Croke Park 2mara will be like quick-sand for the dreamers, Kildare as their false hopes will be swallowed up as Down go on to secure a place in the 2010 All Ireland final.

Good Luck to Down!!!

Cavan_gael (Cavan) - Posts: 100 - 28/08/2010 21:59:33    758879

Tick tock...the clock is ticking away for Kildare's exit from the championship today. I hope they won't feel too bad about it.

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 10:36:38    758918

Well done to Down...you were the most deserving winner today!

Now you can take the Sam home!

Up4it. (Tyrone) - Posts: 199 - 29/08/2010 17:29:16    759224

without a doubt now DOWN

b.mullins (Dublin) - Posts: 1413 - 29/08/2010 17:31:34    759227

All-Ireland Football Championship - Semi Final

Down 1-16 Kildare 1-14

Down qualified for their first All-Ireland final since 1994 with a narrow win over Kildare in a gripping Croke Park encounter.
Kildare opened strongly with points from Eamon Callaghan and Johnny Doyle but Benny Coulter punched home a 12th-minute goal to help Down to a 1-9 to 0-7 interval lead.

Down had gone seven points clear when Eamon Callaghan smashed in a 58th-minute goal, but the Ulster men held out in a frantic finish to set up a meeting with Cork in the decider, after Kildare sub Robert Kelly had sent a stoppage-time free crashing against the crossbar. As Kelly stood up and smacked the ball goalwards, Down had a line of players protecting the net. The ball was inches from crossing the line when a Down hand, which after seeing only one replay, I believe was Luke Howard's - tipped the ball onto the bar, ricocheting the shot away from goal.

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship final 2010 will be contested between Cork and Down on 19 September 2010 in Croke Park.

As it happened….

1712pm FULL-TIME: KILDARE 1-14 DOWN 1-16
70+5 mins Amazing shot!! Brilliant, but from 12 yards out on the right of the square Kelly's shot rattles the crossbar on the left-hand side of the goal and rebounds out. That is the last play of a truly magnificent example of Gaelic football. Down are victorious on a scoreline of Kildare 1-14 Down 1-16.
70+5 mins Robert Kelly will take it.
70+4 mins Goalmouth scramble and there is total bedlam!!!! A throw-ball is followed by a free for Kildare.
70+4 mins Possession is key now. Kildare have it.
70+3 mins Clarke hammers it well wide. Wow!
70+3 mins Play is held up as Kildare's Hugh Lynch is down injured.
70+2 mins Free-in for Down. Marty Clarke will take this one.
70+2 mins A goal will win this one now.
70+1 mins David Lyons points for Kildare from 25 yards. Kildare 1-14 Down 1-16
70 mins Kildare hit the post through Robert Kelly from 30 yards. He was set up by James Kavanagh who worked like a trojan to secure breaking ball 20 yard from goal.
70 mins Three additonal minutes to be added.
68 mins Free-in for Kildare, Padraig O'Neill skyscrapers it toward the Canal End, but it is wide. A crucial miss for the Lilywhites.
66 mins Free-in for Kildare. Doyle to take it from wide on the left from 14 yards out. The crowd are roaring: he gets it! Kildare 1-13 Down 1-16 John Doyle is the Championship 2010's top scorer now.
66 mins A massive point for Ronan Murtagh from 40 yards for Down. Kildare 1-12 Down 1-16

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 17:48:17    759265

65 mins Hugh Lynch points from 25 yards out. Kildare 1-12 Down 1-15
64 mins Down's Calum King is booked for a very high tackle on Eamonn Callaghan. He punched him in the temple there! Ouch!
1658 Proinnsias Barrett relying on text in Concepcion, Chile. A galway man looking for a Kildare comeback, something strange probably, vamos los lillies!
Brian and Niamh from Newry cheering on the bhoys in red and black from Melbourne! Quietly confident... Brian McArdle
63 mins Marty Clarke goes for a point from 25 out on the left - it's wide. A rare mistake from Clarke.
62 mins Hugh Lynch receives a long ball on the right flank and from 30 yards he hammers it over. Kildare 1-11 Down 1-15
61 mins Ten minutes left and Down are looking good. The Mourne Men have the look of winners out there today.
60 mins Big UP to DOWN from the Devlin family who are driving from Brittany France back to London. Listening on 252 AM!
59 mins Benny Coulter, with his back to goal and under pressure from a Kildare defender, smacks the goal over the bar from 21 yards out. Kildare 1-10 Down 1-15
58 mins GOAL FOR KILDARE: From that point Kildare break downfield and Eamonn Callaghan beats three Down defenders and round the keeper, hammering high into the roof of the net! Superb goal. Kildare 1-10 Down 1-14
58 mins Peter Fitzpatrick is played in on goal 15 yards out. He only has the keeper to beat and goes for the point! Should have gone for goal. Kildare 0-10 Down 1-14
57 mins Conor Maginn hammers a point over from 20 yards on the right. Benny Coulter had won the ball for Down. Kildare 0-10 Down 1-13
56 mins Scratch that earlier comment about Down looking rattled I reckon!
55 mins Kildare's Hugh Lynch foulds Danny Hughes. Lynch is yellow carded - it was very high and caught Hughes around the neck. Free-in for Down by Marty Clarke from 45 yards - it is pefect! Kildare 0-10 Down 1-12
54 mins Kildare are pushing up as much as possible and trying to force the game. Down look rattled.
53 mins Sean Quinn
Siting in the middle of no where in BC Canada no Internet just 2 bars on the IPhone reading the plays come Down
52 mins It was in fact Morgan O'Flaherty, not Peter Kelly who got the block for Kildare at Down's goal chance earlier.
51 mins Free-in for Kildare. Karl Ennis from Maynooth will take it from 40 yards on the right - he gets it. Kildare 0-10 Down 1-11
51 mins Kalum King has an effort blocked by Brian Flanagan on the 20 metre line.
50 mins Come on down - L Quinn Properties seattle usa
48 mins Benny Coulter is fouled by Hugh McGrillen, McGrillen gets a yellow card for the trip. From 21 yards on the left, Mark Poland scores the free for Down. Kildare 0-09 Down 1-11
47 mins Doyle floats a ball at goal, it has no power and is collected by Down keeper Brendan McVeigh.
46 mins Goal chance for Down. Peter Kelly makes a block in the square. The rebound is saved by Shane McCormack between the sticks.

