Senior Championship Previews - the Lone Shark view!

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
Post Reply
User avatar
Lone Shark
All Star
Posts: 5377
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
Club: Ferbane
Location: Roscommon
Contact:

Senior Championship Previews - the Lone Shark view!

Post by Lone Shark »

Shamrocks vs Tullamore
6.45pm Saturday, Mucklagh


This clash between two sides that would each harbour serious ambitions of Dowling Cup success should tell a lot about the strengths and weaknesses of each side and how they are shaping up for the coming year.
Shamrocks are well known for always being very competitive, and never giving up without a fight – you have to go back a long way to find an instance of the Rahan club being heavily beaten in a championship encounter. But when you look at the players they have at their disposal, in truth there is no reason for them ever to be heavily beaten, and their consistency over the last few years, but without the medals to show for it, begins to look like a poor return.
Tullamore have been nothing like as consistent, and are coming off the back of a very average 2004 – for their seniors. However the fresh impetus they should get from last years intermediate success will be a huge boon to the town side, and they certainly won’t lack for depth.
In a game where both defences would be confident of keeping their opposite numbers in check, I expect this game to be very close going into the last quarter. At this stage of the game, management will look to make the switches that could make all the difference, and Tullamore will have a wider array of options on the bench, with so many intermediate and underage players from recent years coming on stream. This strength in depth could easily be the difference between two well matched sides.
Verdict: Tullamore

Shannonbridge vs Edenderry
6.45pm Saturday, Ballinamere


Relative to the talent at their disposal, these two teams could easily make a claim to be the biggest underachievers in Offaly senior football over the last few years. Neither side has ever looked like reaching the business end of the championship, and from a group C start, they’ll each believe that they have every chance of reaching the knockout stages in 2005. However with Ballycumber looking very strong in this group, the losers here will find it very difficult to recover and get a top two spot. In that sense this could easily prove make or break, which is a very harsh situation to be in by early April.
These sides have already met in the league this year, Edenderry coming out on top by three points, but league form is notoriously erratic, and as such hardly the best formline. However neither side have been missing a lot of players on county duty, and as such it could be a better gauge than it would be for other clubs.
Having said all that, I’m going to go for Shannonbridge to win this one. Edenderry have struggled to find anyone to share the scoring workload with Robbie Glennon in recent years, and though their half back line and midfield will be strong, in Fergal McEvoy, Jason Kelly and Donie Claffey, the Bridge have three attackers of comparable abaility to Glennon, and no shortage of toughness and ability in the single digit jerseys themselves.
Verdict: Shannonbridge

Clara vs Doon
1.30pm Sunday, Shannonbridge


A heart wrenching occasion for a true legend of Offaly football beckons in Shannonbridge. For over twenty years Vinny Claffey wore the blue of Doon, and played an integral part in their progression from little known junior club to the status of established senior club that they now enjoy. It was almost inevitable that once he agreed to take the reins at Clara, this day would come eventually. That it came so soon was the only surprise.
One thing’s for sure – at Clara he certainly has the tools to win as a manager the trophy that eluded him as a player throughout his time with Doon. Clara last year had to deal with the losses of Marius Stones and Thomas Deehan to injury, and also would have struggled to match Rhode for hunger having won in 2003. Now in 2005 the hunger should be back, and those players will be very useful additions to an already strong side. But although Clara represent Lone Shark’s pick for overall success this year, I have a sneaking suspicion that tomorrow could be Doon’s day. With such heavy county representation, Clara will have had very little time to train with anything approximating their best XV, and while Deehan will be force this year, he’ll need games like this to get himself back to top form. Reynolds is playing well, but in Fintan Ryan he’ll have a worthy opponent, which should limit the damage he’ll do. With Joe Quinn, Mark Daly and Scott Brady all operating around the middle, supply will not be a problem, but James Coughlan and Trevor Phelan are well capable of keeping Doon in touch with 30% possession.
On this very ground last year Doon played Ballycumber in a vital game, and they kept in touch the whole way through, and then got the goal at the right time. If they can resist the temptation to take James Coughlan away from goals out to the half forward line during their inevitable dry spell, the same outcome is very plausible here.
Verdict: Doon

Rhode vs Ferbane
4.00pm Sunday, Mucklagh


Much like Clara, Rhode have been playing their league games with almost a reserve team, such is the strength of their representation on the Offaly panel. Unlike Clara, their star-free lineups have been registering victories in the manner associated with the club in recent years – three wins by an average margin of eight points.
From a Ferbane perspective, there’s a lot to encourage them going into this game. With Jim Grennan and Paul Rosney operating in the middle, they should outdo any opponents in Offaly in terms of primary possession – Rhode included. They’ll have had most of their panel together, and should be well able to gel, and Niall McNamee in his current semi-injured state is a lot more markable than the mercurial player we saw shredding defences in green and gold last summer and autumn. For this reason, I can see Ferbane starting well, dominating large stretches of the game, and quite possibly even leading at half time by a point or two.
However the absence of an intercounty standard scoring forward will continue to tell against Ferbane. Even with a lot of ball and a good free taking display from David Lowry, they’ll still struggle to score more than 12 or 13 points. If Paschal, Niall and Roy Malone get going, they could and probably will be able to eke out three or four more than that from limited possession and get 2005 off to a winning start for the village.
Verdict: Rhode


Erin Rovers vs Ballycumber
6.30pm Sunday, Ferbane


There is a school of thought out there that says that a club is often better starting in group C and getting a good run of games and wins together against moderate opposition than going in against the good sides in group A or B and finding that one mistake can cost you dearly. Ballycumber in particular will be a testament to that. Hugely unlucky to lose to Doon early last year, they were left in a beat Rhode or get eliminated situation, which ended predictably badly. This year they are very much the class act in a weak looking Group C, and could easily find themselves racking up the wins, and reaching the knockouts with momentum on their side.
Certainly as far as one can tell, Ballycumber have everything going for them going in to this match. Two comfortable wins out of two in the league, a healthy representation on both the Offaly minor and U21 panels, and Colm Quinn back to his best for the seniors, very much making Offaly tick with his excellent passing the same we he has wearing nine for Ballycumber for years.
In contrast, finding reasons why Erin Rovers could win this game is a much tougher pastime. They faded badly after a good start last year, Richard Fox failed to make sufficient impact in a county jersey to be retained, and conceding four goals to Edenderry in their last outing won’t have inspired confidence. That this is a very local derby should ensure they won’t lack for motivation, but that doesn’t change the fact that Ballycumber will be very disappointed, and the Lone Shark will be very surprised if this game isn’t won with at least 7 or 8 points to spare by the Ballycumber men.

Verdict: Ballycumber

User avatar
ballymanabroad
All Star
Posts: 181
Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2005 10:37 pm
Location: Rathfarnham

Post by ballymanabroad »

Ah, the Bally lads will be unhappy about this. Not the review, cheers, but the kick off time. A mad dash from Ferbane to Gussies to get in the pints before 9pm and then having to take it easy because of the game next weekend. :x
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe - Muhammad Ali

Post Reply