Wow as a Kerryman that was tough to watch live. Have recorded it but dont want to watch that again. We were lifeless at times. No urgency in our play whatsoever. We were so leggy at times it was scary. Is it fitness or what?. Relegation is almost certain id say. The biggest worry is our panel of players. First 15 will do ok but backup looks not up to standard. Other counties are producing big athletic young lads but we are not. Theres something wrong somewhere that needs adressing for further down the line. Dublin won today without coming out of 2nd gear. Exciting times lie ahead for the Dubs.

kerry74 (Kerry) - Posts: 1354 - 10/02/2013 17:29:53    1331511

Very magnanimous Kerry74 not easy to take or say.

Muckross - well predicted I thought we wpuld struggle home advantage and Mayo being AI finalists last year. We had it in the bag and didn't press on a number of careless kick-outs to the centre were the O'Shea brothers were cleaning up nearly cost us but...Stevie O'Neill steps up a man touched with greatness.

Two wins out of two, both away from home, the novices are doing alright so far... now where's that thread about Tyrone being confident.

Tyronetim (Tyrone) - Posts: 1254 - 10/02/2013 17:58:39    1331536

Good win for Tyrone, they took the foot off the gas coming into the last 10,
and the inexperience of the new lads showed. Totally deserving of the win,
Tyrone were the better team for 60 minutes of that game. A definite penalty
won it for Tyrone, when Mayo thought they had it in the bag! No comment
regarding their whining at the end! Tir Eoghain abu ;)

TheGateKeeper (Tyrone) - Posts: 2843 - 10/02/2013 18:08:32    1331545

Bit behind on the columns this weekend. Here's my tactical take on Donegal's win over Down http://action81.com/blog/?p=6688

emmetryan (Dublin) - Posts: 154 - 10/02/2013 18:39:17    1331573

I'm not complaining about the loss to Tyrone today because overall they deserved at least a draw if not the win but i am going to complain about the referees consistency. It was a penalty no doubt but did anyone else notice what was happening in the vicinity of Stephen O'Neill. The ruel for the penalty is as follows ''A penalty kick shall be taken from the ground
at the centre point of the 11m line, and only
the defending goalkeeper may stand on the
goal-line. All other players, with the exception
of the player taking the kick, shall be outside
the 20m line and the arc, be at least 13m from
the ball, and shall not cross the 20m line or
the arc until the ball has been kicked. The
goalkeeper may move along his line, but may
not advance from the goal-line until the ball
has been kicked. If a defending player fouls
before the ball is kicked and a goal does not
result, the referee shall allow the penalty kick
to be retaken.''
Martin Penrose who was wearing number 25 was actually insede the large rectangle and most players were no more than 5 to 10m away from O'Neill when the kick was taken. Great penalty all the same but Maurice Deegan needs to up his game. What would have happend if it hit the post or if Calrke saved it and Penrose was right in on top of him to pounce on the rebound. It shouldnt have came to the situation of the penalty because mayo should have killed the game off

pitch_invader (Mayo) - Posts: 154 - 10/02/2013 18:44:43    1331580

Mayo were appalling today apart from that 5 minute spell at the end when they hit 1-3 without reply. Time and time again we kicked possession away. It seemed like every second handpass went astray. Shooting was poor. God it was awful stuff. And still we could have won it. If I was Aiden O'Shea I'd have wrapped the two arms round Stephen O'Neill there at the end and taken my yellow card. Instead of letting him walk past me and deliver the ball which lead to the pen. So much for cynical Mayo eh? Having said that O'Shea was by far out best player, just lacked a bit of cuteness at the end.

With loads of lads to come back and players to return to their proper positions (Keegan to the half-back line and McLoughlin to the half-forward line) I'm not to worried but that performance was shocking.

killer_88_ (Mayo) - Posts: 2040 - 10/02/2013 18:59:00    1331598

I also saw a certain Mayo footballer "Stretching" his hamstring right in front of O'Neill \ the ball before taking the penalty

Also another Mayo player ran in front of the ball as O'Neill was only seconds from taking the peno

So all in all such cynical methods dont deserve to be rewarded.

