Qualifiers Round 2

Pot A

Limerick
Waterford
Leitrim
Galway/Mayo
Armagh
Donegal/Tyrone
Dublin/Kildare
Carlow/Wexford

Pot B

Wicklow
Offaly
Meath
Antrim
London
Longford
Laois
Down

I would prefer one of the supposedly weaker counties but wouldn't want to run the risk of a shock defeat. But on the otherhand it would be nice to get a few games strung together and then start playing against the tougher teams later on. However playing the right level of opposition such as Laois or Meath would have its benefits. Down I would want to avoid like the plague, Armagh tend to lose against teams they have already defeated.

On second thoughts, I am flying back to Ireland for the next game, knowing my look Armagh will get London in Ruislip

Here's my take on it from a Meath perspective:

Limerick - We'd beat
Waterford - We'd beat
Leitrim - We'd beat
Galway/Mayo - We'd beat both
Armagh - Not sure
Donegal - Not sure
Dublin/Kildare - Would lose to both
Carlow - We'd beat

Ultimately, I am hoping to get Limerick, Waterford, Leitrim or Carlow. If not then losers of Galway and Mayo would suffice. Armagh and Donegel is getting into short summer territory and the losers of Dublin / Kildare, well we must avoid, although not sure if we can get Kildare again. So here's hoping for a Dublin victory and that we avoid Armagh and Donegal.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Here's my take on it from a Meath perspective:

Limerick - We'd beat
Waterford - We'd beat
Leitrim - We'd beat
Galway/Mayo - We'd beat both
Armagh - Not sure
Donegal - Not sure
Dublin/Kildare - Would lose to both
Carlow - We'd beat

Ultimately, I am hoping to get Limerick, Waterford, Leitrim or Carlow. If not then losers of Galway and Mayo would suffice. Armagh and Donegel is getting into short summer territory and the losers of Dublin / Kildare, well we must avoid, although not sure if we can get Kildare again. So here's hoping for a Dublin victory and that we avoid Armagh and Donegal.

What about Tyrone and Wexford?

GAA-Fan wrote:

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Here's my take on it from a Meath perspective:

Limerick - We'd beat
Waterford - We'd beat
Leitrim - We'd beat
Galway/Mayo - We'd beat both
Armagh - Not sure
Donegal - Not sure
Dublin/Kildare - Would lose to both
Carlow - We'd beat

Ultimately, I am hoping to get Limerick, Waterford, Leitrim or Carlow. If not then losers of Galway and Mayo would suffice. Armagh and Donegel is getting into short summer territory and the losers of Dublin / Kildare, well we must avoid, although not sure if we can get Kildare again. So here's hoping for a Dublin victory and that we avoid Armagh and Donegal.

What about Tyrone and Wexford?

What about them?

I am not looking to Round 4 of the Qualifiers or All-Ireland Quarter Finals until we get past the rounds preceding those stages of the competition.

Nobody will/should underestimate Leritrim..The Connactht S/F was an abberation..

Fook this Carrick (Pairc Sean) syndrome.....Ballinamore, the ancient capital, is the place for it...**

** Or better again, below in Aughawillian...

Some possible tricky draws in there for us!

Limerick - should be beating
Waterford - again
Leitrim - again
Galway/Mayo - be interesting to see how these teams perform against eachother, but would expect Down to beat either
Armagh - my head says I would rather draw a weaker team but my heart says bring them on...still think we are a better team than them and would really love to settle the score!
Donegal/Tyrone - hard to call. Donegal up and coming and are a better outfit than when we played them last year but would still be confident against them as long as our defensive injuries clear up to cope with their big men. Tyrone, ah jaysus you just don't know what they are capable of....think Down have the scoring power to beat them but they have both experience and a great management.
Dublin/Kildare - Would really want to be avoiding Kildare because they would surely have a bone to pick with us! Would actually rather get Dublin, think we could take them!
Carlow/Wexford - Should be beating although Wexford are always capable of putting in a big performance.

Meath vs Galway

Loyal2TheRoyal vs Mossbags

Should be a good one.

Armagh vs Wicklow....FFS something I didnt want. The inept POR vs Micko!

Leitrim to continue their sequence....Never won a qualifier...
Moran to finally see the light and the gate...

Limerick v Offaly
Played in 2002 where Limerick won 3-9 to 2-7

Down v Leitrim

Laois v Kildare
Met 12 times. 8 wins for Laois and 4 for Kildare.

Longford v Tyrone
Never met.

Armagh v Wicklow
Never met.

Meath v Galway
2 wins for meath 4 for Galway

Antrim v Carlow
1 win for Antrim

London v Waterford
Never met


according to gaainfo

Limerick v Offaly, Gaelic Grounds, TBC
VERDICT - OFFALY

Down v Leitrim, Newry, TBC
VERDICT - DOWN

Laois v Kildare, Portlaoise, TBC
VERDICT - LAOIS

Longford v Tyrone, Pearse Park, TBC
VERDICT - TYRONE

Armagh v Wicklow, Athletic Grounds, TBC
VERDICT - WICKLOW

Meath v Galway, Pairc Tailteann, TBC
VERDICT - DRAW

Antrim v Carlow, Casement Park, TBC
VERDICT - ANTRIM

London v Waterford, Ruislip, TBC
VERDICT - LONDON

bluearmy1 wrote:Some possible tricky draws in there for us!

