level and this is always more apparent in the C'ship when the game is faster. Enjoyed the Ard Comhairle tonight and me ticket for a cup of tea made up for the horrible soaking I got.

I slogged my way through the entire 73 minutes of this without finding much enjoyment in it. A couple of things struck me.
Dublin are very vulnerable should they be without Bernard Brogan. Paul Brogan, while a game lad, is not the answer at full back. Alan Brogan has still a lot to offer in the attack. Mossy Quinn will not be around in "high summer". Discipline may rear it's ugly head before September comes around for them and in this regard, as previously mentioned elsewhere, both Brennan and Bastic are likely to incur some ref's wrath.
Down, while looking tidy enough, are somewhat in the same boat as Dublin, in that they will require Coulter to be on the fringe of the square all day every day.
Clarke, for all his ability, will need to ramp up his distribution technique. Quicker and more direct ball will have to be fired in from him if they are to regain the heights of last year.
Given that O'Gara has to come back in, it's Dublin's to lose.

Jayo Cluxton wrote: Dunno what Dublin were at tonight tbh.

Ah now you do Jayo, as we talked about it on here last week. The Mayo game scared the life of of Gilroy, and the stall is now being set out again for a summer of attrition. A deep, organised defence, and then quick movement of the ball up to the full-forward line. We saw last night how crucial Bernard Brogan is to this system, and that without him an all-ireland would be unimaginable at this stage. With him, they will be a tough side to beat for anyone.

Hipster may be a bit harsh when he says that it was 2 poor teams playing last night, but he is much closer to the truth than BlueArmy. I'm not denying that these 2 aren't among the top 6-7 sides in the country, but that says more about a levelling out of talent than any dramatic improvement from Down & Dublin.

Down were not impressive at all last night. They have problems in all areas of the field, specifically: A slow full-back, no cover in the corners, McKernan too loose at times at half back, no subs for midfield unless Ambrose Rogers comes back (major problem here against the better sides), light forwards who will always struggle against a Dublin or Tyrone playing defensively, over-reliance on Marty Clarke (who still has a lot of improving to do at this level).

Down's near victory in the all-ireland final last year was almost achieved despite their weaknesses. They have an excellent management team and will improve further this year, but they still have a long way to go if they are to be serious contenders.

Good win. Nothing more then i expected against Down. They are going to be the team to beat in Ulster this year,but that will be as good as it gets for them..Its hard to believe we won another game with no midfield-and a make shift defence...

Great to see Alan Brogan putting in so much work for the team -Seemed like he was all over the pitch at times.BB and MDMA made a big difference when they came on changed the game in our favour..The forwards had a quiet enough game and we still finished up with 2-10....

Hopefully by the time the league final comes around- we will have close to our championship team on the field.....

As for who we play hopefully its Kerry/Down

Cork don't seem to have the stomach to play Dublin in a League final- throwing games again to avoid The Dubs..

It was a sad night for the brogans- But by the end we had 4 Brogans on the field Jim ripped the ball from Kalum King to set Alan up for the winner..

RIP JIM Your family are a credit to you..

No doubt that there was a change of direction after the Mayo defensive fiasco alright TC and Giller now has only 2 games before the C'ship so he probably is honing the C'ship system. But whatever about the negativity of it I see no point in conceding the ball to your own 40 yard line. There are a few players and teams that can kick points for fun from around there if you let them. There was no pressure in this area. It fook all use having 13 men in the final third if they are just there to admire 30 yard shots sailing over the bar. I think there will be a little more positivity this C'ship season. Not much but a little because the tactic with 2 fell short last year and mainly through exhaustion.

Jayo Cluxton wrote:No doubt that there was a change of direction after the Mayo defensive fiasco alright TC and Giller now has only 2 games before the C'ship so he probably is honing the C'ship system. But whatever about the negativity of it I see no point in conceding the ball to your own 40 yard line. There are a few players and teams that can kick points for fun from around there if you let them. There was no pressure in this area. It fook all use having 13 men in the final third if they are just there to admire 30 yard shots sailing over the bar. I think there will be a little more positivity this C'ship season. Not much but a little because the tactic with 2 fell short last year and mainly through exhaustion.

Horses for courses Jc..Ulster football is muck

Hey mullins - I thought it as bad form that they didn't play Ireland's Call for the Down lads last night - did you?

Jayo Cluxton wrote:Hey mullins - I thought it as bad form that they didn't play Ireland's Call for the Down lads last night - did you?

Yes i heard that a lot of Down fans requested it but it was refused for some unknown reason....