Allianz Hurling League Roinn 1B 2016

[Bord na Mona man]

fair play to all those guys involved ,they seem to have trained very hard but the problem sid had was he was unable to bring the top club players with him ,some didnt come in, other ran around in the muck in november december and janurary and were gone before the league started .E Kelly seem to have made the same mistake .
No player from kk birr or coolderry starting the league in crazy .
if anyone sat down and pick the best club team of the last few years very few of E kelly team would make it and some would not make the subs .
lads like d shortt is a real leader of the rynagh team and d mooney and s coughlan are as important to clareen as j bergin .
i understand managment cant make guys come on board but offaly is different than most other hurling counties WE HAVE A SMALL PICK so we need to bring all our best club player with us . we need to make it possible for them to fit hurling into their lives .
imagine if we have d shortt s coughlan d mooney b leonard d king k grogan d kilmartain c mahon d currams d king s egan d morkan j gorman c slevin e nolan c kiely d kelliher s egan d hayden on board how different our panel would be .

They real question is why are so many of these top club players not able to come on board .
I fear we will get hammered today and Kelly will come out and talk about been patent and building a team instead going back to most of those guys and seeming what he can do to get them to come on board .
todays question is how much do clare want to bet us by ????

Are you going to break your 2015 record for continually name-checking players who aren't on the panel?

[Bord na Mona man]

Just watching the excellent Seo Spoirt on TG4.

Ger Loughnane had some positive things to say, for a change I suppose, about Offaly hurling.

Described us as being "organised for the first time in a long time", that Eamonn Kelly is "doing a great job there". We are "far more professional this year and "everything is in order with them". He went on to ask "do they have the players ?" He said that "Eamonn Kelly will get the best out of the players available to him" . While accepting that we are drawing from a small pool he added that "at least the organised structure is there now that had been absent for many years".

It would be interesting to know how informed Loughnane's sources. You could speculatively say all that stuff and be right, given how things have played out in Offaly in recent times.

[sam88885a]

bord na mona the point is still the same,offaly have fell so far behind the top teams and we still cant manage to get our top club hurlers on board and as a result we are not been fair to young lads putting them straight into key roles on our senior team before they are ready .
we have some injuries but the players outside the panel is a real problem and 5 or 6 of them on board could make a big difference in my opinion
laois is a must win and we will be without c doughan so who will come in?/ d shortt d kelliher
clare was always going to bet us but we can still bet laois and test ourselves against wexford and limerick before the final must win game against kerry but lose to laois and we will be under presure in every game .

[allstar2010]

Jaysus will someone tell Dooley to stay away from taking penalties. That was a brutal effort today. His success rate from penalties over the years is very low, actually can't remember him scoring one.

[SearingDrive]

bord na mona the point is still the same,offaly have fell so far behind the top teams and we still cant manage to get our top club hurlers on board and as a result we are not been fair to young lads putting them straight into key roles on our senior team before they are ready .
we have some injuries but the players outside the panel is a real problem and 5 or 6 of them on board could make a big difference in my opinion
laois is a must win and we will be without c doughan so who will come in?/ d shortt d kelliher
clare was always going to bet us but we can still bet laois and test ourselves against wexford and limerick before the final must win game against kerry but lose to laois and we will be under presure in every game .

Sunday's game is crucial for Offalyand Laois. Losers could be in a relegation battle, will be an interesting league, Great result for Kerry today.

[sam88885a]

i agree for a great goal scorer s dooley has a poor penalty record ,he always goes high .

[Plain of the Herbs]

Kerry’s win over Leix makes next Sunday a very important event.

I wasn’t in Ennis today but what I have to say isn’t affected by today’e events.

Too much uninformed ráiméis going unchallenged on the site. So let’s look closer to the camp for some insight. Éamonn Kelly in yesterday’s Irish Examiner - “We want a bunch of guys who will make huge sacrifices. We have dropped a lot of guys along the way who weren’t prepared to go the extra mile and who may have got away with it in the past. We have had a few ups and downs along the way, but at least we now have a very committed bunch.”

Kelly has made his choice. He can pick 15 classy hurlers, or he can pick the 15 strongest characters. There are better hurlers in Kilkenny but Cody looks for characters. There were better hurlers in Clare from 1995 onwards but Loughnane selected the 15 with the best character. There were better footballers in Meath from 1986 onwards but Boylan opted for those who weren’t going to melt when the heat came on. There are countless other examples but I picked those three.

I think Éamonn Kelly is doing the right thing here and I wish him well.

And anyone who thinks the Offaly team (or any other team) should be picked on a quota system needs to take a look at themselves.

[Toxicity234]

Just back from Ennis.
The scoreline dosen't do Offaly justice and not in a good way. Clare missed the simple scores. They dropped the easiest of passes.
Clare were shocking today.
If Clare hurler like this they finish 3 in the division well behind Limerick and Wexford.
We were ok for the the 1st 20 mins or so. then Clare change the way they were playing and we continued trying to play the same system.
The Team had no leadersno one will to out in hard hits.
If we have any hope of beating Laois and Kerry Short and Leonard need to be come back to add power to the back line.
The 1st Clare goal was the worst defending i ever seen. Two Offaly defender let the Clare man walk around them and score.