Beelzedub (Dublin) - Posts: 480 - 10/02/2013 19:17:45    1331615

Muckrosshead.....................28/1 those 4 winners..........nice

kikfada (Louth) - Posts: 2091 - 10/02/2013 19:20:17    1331617

I mean its not like mayo to complain. Tyrone totally deserved the win the 2 frees mayo got near the end were a joke

johnsee (Meath) - Posts: 389 - 10/02/2013 19:20:22    1331618

kikfada
County: Louth
Posts: 777

1331617
Muckrosshead.....................28/1 those 4 winners..........nice

Kikfada,
Not being a betting man that little bit of info has made me sick to my stomach.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 10/02/2013 20:03:34    1331654

Lads watch it again that was never a peno for Tyrone bad decision

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 10/02/2013 20:11:28    1331661

clondalkindub
County: Dublin
Posts: 3165

1331661
Lads watch it again that was never a peno for Tyrone bad decision

Referee gave it, end of conversation.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 10/02/2013 20:28:49    1331674

717.4 Km roundtrip , 80 quid of diesel and it was all worth while with that win today.

Well done Dublin. Easy to say Kerry didn't turn up and where missing alot of their players, But so where we. That defence last week was found out a bit against Cork and i think its fair to say that had Cork been a little more ruthless last week we may not have won that game, However today, To hold ANY Kerry team to 4 points in 70 minutes of football in their own back yard is an absolutely fantastic performance defensively. Last week we saw our forwards have a blinder. Today it was the defenders turn. Special mention to Rory O'Carroll who was playing college football on Thursday night. His performance today was fantastic.

four points from four against Cork and Kerry is as perfect a start as we could have hoped for. Frightening thing is we still have so many top players to come back into our squad, The options we have available is unbelieveable. Very very easy to get carried away but it is only februaru after all but its great to be winning games against Cork and Kerry in the space of 8 days. Both will be a different animal come the summer but i would expect Dublin to be there aswell come the business end. At the minute though its still about improving and being more consistant in games. Despite holding Kerry to four points. I thought we still faded out of the game at times. While we didn't look in any trouble it is still a worry. Too early i suppose to look for a complete 70 minutes. But the inconsistantcy in games is something we will have to work on.

I thought the crowd in Killarney was brilliant today. In times of hardship , It's difficult for people to travel to games , But the Dubs fans who did travel .. Fair play. (And that goes for the Fans who come to Dublin too. From the 4 corners of Ireland)..

waynoI (Dublin) - Posts: 13655 - 10/02/2013 20:32:14    1331678

Good input MuckrossHead , lets never discuss any Referee decisions ever again so if that's your attitude.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 10/02/2013 20:40:55    1331688

well written wayno,and i also commented on big rory too spot on he was immense at back won every ball...

dubbydave. (Dublin) - Posts: 3927 - 10/02/2013 20:59:52    1331713

Great post wayno. I hope the travelling gives you some insight into the life of the supporter from the western seaboard!!!!

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 10/02/2013 21:10:57    1331717

He's a beast lads , probably the most underrated player out there. Somehow he's been nominated 3 times for an all star at full back and hasn't won it once. Has a player ever been nominated in the full back position 3 years in a row and not won? And he's only 22

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 10/02/2013 21:14:08    1331722

clondalkindub
County: Dublin
Posts: 3169

1331688
Good input MuckrossHead , lets never discuss any Referee decisions ever again so if that's your attitude.

I thought it was quite good myself.

However in the spirit of Hogan Stand, I watched the incident & the camera work was poor & inconclusive. The referee was much closer & up with the action & I for one would give him the benefit of the doubt.

MuckrossHead (Donegal) - Posts: 5028 - 10/02/2013 21:30:18    1331746

Good weekend of football.

Donegal had an easy enough win over Down. The first half was tight a bit dull, but a 2nd half Donegal stepped it up a notch and looked very formidable. I think Donegal should have won by a much larger margin. Seem to be experimenting at the moment.

Tyrone looked the better side against Mayo, I was honestly was expecting Mayo to win this one. But Tyrone looked the better of the two sides, with the Mayo goal giving them a much needed lift.

Dublin had an Impressive win against Kerry. Very poor Kerry performance overall, probably one of the worst i've seen in recent years. The Dubs look very good, although I still reckon they will just fall short this year.

Kildare will be well pleased with 4 points from Donegal and Cork. I don't think Cork should be too worried by this match, the sending off clearly had an Impact.


Overall its looking like Kerry and Down could well be likely candidates for relegation. And Kildare, Dublin and Tyrone will be vying for League glory. Bit early yet to know i suppose. But a great Division 1 overall.

GaryMc82 (Derry) - Posts: 3026 - 10/02/2013 21:30:58    1331747

That's fair enough MuckrossHead , thanks for a much better response than your first post on the matter. Jaysus Muck that Murphy lad is some player best in Ireland at the moment, mind you not many forwards would do what Bernard Brogan did to Marc O Se today.

clondalkindub (Dublin) - Posts: 9926 - 10/02/2013 21:35:55    1331754