Offaly Vs Wexford 2/6/12 Leinster Championship

[Lone Shark]

Walking out of OCP last Saturday night, it was hard to feel good about the game, oddly enough. Even if Joe Bergin's late effort had gone over it might have changed the tone, but I couldn't help feeling that the exact same thing happened as in the league, with the only difference this time being that Wexford ran out of time. However as time went on, it was easy to see things more clearly - we needed to win, and we did. How often in the last few years have we been on the other side - hammering into teams and falling agonisingly short? Cork last year in particular comes to mind. There are several areas where huge improvement is needed undoubtedly, but at the end of the day it's been 12 years since we beat any decent team other than Limerick. The psychological pressure of that has to have been huge.

Also, as POTH alluded to above, of the eight teams that are in the provincial semi-finals, it's reasonable to say that we will be perceived as the weakest link. However out of the other seven, there is no-one I'd prefer to be playing than Galway. There must be a huge sense of unfinished business after 2010, and nothing that Galway have done so far this year suggests to me that they are any better than any other season - plenty of good young talent, but still unsure of a lot of key positions and still essentially with four or five good hurlers and picking the other ten out of 100 or so in the county that have little or nothing between them. However if we are to put ourselves in a place to win, there are a few points that I'd like to see looked at, and I'll bring in some of the points listed above.

(1) For me, there is a time and a place to play a withdrawn inside forward, and against the wind, I've no problem with it. Even with the wind I don't mind, provided the whole team plays to suit it, though I wouldn't choose to do it myself. That was the bit that bothered me in particular - watching fellas in the half back line and midfield playing long balls into outnumbered inside forwards, while much better options were available if lads would only take the time to look up. I remember Enda McEvoy making an observation about Offaly vs Wexford games in the 1980s/90s - his general gist was that Wexford always hit the ball as far as they could, Offaly only hit the ball as far as it needed to go. To me there was a lot of role reversal going on because we seemed to play balls into the full forward line because we could, even though a better, shorter ball seemed to be on.

One thing I'm not sure about though - how much of it was management instructed? A few times in the second half I saw Ollie Baker exhorting lads to play further up the pitch, including Brian Carroll. Maybe fellas were dropping deeper, in a natural "what we have, we hold" mentality?

(2) In the same vein, of the fourteen outfield players that started, I'd actually say the two guys I'd least like to be taking a shot at goal from 70 yards out or more are Kevin Brady and Conor Mahon. Perhaps David Kenny and James Rigney might be no better, but all six forwards, Horan, Morkam, Hanniffy and Franks would all be better options. So I don't like a situation that leaves them doing just that. In terms of the general midfield balance, I thought Mahon played a good part in this game and generally took the right option and made some good tackles. I'll be honest, Kevin Brady was lost for me and once he got his card, I would have taken him off because you just couldn't trust him not to foul again.

(3) Wexford took off their centre forward and never got anything from this position, which on the face of it is an endorsement of Rory Hanniffy's performance. Yet I can't help but expect more from a guy who is still one of our natural leaders and he didn't get involved in the game in an attacking sense for me. I'm still unsure as to whether this was a back doing his job, or a man out of position. I'd be interested to hear what others think, but my gut feeling is that if Paul Cleary is fit, as is supposed to be the case, I'd be a fan of putting Cleary at 6 and letting Hanniffy play in the middle of the field.

(4) Once Wexford got their first goal, it was clear we were on the back foot and changes were needed. I don't think it's good enough that when the tide needs to be turned, we were only making our second substitution in the 66th minute. I agree that Colin Egan had a massive game and he nailed down his place for the Galway match, but he was visibly tiring, as were the two midfielders. I've no problem with that - the proper team player will always empty his tank, not keep anything in reserve, and will then step aside. Still, Derek Molloy's ability to catch a ball could have been handy, or somebody like Wynne/Hernon could have freed up Morkam to move to a more advanced position, or any one of a number of other options. I don't mind what you do, as long as it's not nothing.

(5) In general, Morkam was excellent, so I'd have no hesitation in putting him down on the teamsheet to play Galway. Of all the lads who may or may not deserve criticism, he was clearly on form and hurling well for me.

(6) Joe Bergin is too good to be out of the game for as long as he was. Again, more should have been done here I thought, even putting him on the opposite wing to Colin for a while, or maybe even centre forward. It's not good enough to expect to win with no-one on your team getting more than two scores from play, though I would exempt Dooley from criticism in that regard because he drew a lot of fouls.