Limerick - should be beating
Waterford - again
Leitrim - again
Galway/Mayo - be interesting to see how these teams perform against eachother, but would expect Down to beat either
Armagh - my head says I would rather draw a weaker team but my heart says bring them on...still think we are a better team than them and would really love to settle the score!
Donegal/Tyrone - hard to call. Donegal up and coming and are a better outfit than when we played them last year but would still be confident against them as long as our defensive injuries clear up to cope with their big men. Tyrone, ah jaysus you just don't know what they are capable of....think Down have the scoring power to beat them but they have both experience and a great management.
Dublin/Kildare - Would really want to be avoiding Kildare because they would surely have a bone to pick with us! Would actually rather get Dublin, think we could take them!
Carlow/Wexford - Should be beating although Wexford are always capable of putting in a big performance.

You can settle the score in McKenna cup or league game, or some other meaningless *****. You'se have not beaten us in a meaningful game since 1992. You'se are very very average, we are average. Neither in with any chance of winning sam.

Loyal2TheRoyal wrote:Limerick v Offaly, Gaelic Grounds, TBC
VERDICT - OFFALY Would probably agree

Down v Leitrim, Newry, TBC
VERDICT - DOWN Agree

Laois v Kildare, Portlaoise, TBC
VERDICT - LAOIS tight, but would go for mcgeeney to get one over his club mate mcnulty

Longford v Tyrone, Pearse Park, TBC
VERDICT - TYRONE agree

Armagh v Wicklow, Athletic Grounds, TBC
VERDICT - WICKLOW catch a grip, hope you put your money where your mouth is becauce you will get the odds to do it.

Meath v Galway, Pairc Tailteann, TBC
VERDICT - DRAW meath

Antrim v Carlow, Casement Park, TBC
VERDICT - ANTRIM antrim

London v Waterford, Ruislip, TBC
VERDICT - LONDON

london

Breaking News

Carlow will beat Antrim in Belfast.

hurlingguru wrote:Breaking News

Carlow will beat Antrim in Belfast.

Hurlers not a good guide ...

Strange game really Jayo. Level 9 apiece at half time with the wind in our backs in the second. A total collapse in the second half and enouraging to hear Dinny Cahill to say they played better than last week. 8 points in not much in hurling but nothing clicked. Without a doubt we have regressed in the last year but we were down 6 starting players from last year and its a very young side. Some people are calling for Kevin Ryan's head but I think we need a stable management team who can build, very much like the footballers.

If our footballers can stay together and train hard over the next 2 weeks we can get a victory but I am not too sure if they will do that and you could find them hitting the bottle hard unfortunately.

Now now Samin....there haven't been that many 'meaningful' games between Down and Armagh since 1992....suffice to say when Ulster was at its highest ever peak Armagh were little more than a warm up session for Down. Ok yas have had the edge over the past number of years thanks in part to what some might call less-than-positive football. Against Down in the Athletic Grounds Armagh were hell-bent to beat Down and Paddy O'Rourke was equally as hell-bent to get one over on the Down County Board (that's why he took the job) so yas finally started playing like good Down men and produced a great performance against us. But it must have took a hell of a lot out of yas because that attacking strategy floundered against Derry. But anyway all a bit of slagging Samin...but if we are indeed average, as you say we are, and if Armagh are average...then keep your 1992-present timeline because there's one statistic, the all important one, that isn't going to change for a quite some time: 5-1 ;-)

bluearmy1 wrote:Now now Samin....there haven't been that many 'meaningful' games between Down and Armagh since 1992....suffice to say when Ulster was at its highest ever peak Armagh were little more than a warm up session for Down. Ok yas have had the edge over the past number of years thanks in part to what some might call less-than-positive football. Against Down in the Athletic Grounds Armagh were hell-bent to beat Down and Paddy O'Rourke was equally as hell-bent to get one over on the Down County Board (that's why he took the job) so yas finally started playing like good Down men and produced a great performance against us. But it must have took a hell of a lot out of yas because that attacking strategy floundered against Derry. But anyway all a bit of slagging Samin...but if we are indeed average, as you say we are, and if Armagh are average...then keep your 1992-present timeline because there's one statistic, the all important one, that isn't going to change for a quite some time: 5-1 ;-)

What would you consider meaningful? If you consider finals meaningful, than no wonder Down haven't won Ulster in a while or an AI. Every game in the championship is meaningful. In total since 1992 there have been 5 meetings, all of which Armagh have won. Not only were Armagh and POR hell bent on winning, it was raining. But also consider the fact that Down have not beaten Armagh in such a long time, that should have been enough to drive them on. Also, the rivalry, its not a one way thing....both teams should have been up for it. At the moment I think Armagh and Down are at the same level regardless of Down reaching an AI final. Armagh's biggest weakness is on the sideline and thats the management. If Monaghan last year and Derry this year is anything to go by id rather play the **** tactics and lose by a couple of points rather than play the 'Down' way and get slaughtered. Hopefully POR is gone by the end of the year and we get a more than passionate and knowledgeable Armagh man in who can hopefully have them challenging again.

