Very tight division, should be an exciting one this year. Opening round this weekend is huge as a good start can be crucial

Rocky.Road (Galway) - Posts: 374 - 26/01/2016 11:00:17    1819303

It will be a jaw dropping division

will be very entertaining

oakleafersir (Derry) - Posts: 808 - 28/01/2016 12:43:37    1819989

first post of the year, lets get to it whos winning this wkend in div 2?

Meath v Armagh, Pairc Tailteann, 2pm
Tyrone v Cavan, Healy Park, 2pm
Laois v Galway, O'Moore Park, 2pm
Derry v Fermanagh, Celtic Park, 2.15pm

meath - armagh ......id expect armagh but meath at home has to get the nod

Tyrone - cavan - tyrone, but my last point needs to be considered?

laois - galway .. two veterans of div 2 ...very similar to meath - armagh...but surely the super power of galway has to edge it.....

Derr - fermanagh - hate to say it but.........derry

i think this division is gunna throw up at least one shock result for every round of fixtures...for this week its either laois, cavan or fermanagh will be the shock as meath armagh is a 50/50 anyway..so either way no shock ther.

Cavan - should have ditched hyland (...surely they have the quality ther with all that underage success but no shock coming from them this weekend....

Fermanagh --its possible, but think derry have upped their game since bartons arrival..allways a solid league team.....

Laois - i hear alot of negativites about laois football but i reckon they are the most likey of the weeker sides to pull a result out of the hat!!

abitawit (Fermanagh) - Posts: 274 - 30/01/2016 19:01:51    1820698

No surprises today, hope we can build on todays result, still plenty to work on

seadog54 (Meath) - Posts: 2142 - 31/01/2016 18:55:08    1820965

Plenty of work to ne done, look today conditions were terrible with strong wind. However we cooped better. Winning without graham Reilly was the highlight for me, still plenty of work to be done, but there does seem to be a actual game plan this year , so here's hoping. Very early days and one swallow doest make summer.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 31/01/2016 19:33:57    1820987

Just to add, Armagh were very poor today so we cant read too much into victory, and I will be surprised if Armagh dont go back to div 3 unless they rectify some serious problems (including discipline)

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 31/01/2016 20:40:00    1821035

Royaldunne - did i hear Armagh only started 5 of last years championship team or something? They would def need to work on discipline alrite. Tyrone and Derry to win this division easy!!

Brolly (Monaghan) - Posts: 4472 - 31/01/2016 21:04:47    1821061

Armagh looked disjointed enough today I must admit, I said before the game I'd be very disappointed if we didn't win today but I was quite impressed with our overall performance, work rate and fitness and certainly positives signs were evident. Of the others well Laois look to be in serious trouble after taking a hiding at home to Galway, Tyrone apparently weren't overly impressive in beating Cavan but when you can win in that scenario it's always a good sign, Fermanagh seemed to fade badly after a promising start in Derry although I'd still be wary of them next weekend in Brewster Park, Derry will be hard beaten in this division I feel. Overall the four teams I feel will be in the promotion mix all won but next weekend has some interesting ties with Galway at home to Tyrone being an eye catcher, I'll put the head on the block here for next weekend......

Fermanagh v Meath - Meath
Galway v Tyrone - Galway
Armagh v Laois - Armagh
Cavan v Derry - Derry

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 31/01/2016 21:05:20    1821062

Brolly I'm not sure how many played from last year, but as richieq said Meath had them in their pocket, far superior in every aspect, but we cant read too much into it as Armagh were so poor and the 5 point difference actually made game look closer than it was , even against breeze Meath looked in total control.
Hopefully we will learn more next week id expect Meath to win against Fermanagh and we will see where we go from there, despite my initial reservation we could push for promotion with the right attitude.

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 31/01/2016 21:40:05    1821082

Fermanagh will be a tough , tough team to beat at home. If Meath can win that then promotion is very much achievable. Cavan could do them a favour against Derry and Tyrone could beat Galway also

mhunicean_abu (Monaghan) - Posts: 1044 - 31/01/2016 21:53:09    1821094

We could mount a promotion push alright RD but we would need to beat Fermanagh and Cavan and get something in Salthill (where we have an awful record of late) before facing Tyrone and Derry and would probably need two points from those two games, but it's achievable with the right attitude as you say. As I said earlier we still have a lot to do but I find myself more positive at least from 12 months ago, anyway one step at a time and the next step is Fermanagh, a slip there and the mood will undoubtedly change

Richieq (Meath) - Posts: 3734 - 31/01/2016 21:55:45    1821097

Don't get to excited Meath lads. We were and are a terrible team the moment. I'm hoping that will change when a few players to return but to only beat us by 5 points when we didn't score in the 2nd half was poor particularly when you factor in 5 out of your 6 points in the 2nd half were from frees.