[townman]

good points loan shark i to would have Paul Cleary centreback if fit and Hanniffy to midfield where he can run at other teams backs plus he can score has great stick
work you could also put Kenny centreback Cleary back in full if you like.

its funny i watched the game again on RTE Player and theirs things you see after that you didn't been in the stand on saturday evening
Connor Mahon would have been one player i thought wasn't good on saturday night but yet when seen again he hurl well, also Kevin Brady
was in and out of it but yet they won the midfield battle as wexford weren't any better as Gizzy went to the half forward line from the throw in.

i think Parlon should have switch to the half forward line as he doesn't like it in fullforward with no room Bergin and parlon move would have worked
Brian Carroll done well scored 2 good points but not his fault he was playing deep getting the ball and more than 3 or 4 times he drove the ball into
where he should have been and Keith Rossiter was on his own to catch it and start a wexford attack we won't get away with this plan again Galway.

Sean Ryan needs a dry ground i think Molloy would have been better coming on for Parlon as his height and size would have helped in the last 20 minutes
around the halfforward line as Brendan Murphy look off his feet for most of the second half but done well to win ball and the ref was hard on him at times.

the next game will be different again the pressure will be off offaly after the win offaly hurling wanted that win and we might see offaly hurl with style now
with no pressure on them as Galway will be favourites to win this.

players like Cathal Parlon and Joe Bergin maybe Derek Molloy might step up and take the scoring burden off Dooley, there a few players that will be fitter
everything is a bonus now for offaly a win and we will be hurling into august anyway maybe a shock Dublin win over the cats and we could be leinster championship to
here i am gettting carried away here now but you never know beat Galway and you never know

[Kevin]

beat Galway and you never know

There you have it.

We're where we want to be.

Great to have the first step behind us.

[SearingDrive]

The important thing is that Offaly won tonight, although it was tense in the last few minutes, as Wexford pulled us back. Wexford started and finished the game stronger, while Offaly were dominant in the second and third quarters. Offaly need an improvement if we are to trouble Galway or Westmeath in the semi final. Dare I say it, Wexford seemed to have a better game plan at times.
Absolutely miserable night on the terrace, weather wise.

You obviously got in late.The allowed a load of people to walk across the pitch from the terrace to the stand between the 2 matches

No DAF, I was in before the Laois v Dublin game, as POTH confirmed.

[DAF]

The important thing is that Offaly won tonight, although it was tense in the last few minutes, as Wexford pulled us back. Wexford started and finished the game stronger, while Offaly were dominant in the second and third quarters. Offaly need an improvement if we are to trouble Galway or Westmeath in the semi final. Dare I say it, Wexford seemed to have a better game plan at times.
Absolutely miserable night on the terrace, weather wise.

You obviously got in late.The allowed a load of people to walk across the pitch from the terrace to the stand between the 2 matches

No DAF, I was in before the Laois v Dublin game, as POTH confirmed.

Why didnt you head to the stand like a load of them did.Just curious is all it was a wicked evening to be on the terrace.

[Bord na Mona man]

The lads on the terrace who crossed over to the stand because of the rain should take a long hard look at themselves!

[backofthenet]

First off well done to the team, it was extremely worrying that we again didnt finish the game well, I cant remember offaly finishing a game well over the last number of years except maybe galway in croke park a few years ago. Contrast this with the 1990s when it was a trademark of the county team.

I travelled down to tullamore in confidence last saturday and it was justified. However I cant help but feel we can imporove on the team that took the field.

I am happy enough with the backline which was solid enough through out. Dempseys save in the first half was topclass.

Midfield is a sector we are seriously missing, we dont have a player that can link defence to attack, both Brady & Mahon will work hard all day but their delivery is woeful. Conor Mahon got caught in possession badly quite a few times aswell & Kevin Brady is always liable to give away a few frees. I really think maybe even Sean Ryan could be given a go there & I think perhaps even Brian Carroll might be worth a run as he is not a big enough physical presence to be on the half forward line.