On a side note Ive always found the comparing amount of All Ireland titles funny, only because I never hear Cavan go on about how many they have won, or do I ever hear about their 33 All Ireland titles. It is something I like about there fans, if they aren't good enough they take the **** from other counties but dont boast about their 33 Ulster titles and 5 All Ireland because they know it is irrelevant in the present.

I sincerely doubt any Cavan man or woman would call their 5 AI titles 'irrelevant'....in the past yes, incomparable to Cavan football nowadays, but certainly not irrelevant. You see....when Armagh won their title in 2002 I was told that Down were done, it was all about the present etc etc. But now that its 9 years since that most famous of days for the Orchard county (in 2002 it had been 8 years since Down had won their last AI) should Armagh Gaels be any less proud of that achievement? Not at all! Cavan may not boast about their AI titles as much as we like to and that may have a lot to do with the fact that Down were the most successful Ulster team in the later half of the century while Cavan haven't really come close to regaining their status. Not that Cavan people should be any less proud of their county's achievement but undoubtedly that pride takes a bit of a knock when considering that the emergence of the Down team in 60s signalled the end of Cavan's dominance and to be honest if you asked most people, except the good people of Cavan understandably, they would probably now say that Down are the traditional Ulster kingpins.

As a fella who fell in and out of underage county football no game against Armagh was meaningless, whether it was league, Championship or if the great Ray Morgan divided the P.E class in two, Down v Armagh, on the St Colman's pitches. All games between the two are played at championship intensity. But yes, I can't argue with your statistic....but like Pat Spillane rightly pointed out as regards our record against Kerry, had we met them in the 70s and 80s they would have destroyed us! The same applies to Down and Armagh....when we were lording it over Ulster Armagh were not so much a challenge but an exercise...and when Armagh's time finally came they gave us a few fair beatings but thankfully Armagh's newfound strength soon faded in a decade of massive underachievement (and don't talk about Ulster titles....Sam is what it's all about) it was Tyrone who became the real contenders to Down's Ulster throne.

Of course the rivalry is not a one way thing but Paddy O'Rourke, who you seem all too quick to write off, got his tactics perfectly right against Down. Down expected the classic Armagh to run out, sit back, and let Down run at them all night. Down would fist pass slowly around midfield for a while until Clarke was free, he would receive the ball, feed a forward, and Down would score at will. Simple. Not quite. Instead, O'Rourke caught Down completely by surprise by implementing an effective attacking strategy and in classic fashion Down panicked and old habits re-emerged...there was no Plan B, except to try get Benny on the ball and to be fair he should have had a penalty but hey, swings and roundabouts! Armagh played their card but against Derry there was to be no surprise factor. Many Down people, myself included, were dying to see us get drawn against Armagh in the Qualifiers.....as a man who now spends a lot of time in south Armagh with his other half, the feeling did not appear mutual in the Orchard county. Speaks volumes!

Im told everyone in Meath can spell the word Qualifier

So Galway come to Navan in search of their first Qualifier win in seven years. Don't think Meath will get anything easy against a Galway side out to prove a point. A dry Saturday evening will be to the advantage of both sides I guess. Expansive football should be the order of the day. Meath are a team in a dark place though and I think Galway could shade it. Padraic Joyce to give the Meath backs a football lesson.

hurlingguru wrote:Breaking News

Carlow will beat Antrim in Belfast.

I withdraw the above statement due to the fact that a majority of the Carlow team were drinking heavily a few days after the defeat to Wexford.

bluearmy1 wrote: Not that Cavan people should be any less proud of their county's achievement but undoubtedly that pride takes a bit of a knock when considering that the emergence of the Down team in 60s signalled the end of Cavan's dominance and to be honest if you asked most people, except the good people of Cavan understandably, they would probably now say that Down are the traditional Ulster kingpins.

Down are a magical county.. They have teams that can be the best in the country without winning a game and now can claim they are the Kingpins of Ulster despite having a vastly inferior record to Cavan historically.
Of course if your definition of "tradition" is based, conveniently, on results since the 60's then Down are truly the Kings of Ulster..
On that line of thinking the Tyrone lads would have a case for arguing that tradition should be around the 20 year mark and so they are perhaps The Kingpins?

bluearmy1 wrote:then keep your 1992-present timeline because there's one statistic, the all important one, that isn't going to change for a quite some time: 5-1 ;-)

Ah well it seems that you do agree with my rationale when it suits your own agenda and so I would remind you: 39-12....

mossbags wrote:Im told everyone in Meath can spell the word Qualifier

Same referee as 2001 All-Ireland Football Final - Michael Collins.