A bad team beat a worse team.

Wins against laois and Fermanagh are a must for us otherwise its back to division 3.

JP91 (Armagh) - Posts: 316 - 01/02/2016 08:03:15    1821103

Meath men settle down, Armagh weren't as bad as you are making out, yes in the second half it was very poor but the wind picked up and Meath scored 3 points outside the 45 so with out the wind they wouldn't have went over!! Meath were not great either, I wouldn't fear Meath in the Championship and I can see them in a Relegation battle.

AS for Armagh they need to work on there forward play and scoring cause they are finding it difficult to get scores but its the first match I wouldn't be worried, we have so many names to come back into the fold that will help!!!

youngfella27 (Armagh) - Posts: 110 - 01/02/2016 09:04:33    1821121

Teams will take points from each other in this division. In our case we have to at least win 2 of our next 3 games (Tyrone and Meath at home and Derry away) to be in the promotion mix. We were good today as Laois became a bogey team for us over the last few years and to win in Portlaoise even more impressive. We had 5 league debutants yesterday and the 2011/2013 U21 all Ireland winners starting to mature. No game a certainty in this league though.

kiloughter (Galway) - Posts: 1946 - 01/02/2016 09:10:50    1821124

Its a joke that Armagh haven't got there fully squad available because the crazy situation of Club games pending . Club games should played before league starts I cant understand how counties that regularly involved in clubs aren't more vocal about it. ie Armagh Crossmaglen, Roscommon St Brigit's (in recent years) etc.

bobkarlgees (Meath) - Posts: 1263 - 01/02/2016 09:42:00    1821135

Well jp I think every Meath fan is saying that exactly. No one is getting carried away, now everyone is delighted for one reason only and that us we won without graham Reilly which I think is a first in long time, even if he is taken off we sometimes collapse (Westmeath) . I am sure if he was playing the margin would have been bigger as at least 3 points would have been floated over from the right side in that wind, now I would have preferred a tougher test which you would have given if the cross lads were available. We Are happy with the win, but trust me no one is getting carried away, a win next week and I think we will be safe enough

royaldunne (Meath) - Posts: 19449 - 01/02/2016 10:33:03    1821167

Well i was at the match yesterday, yes Armagh weren't great, but the 'wind' did pick up in the second half ... i firmly believe we should have had a penalty when the Meath corner back picked the ball off the ground in front of the goals... soupy campell had his jersey pulled right in front of the posts while he was attempting to shoot... did we deserve to win no....
but navan is easily the worst ground in the country.....

cuchulainn35 (Armagh) - Posts: 1675 - 01/02/2016 10:44:24    1821172

Very good first half by Fermanagh yesterday. After Derrys second goal early in the second half caused the heads to drop and that was that. Derry deserved to win but the scoreline flattered them. I saw enough from a weak Fermanagh side yesterday to suggest that they aren't out of their depth at this level. Full back is an issue and i'd like to see Treacy back in nets. Snow is vulnerable under the high ball. Anyway Meath this sunday in Brewster. A win isn't unthinkable.

On a different note does anyone else heart sink a bit when they see either of the Duffy brothers down to ref a game? Thought he was very poor yesterday. No consistency at all.

gotmilk (Fermanagh) - Posts: 4971 - 01/02/2016 10:51:24    1821174

royaldunne

Ye I don't think any Meath fan I'd getting carried away with 5 point win at home over a depleted Armagh, the main positive though is that it's another win and that won't do the moral any harm. Fermanagh away will be a tough task and they're sure to test the character of our team so it will be interesting to see how our lads respond when they're under a bit of pressure because it's fair to say they didn't respond too well last year when the pressure came on.

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 01/02/2016 11:27:12    1821196

cuchulainn35

but navan is easily the worst ground in the country.....

Well la de da Mr Fancy Pants, did you not like our hay shed stand with the roof made of asbestos and the cinder block seats?

Htaem (Meath) - Posts: 8657 - 01/02/2016 11:32:41    1821199