I AM delighted that we got past Donegal in the Ulster Senior Football Championship on Sunday.
Ballybofey is a tough place to go and most of you will know that we made hard work of our victory.
We conceded two early goals and it was always going to be hard to stamp our authority on the game after doing that. But I am happy in the manner of how we fought back.
Past Down teams may have crumbled but we wanted to win more than anything and by simply tagging on points we stuck with Donegal and then in the final stages we completely dominated the game.
Of course the semi-final against Tyrone is a huge test but we will be confident going into the game. And with big Ambrose Rodgers back in the side, we will be ready for the Red Hands.
I have to congratulate the Down Minors.
They played well and showed that they have the potential to go all the way.
There are a few things that have annoyed me from the GAA Football Championship thus far.
Firstly, I feel the Ulster GAA Council has to take into account that a day away supporting your team involves paying for fuel and food and a lot of families cannot afford this expense any longer.
With most games being televised now, people are taking the option of watching our games from the armchair and I feel that this is going to be a major problem during the summer when the World Cup becomes an opposition to the GAA.
Water carriers are no longer allowed onto the field during a game and this only has a detrimental effect on a player’s performance.
During a game a player can lose upwards on six pounds and without proper hydration, a team’s performance is affected.
Surely the powers that be can apply a bit of common sense and loosen the grip on this rule for the remainder of the Championship?
Tyrone v Antrim was the hottest day of the year and players could not get a drink to cure their thirst during the game.
There is a major row in Tyrone at the minute where the senior management has postponed most of the senior championship to prepare for the Ulster semi-final.
This is totally unfair as clubs have planned their training schedule to peak for these fixtures and now they have been postponed at such a late stage.
Club football is the rock of our organisation and county boards should ensure that club players are adequately catered for.
In Down we are lucky that our Senior Championship starts in August. But there could be trouble ahead for the fixtures committee if we can get a good run into late August and beyond.