Replying To downtothecore: "Down edged this contest because they had the better quality players I think. O hagan marked Clarke very well. I hope monaghan beat cavan ..."
So do I. Down were the better team, better coached, could have won by more. You won't come up against as poorly as coached a team the next day, regardless who you meet. I think you will need to improve more, but there is the makings of a good side there all right
I really don't know what is more satisfying. The result or the fact that a lot of Armagh supporters thought they only had to turn up yesterday.
I listened to Aaron Kernan on the RTE GAA Podcast this morning and he sounds very downbeat. It was lovely to beat Armagh, however I thought that was the worst Armagh performance I have seen in a long, long time. We bullied them, we dictated play and to be honest, despite us only being a few points up for most of the second half, I never once left like we were going to let it slip.
That was as complete a Down performance as I've seen in a long time. Much improved from the league. We actually looked very well coached. Shay Millar was outstanding, his workrate was first class. Considering the inexperience of the Down side vs Armagh's strongest 15, it was a very satisfying win.
Armagh on the other hand looked all over the place at times, they lack pace and creativity in the final third.
As for Down, we're in bonus territory and there will be no one in the county getting ahead of themselves. We're delighted to have beaten Armagh, but we know it'll be a massive ask to beat either Cavan or Monaghan in the semi-final.
After the lows of last season Eamonn Burns and the Down panel deserve a lot of credit for their performance yesterday. It was a fully deserved win.
best team won, however i feel jamie was fouled alot in the first half....... newry looked well- great support even though armagh outnumberd the down support.... murnin unlucky not to get a goal....... minor game was fantastic but down did deserve it - they dominated the first 20 minutes... as regards the senior team - very disappointing, we went in as slight favourites, but we didn't beat tipp.... soupy didn't turn up, shocked that rafferty didn't come on... best of luck to Down in the Athletic Grounds for the semi-final........ still in a state of depression!!!!!
Replying To cuchulainn35: "best team won, however i feel jamie was fouled alot in the first half....... newry looked well- great support even though armagh outnumberd the down support.... murnin unlucky not to get a goal....... minor game was fantastic but down did deserve it - they dominated the first 20 minutes... as regards the senior team - very disappointing, we went in as slight favourites, but we didn't beat tipp.... soupy didn't turn up, shocked that rafferty didn't come on... best of luck to Down in the Athletic Grounds for the semi-final........ still in a state of depression!!!!!"
Good summary... great to see newry packed and armagh had the bigger support. Overall it is a great shot in the arm for football in this area which is much needed I think. I hope a competitive rivalry develops from here between our counties and the big crowds continue....
Just got to see a recording of this match and thought it was a very enjoyable game even though the match got a bit bogged down in the second half. I was very impressed with Down and think they could be a dark horse in the Ulster championship. Down have a really strong half back line in Caolan Mooney, Darragh O'Hanlon and the always magnificant Kevin McKiernan. They also have a useful full forward line with the 2 Johnstone's and Connar Harrison. On the negative side they gave up a lot of goal chances and will to tighten up at the back.
Armagh seemed to lack a coherent attacking plan and couldn't get Stefan Campbell and Jamie Clarke into the game. They also gave away too many easy frees. Hopefully they will improve with a run in the qualifiers.