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 17:48:31    759268

1640 Hi lads 2 girls from down and a lad frm Kildare in Thailand getting
your text updates.....UP DOWN!! Kate McManus
44 mins Doyle gets another free - from 40 yards this time. He is now joint top scorer in the Championship 2010 along with Bernard Brogan. Kildare 0-09 Down 1-10
43 mins Kildare hit the post. Eamonn Callaghan is fed the ball on the left in the 13 metre area. He bursts into the square and smashes the ball across the face of goal. It cracks off the post!
42 mins Kildare 's Emmet Bolton makes no mistake from 40 yards out. He wellied it high into the sky and it cam over the bar just inside the right post. Kildare 0-08 Down 1-10
41 mins Benny Coulter runs 20 yards down the left wing and from 22 yards out he tries to curl it over, it is over ambitious and slips wide to the right.
40 mins Kildare free just outside a 45, it is pushed wide
1634 In bar in Thira, Greece, relying on rte internet, UP DOWN ! John O'Brien
38 mins Free-in for Down. Marty Clarke will take it from 15 yards out on the right, he makes no mistake whatsoever. Kildare 0-07 Down 1-10
37 mins Good Kildare approach play leads to James Kavanagh catching a long ball, but when he tees up O'Flaherty the shot drops wide.
36 mins Eoghan O'Flaherty gets a yellow card for a late tackle on Declan Rooney.
35 mins Benny Coulter has an effort for Down from 40 yards - it is wide.
35+1 mins Amazing point from Benny Coulter. He was fed the ball on the 20-metre line and Coulter piledrives the ball over the bar. Point of the match so far! Kildare 0-07 Down 1-09
35 mins Yellow card for Down's Declan Rooney for a clumsy challenge.
34 mins Danny Hughes storms down the right flank, beats Emmet Bolton and taking advantage of acres of space he left foots over the bar. Kildare 0-07 Down 1-08
33 mins One additional minute to be added on in the first half.
32 mins Effort on goal from Marty Clarke is collected with ease by Kildare keeper Shane McCormack.
31 mins Benny Coulter wides from 10 yards out - an unusually easy miss from the red-headed dynamo.
30 mins Down have a goalscoring chance. McKernan drives into the 20 yard area and feeds McCumiskey on the left. He decides to play safe and point with only the keeper to beat. Kildare 0-07 Down 1-07
29 mins Marty Clarke, with his back to goal, fires a point over from 40 yards - superb left-footed effort. Kildare 0-07 Down 1-06
27 mins Doyle is attacked by two Down defenders and is fouled. Doyle takes the free himself from 30 yards. As usual he makes no mistake - his fourth point of the match. He is now one point away from being top scorer in the Championship, behind Bernard Brogan. Kildare 0-07 Down 1-05
26 mins Danny Hughes adds another score for Down from wide on the right. Kildare 0-06 Down 1-05
24 mins Martin Clarke capitalises on Brian Flanagn spilling the ball and as Clarke charges in on goal he is rugby tackled by Flanagan. Flanagan is booked and the free is put over the bar by Mark Poland. Kildare 0-06 Down 1-04
23 mins John Doyle cuts inside his marker and 36 yards from goal, directly in front of the sticks, he smacks it over. Kildare 0-06 Down 1-03

