Well done to all the players and management on achieving promotion to the top tier of league football . I am sure that this was one of the main goals of the team at the start of the year along with breaking into the super 8s which unfortunately is something that we will never know how it would have turned out, unless we win in Ulster .
Yesterday’s game was similar to a lot this years , some movement and scores up front that would be up there with any team in the country ,and severe lapses of concentration , not just on defence but all over the field which lets teams back into the game, how we rectify it I don’t know .
While I agree about the over zealous criticism of Blaine in particular we do have to recognise that he does make some mistakes , however they all do Cluxton , Morgan and in big games , he was at fault for the goal and he needs to learn from that , it highlights issues that he wasn’t confident that we could deal with the high ball in the square , again it happens, he is the no 1 keeper and the ‘trawl for a keeper on this forum is the biggest waste of resources since Cash for Ash . He’s the choice and it’s going going to change soon .
Overall we are on a good place , a few years ago when we played Laois and got knocked out of the championship 3 times I couldn’t face going to games , their was despair around , the lack of imagination and scoring power was evident , playing with 3 sweepers in some cases it was horrible to watch , we now have a nucleus of a good squad that hopefully will continue to improve , most players are the right age and barring serious injury and temptation from abroad, they should be around for a long time . The free taker issue has been put to bed , Rian is a beautiful striker of a ball , a. 45 will mean a point for us on most cases , that’s something we were missing badly . Just keep the mouths shut everyone and get on with the game , the old saying is true, the referees not going to change his mind ,so just get on with it , and it’s worth noting with no crowds they hear everything now .
A big banana skin next week , going up means we will be hot favourites to win this match and it’s not something we have handled well before . It will be a true test of character for all the players and hopefully they rise to the challenge .
Thanks again for giving us all a lift in these dour times , wouldn’t it be great to get a run in Ulster take on Tyrone or Donegal in knockout match and the prospect of welcoming Dublin , Kerry or Mayo is mouth watering next year even if we don’t get to go to the AG , I know even to watch it on the TV will give many people on here a big lift and help them forget other problems they might have , just for a little while anyway .Exciting times ahead .