Offaly versus Kildare 16th June 2012

[GOOFY]

Well lads & lassies its almost upon us. Our day of armageddon for some, or another chance to write a glorious chapter into our illustrious past? (not very likely).

What ive been wondering is have we ever played the first round of a leinster championship with as little perceived chance as we have this year. Not in my memory anyway. Can any or our more "mature" posters here remember anything like this impossibele task?

[Bord na Mona man]

Back Offaly on the handicap.

[GOOFY]

What would that be BNM man, suppose 8 or 9 points probably, no niall mac though??

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Back in the late 80's, early 90's remember being away in college and would harly know when Offaly were playing, 90 to 94, dont think I attended a championship match for the footballers. There Ive said it!! I feel the guilt lifting!

On a side not was reading through a bit on the Tribune by Kevin Corrigan and among some of the things that annoy me is the way he continually uses the "we feel", "we think" with regard to his writing. Has he finally acknowledged (a) the split personalities he displays in his writing or (b) Brian Lowry and himself do the articles between them? As far as I know his column is "The Man behind the Wire", he must be confused with the "Men behind the Wire" which is a whole different scenario!
He was really trying to fill column inches discussing the demerits of the process that saw Sean Lowry picked at wingback on Offaly's team of the last 50 years that appeared in the "Irish Independent" last Monday!
The amount of times he comes down on both sides of an argument, must have some set of splinters in the tail end!

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

Look , we are in a bad place at the minute, but I will head for Portlaoise looking to see what we can salvage from this and at the end of the day you cant beat being at a match live. We can always hope, maybe we might get the first score, a good goal, a lucky goal, the chance to compete, thats the beauty of sport.
Id say we are no more outsiders than UTD were to clinch the league and look at how that panned out?

As Mel Gibson said in Braveheart, "that one chance at Freedom", a performance of determination and heart is what we are looking for. We are due it and Coffey can then have a chance to pull something out of the bag in the qualifiers.

[offalyman]

whats the story with niall mcnamee now? is he injured or what, because he came back and played against wexford
and cavan and i havent heard anything sense then.......we really need him

[summerindublin]

I see that Offaly beat Carlow on Tuesday, anyone know what was the starting team

[corner back]

Seanie Johnston free to play. His appeal was successful.

I don't think it is going to make any difference to this match particularly but I think it is the wrong decision. The guy still works in Cavan. I don't think there are too many people who think he really lives in Kildare. Start of a slippery slope.

[Bord na Mona man]

I think this could backfire on Kildare...eventually.
The lengths they have gone to pursue him is bound to unsettle the established panel members.

[uibhfhailiabu]

Seanie Johnston free to play. His appeal was successful.

He's not free to play yet according to Hoganstand. He has to play a club championship game in Kildare before he is eligible to play with the county team and the second round of the championship there is not fixed until after Kildare after knocked out of the championship.

[Kevin]

What are the odds that Kildare will now move up one round of their club championship in the 'interest of the grass roots'!!!!

[azoffaly]

Apparently if he plays 2 minutes of hurling (seriously) for Coill Dubh, he will be free to play. But I don't think that is scheduled until after the Offaly game.

I remember the last time we thought we had as poor a chance as this was probably back when Offaly played Meath. Probably in 1995 or thereabouts? Lost to them fairly handy alright, but of course we won a Leinster a couple of years later. So all is not lost

[GOOFY]

I remember the last time we thought we had as poor a chance as this was probably back when Offaly played Meath. Probably in 1995 or thereabouts? Lost to them fairly handy alright, but of course we won a Leinster a couple of years later. So all is not lost

Aye, remember that one up in navan. Offaly had the neck to go 1 - 04 to 0 -00 up after about 20 mins with a scrappy goal from mick casey, i was beginnin to dream the impossible........... alas order was restored and meath won 1 - 15 to 1 - 5 if i remember correctly. Just goes to show though that sport is a funny thing - ud never know i suppose

[Bord na Mona man]

I remember the last time we thought we had as poor a chance as this was probably back when Offaly played Meath. Probably in 1995 or thereabouts? Lost to them fairly handy alright, but of course we won a Leinster a couple of years later. So all is not lost

Aye, remember that one up in navan. Offaly had the neck to go 1 - 04 to 0 -00 up after about 20 mins with a scrappy goal from mick casey, i was beginnin to dream the impossible........... alas order was restored and meath won 1 - 15 to 1 - 5 if i remember correctly. Just goes to show though that sport is a funny thing - ud never know i suppose

The Sunday Game highlights from that match are on youtube somewhere.
There were some hits dished out back! At one stage in that game, Ronan Mooney was sent crashing into advertisement hoardings on the sideline and he just got up and jogged back to his position.
Sean Grennan was stooping down with the ball in his hands and a Meath just drew on the ball with his boot (while Grennan was holding it)! Again he played on as if it didn't happen.

[bracknaghboy]

[quote="Bord na Mona man"]
The Sunday Game highlights from that match are on youtube somewhere.[quote]

Here ye go lads, well worth a look. Looking at it now I'd forgotton what a big crowd was at it. Got soaked and what a strange game 1-5 to 0-1 up after 28 minutes then losing 1-15 to 1-5. Our lads were chronically unfit. The big crowd was because this was a real championship match.....lose and you were out, people appreciated that back then. The qualifiers have ruined the spirit of the championship and I believe thats reflected in the miserable crowds we see these days.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luAGemdo7aA

and

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEbCPjOA ... ure=relmfu