Colin Egan was unquestionably the biggest positive apart from the result, Offaly have always had a serious problem with winning our own puck out, I lost count how much Egan caught in the first half. My one issue again is his distribution once he gained possession, more work needs to be done on the training ground to get offaly bodies close by to be available for a short pass. Joe Bergin needs to be centre forward along with Derek Molloy on the wing, winning primary possession off your own puck out is so vital and its an area that offaly have been neglecting too often.

Cathal Parlon actually had a good game, he caught a lovely ball in the first half which Brendan Murphy should have finished. Shane Dooley was very good as usual and Brendan Murphy done ok.

I liked that the backs actually looked for the short pass to get them out of trouble, this seems to be a positive move since Baker took over, just cleverer hurling.

[townman]

The lads on the terrace who crossed over to the stand because of the rain should take a long hard look at themselves!

they did and they were getting wet, but it was no joke it got a bit hairy in the stand as a Dub went to the jacks only to come back and a man had taken his seat beside
his young child only for the man to move out of it, as he said he didn't pay 25 euro for someone who payed 15 to come over and sit in his seat.

it could have got very hasty with supporters if more had to come over from the terrace , who let this happen anyway wouldn't happen in any other ground in the country
i love to see the welcome you get if it was in Parnell park and fans came from the terrace across the field to get into the stand

[onthefence]

good result and at least we got over the line. I know guys have said it already but 9 points up with the wind playing at home and we drop Brian Caroll back into midfield doesnt make sence to me. what make it worse Wexfords center forward ( no. 10 i think) dropped out to midfield and picked up a lot off ball, Rory tired to drop back in front of full back line but got caught in no mans land. if we gona play an extra man around midfield well then surely this plan would have been tried in trainin and some one would be be pickin up center forward and when deliverin balls in2 forward line would be in2 space. But a win is a win is a win and lookin forward to Portlaoise.

[westender]

Agree with first few paragraghs, but my comments for the rest in bold[/b
]Walking out of OCP last Saturday night, it was hard to feel good about the game, oddly enough. Even if Joe Bergin's late effort had gone over it might have changed the tone, but I couldn't help feeling that the exact same thing happened as in the league, with the only difference this time being that Wexford ran out of time. However as time went on, it was easy to see things more clearly - we needed to win, and we did. How often in the last few years have we been on the other side - hammering into teams and falling agonisingly short? Cork last year in particular comes to mind. There are several areas where huge improvement is needed undoubtedly, but at the end of the day it's been 12 years since we beat any decent team other than Limerick. The psychological pressure of that has to have been huge.

Also, as POTH alluded to above, of the eight teams that are in the provincial semi-finals, it's reasonable to say that we will be perceived as the weakest link. However out of the other seven, there is no-one I'd prefer to be playing than Galway. There must be a huge sense of unfinished business after 2010, and nothing that Galway have done so far this year suggests to me that they are any better than any other season - plenty of good young talent, but still unsure of a lot of key positions and still essentially with four or five good hurlers and picking the other ten out of 100 or so in the county that have little or nothing between them. However if we are to put ourselves in a place to win, there are a few points that I'd like to see looked at, and I'll bring in some of the points listed above.

(1) For me, there is a time and a place to play a withdrawn inside forward, and against the wind, I've no problem with it. Even with the wind I don't mind, provided the whole team plays to suit it, though I wouldn't choose to do it myself. That was the bit that bothered me in particular - watching fellas in the half back line and midfield playing long balls into outnumbered inside forwards, while much better options were available if lads would only take the time to look up. I remember Enda McEvoy making an observation about Offaly vs Wexford games in the 1980s/90s - his general gist was that Wexford always hit the ball as far as they could, Offaly only hit the ball as far as it needed to go. To me there was a lot of role reversal going on because we seemed to play balls into the full forward line because we could, even though a better, shorter ball seemed to be on. Spot on

One thing I'm not sure about though - how much of it was management instructed? A few times in the second half I saw Ollie Baker exhorting lads to play further up the pitch, including Brian Carroll. Maybe fellas were dropping deeper, in a natural "what we have, we hold" mentality?Sould have made substitutions earlier, alot of the lads looked off there feet

(2) In the same vein, of the fourteen outfield players that started, I'd actually say the two guys I'd least like to be taking a shot at goal from 70 yards out or more are Kevin Brady and Conor Mahon. Perhaps David Kenny and James Rigney might be no better, but all six forwards, Horan, Morkam, Hanniffy and Franks would all be better options. So I don't like a situation that leaves them doing just that. In terms of the general midfield balance, I thought Mahon played a good part in this game and generally took the right option [(Trying to shoot 3 times and hitting a bad wide each time, not a good option, he's just not able to score)]and made some good tackles. I'll be honest, Kevin Brady was lost for me and once he got his card, I would have taken him off because you just couldn't trust him not to foul again. True , by rights he could have got the line, hes abetter half back than midfielder, so were do ya paly him, horan in his place not too sure??