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 17:48:57    759269

21 mins Free-in for Kildare. Kavanagh will take this one. from 18 yards out on the right he has missed. Shocking miss for the star forward.
19 mins Down's Paul McCumiskey has a go at a point from 30 yards, but it is poor and wide.
18 mins James Kavanagh is held and it's a free-in for the Lilywhites. John Doyle will take it from 19 yards out. Wide on the right it is a magnificent point - Doyle's second of the day. Kildare 0-05 Down 1-03
17 mins Alan Smith feeds Morgan O'Flaherty on the right of the pitch 25 yards out. He pops the ball over the bar.
Kildare 0-04 Down 1-03
16 mins Peter Fitzpatrick lashes a wild effort at a point for Down, it curls off to the right.
15 mins The goal should not have stood, it was clearly a square ball, I don't know how the umpires missed that. Mark Poland knocks over a free for Down. Kildare 0-03 Down 1-03
12 mins GOAL AND POINT FOR DOWN: A poor pass from Peter Kelly hands the initiative to Down. A massive long bell comes down in the square and Benny Coulter taps it in for a goal. Kevin McKernan then grabs his second point. Down right back in this! Kildare 0-03 Down 1-02
11 mins A long ball almost finds Kavanagh again, but Brendan McVeigh comes off his line to save Down.
10 mins Free-in for Kildare from 14 yards. John Doyle takes it and makes no mistake - easy. Kildare 0-03 Down 0-01
9 mins A long ball into the Down 20 metre area finds Kavanagh and the half forward pops it over the bar for Kildare. Kevin McKernan responds with a Down point from 30 yards. Kildare 0-02 Down 0-01
7 mins Emmet Bolton has a pop at a point from 40 yards, but it ends up well wide for Kildare.
5 mins James Kavanagh makes ground inside the Down 13 yard area on the right, he tees up Alan Smith, but from 15 yards the umpires rule it wide. They got that totally wrong, that was a clear point. It should be 0-02 for Kildare now.
4 mins Free-in for Down from 45 yards. Martin Clarke will take it - he pulls it right and wide, a very poor effort.
3 mins Eamonn Callaghan makes no mistake from 35 yards, he curls it from the right side of the semi-circle between the sticks. Kildare 0-01 Down 0-00
2 mins Padraig O'Neill, with his back to goal, turns and tries to float a point over the bar from 20 yards - he puts it wide. Two wides from two efforts for Kildare.
1 mins Superb approach play from Kildare, but Brian Flanagn miscues his effort at a point and skews the ball wide to the right.
1 mins Pat McEneaney referees the game as we throw-in at Croker

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 17:49:19    759270

So Kildare's false dreams go up in smoke? What now for the future of Kildare?

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 17:54:17    759281

No prelay! The best team won!

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 18:00:24    759291

congratulations to down on booting kildare out.

Coa_gael (Fermanagh) - Posts: 1189 - 29/08/2010 19:51:56    759436

kildare are a very limited team.

millhouse (Meath) - Posts: 892 - 29/08/2010 20:01:15    759442

Who thinks that Down have the best chance of winning Sam?

Coa_gael (Fermanagh) - Posts: 1189 - 29/08/2010 20:04:33    759452

if you review both semi finals cork were lucky to win and down proved their ability to be sam contenders..
i would put my money on down winning the sam.

cillnaile. (Fermanagh) - Posts: 1016 - 29/08/2010 21:28:28    759575

Have Cork any chance of winning going by their history?

Rebeldude (Cork) - Posts: 5 - 29/08/2010 21:34:23    759583

26/08/2010 13:36:01
Redhot
County: Cork
Posts: 480

756856 Billy Morgan the ex Cork goalkeeper and manager said that had Cork being beat by Dublin in the football Semi it would probably have been the end of the road for the Cork team . Instead he says that if they beat Down/Kildare in the final they will dominate football for the next three years what does he think will happen to them if they are beat in the final will it be the end of the road for this Cork team ?

Thought I would reply to this message here as there are most vistors to this thread.

Redhot I think the end of the quote "....are beat in the final will it be the end of the road for this Cork team" is the real answer to the question. Billy Morgan's memory was be very short indeed as its only last week that they just a BIG JUST at that...that Cork survived the might of the Dubs. Therefore how on earth can he say the Cork may dominate GAA footbal for the next three years? Are you forgetting that the best county in the country Tyrone will be back on fire next season?

Up4it. (Tyrone) - Posts: 199 - 29/08/2010 21:51:27    759612

Morgan Predicts Period Of Cork Dominance ?
Answer: NO WAY

Now anyone with a bit of commonsense would not consider Cork's position very vunerable after seeing both semi-finals. They will need luck is they are to beat Down judging by todays performance.

WestRules (Galway) - Posts: 271 - 29/08/2010 21:59:56    759633

Kildare's stupid dreams put to bed and not the real contest starts!

The Cork rebels are reckless whereas Down are controlled and fucussed.

Result - Sam winners = Down for quality football!!!

Cavan_gael (Cavan) - Posts: 100 - 30/08/2010 10:16:08    759723

Cork will beat down.There is no way Down will be good enough for Cork....Cork have way too many big men in the middle area of the field and as normal will have way too much posession than Down.....For me it would be a surprise if Down won..I just cant see it....I think Down have done wonderfull to date but this will be a bridge too far..Cork way bigger,way bigger and eventually will just be too strong for down....Good luck to both teams tho...

stranded (UK) - Posts: 408 - 30/08/2010 10:53:23    759776

For the sake of football I hope Down win as they play the game like it should be played (like Galway in the late 90's / early 00's). It would be a bad day for football if Cork's "handballers" won out.

tommy k (Galway) - Posts: 3470 - 30/08/2010 10:56:08    759780