(3) Wexford took off their centre forward and never got anything from this position, which on the face of it is an endorsement of Rory Hanniffy's performance. Yet I can't help but expect more from a guy who is still one of our natural leaders and he didn't get involved in the game in an attacking sense for me. I'm still unsure as to whether this was a back doing his job, or a man out of position. I'd be interested to hear what others think, but my gut feeling is that if Paul Cleary is fit, as is supposed to be the case, I'd be a fan of putting Cleary at 6 and letting Hanniffy play in the middle of the field. I would not let cleary near a hurling field, for such a big small he's terrified of the ball, if things not going well , he puts hand up to the line looking for an excus to come off, never seen him play a good game.The problem with rory is , we could do with 10 rory hannify's but he can only play in one position,Best hurler offaly has by a mile.

(4) Once Wexford got their first goal, it was clear we were on the back foot and changes were needed. I don't think it's good enough that when the tide needs to be turned, we were only making our second substitution in the 66th minute. I agree that Colin Egan had a massive game and he nailed down his place for the Galway match,Would want to learn what to do with the ball when he get's it, no point of winning the ball and handing it back over with bad distribution as he did on numerous occasions but he was visibly tiring, as were the two midfielders. I've no problem with that - the proper team player will always empty his tank, not keep anything in reserve, and will then step aside. Still, Derek Molloy's ability to catch a ball could have been handyWould be worth a shout , but needs to hurl and keep out of trouble, if he could do this he would defo be a starter for me, or somebody like Wynne/Hernon could have freed up Morkam to move to a more advanced position, or any one of a number of other options. I don't mind what you do, as long as it's not nothing. Wynne, he's had numerous chances with offaly, and never has he done a good job.

(5) In general, Morkam was excellent, so I'd have no hesitation in putting him down on the teamsheet to play Galway. Of all the lads who may or may not deserve criticism, he was clearly on form and hurling well for me. Morkam, like rigney, and horan lovely hurlers, good passing, but their achilles heal is their ability to stay tight to their men, look at the game sat, every game we played last year, no point in them playing stylist hurling , if they cant do the basics right.Badly need Tight marking defenders,ust look at all the scores conceeded over last few years

(6) Joe Bergin is too good to be out of the game for as long as he was. Again, more should have been done here I thought, even putting him on the opposite wing to Colin for a while, or maybe even centre forward. It's not good enough to expect to win with no-one on your team getting more than two scores from play, though I would exempt Dooley from criticism in that regard because he drew a lot of fouls.Bergin should have being full forward all the 2nd half with dooley and some one else either side, and with this we would have had numerous more scores

[townman]

you wouldn't let Paul Cleary onto a hurling field in one remark, then said Derek Molloy should be a starter thank god your not picking
a county squad fcuking Hell........

[westender]

As i said if he keeps out of trouble, he's had more good games for offaly than cleary ever has.
i must not be too far wrong as molloy came on,what about cleary.
He showed his true colours last week against kilkenny, got a roasting, Lay on the ground,pointed to sideline, fa*ing injury???

[townman]

Molloy blows hot and cold to my man thats if he isn't sent off

[Toxicity234]

i don't think anyone can complain about our defence, wexford scored 1-13. That a great performance.
and given that the Ref(Sexton ) gave Wexford free for soft fouls and sometime for no fouls. its a unbelievable performance.
our Defence was help by our 2 midfielders dropping and making sure that the Wexford forwards were crowded.
in the second half Wexford play short puck out and just put the ball over our half back line. so Brady and Mahon went out of the game. Not there fault.
Wexford Midfilders were trying to break forward the whole way through the match. For the frist 15 mins they did a lot of damage. and in the last 10 mins it look like they were going to win the match for them.
The Change of Mahon and the arrived of Heeron made a big differance because he stopped Lyng for moving off the ball. a Fresh mind in the middle of the park at that stage was need.