Not trying to pick on any players but Bergin in the Half forward line. Tried and fail again. A big lad that is afraid he break a nail. he doesn't have the mobility to cover the ground. he can run everyfield in ireland over the winter or spend all his life in the gym but he still will never be able to play a full match in the half forward line and be effected.
Mulrooney again a new manager and he getting his place and again he was really poor today. no vision when he get the ball it head down and run. He just can't see space, he can't see a free man. the idea of run forest run.
Dooley forget the Peno which was awful. He defense work was shocking. almost everytime he tried to close the man in possession down he fell over. leaving his man clear the ball under no pressure.
Felt sorry for James Sampson and Padraig Guinan getting dragged off early and for Paddy Rigney and Conor Doughlan the red cards won't be red in 2 weeks time.

Running around a field in Winter hasn't put an steal into any of there lads.
They no point in have 30 super fit lads and none of them able to or want to stand up and be count in the heat of battle and that a big fucking issue in Offaly.

[allstar2010]

I don't think Kelly "dropped" a lot of players it's more likely that most of the players dropped themselves. In my post yesterday I mentioned that there's not one player from 3 clubs that were in the county semi's last year. This wasn't a criticism of the management, that the top clubs should be well represented more so that inter county hurling is just not appealing for a lot of players anymore and that's the place we're in at the moment. It's disappointing.

[Bord na Mona man]

bord na mona the point is still the same,offaly have fell so far behind the top teams and we still cant manage to get our top club hurlers on board and as a result we are not been fair to young lads putting them straight into key roles on our senior team before they are ready .
we have some injuries but the players outside the panel is a real problem and 5 or 6 of them on board could make a big difference in my opinion

First off. Most of the absentees who keep getting mentioned are not going to make a huge difference. Several of them have featured for the county before and I don't remember much exceptional about a lot of them.
Secondly imagine how a current panelist would feel reading certain people continually harping on about some fellas not involved. Especially in the same position of the field. You wouldn't blame him for feeling not wanted.

A lot of fellas not involved were simply unable or in a couple of cases unwilling to commit to the levels demanded by the new management.

Talk of accommodating, or keeping certain players on board is just a code word for bending the rules, lowering the standard and an inconsistent approach.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Just to clarify, the word 'dropped' is Kelly's (it being in quotations). I should have posted a link, which is here -
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/ ... 81794.html

I don't think Kelly "dropped" a lot of players it's more likely that most of the players dropped themselves. In my post yesterday I mentioned that there's not one player from 3 clubs that were in the county semi's last year. This wasn't a criticism of the management, that the top clubs should be well represented more so that inter county hurling is just not appealing for a lot of players anymore and that's the place we're in at the moment. It's disappointing.

[allstar2010]

Just to clarify, the word 'dropped' is Kelly's (it being in quotations). I should have posted a link, which is here -
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/ ... 81794.html

I don't think Kelly "dropped" a lot of players it's more likely that most of the players dropped themselves. In my post yesterday I mentioned that there's not one player from 3 clubs that were in the county semi's last year. This wasn't a criticism of the management, that the top clubs should be well represented more so that inter county hurling is just not appealing for a lot of players anymore and that's the place we're in at the moment. It's disappointing.

My point is why is Kelly saying he dropped them when clearly most of them walked away.

[Bord na Mona man]

Banner victory marred by injuries to Honan and Conlon

Clare 2-21 Offaly0-15
Declan Rooney

Clare mixed moments of brilliance with long stretches of the mundane yesterday as injuries to Darach Honan and John Conlon marred their opening day Division 1B victory over Offaly in Ennis.

Both sides had players shown straight red cards when Peter Duggan and Conor Doughan clashed in the 50th minute, while Offaly finished with 13 men after Paddy Rigney's second booking 12 minutes from time.

A 15-minute spell of domination before half-time including a goal from Peter Duggan gave Clare the edge, but Offaly can be encouraged by their day's work despite defeat.

Injuries are testing Clare's strength in depth and Banner boss Davy Fitzgerald was annoyed by the latest casualties and what he claimed were late hits. "Darach's worrying enough. He's gone to hospital straight away. He could hardly breathe," said Fitzgerald.

"I saw the tackle and I'm not happy with it. It was missed, there were two or three tackles missed today. He could have a cracked rib or something like that but we're not sure. It was disappointing.

"With John Conlon, the ball was no place in sight. It's going to cost us two players for a while."

After 21 minutes packed with positive, intense hurling Offaly led by 0-6 to 0-4, but their inability to quell the flutter of Clare attacks before half-time proved critical.

In Shane Kinsella, who swept around midfield and half-back, Offaly had a standout performer, while wing-back Pat Camon was their top scorer from play in another fine display.

Despite hitting 16 wides, we saw flashes of Clare's brilliance in this win, as their ability to score at a rapid rate saw them pull clear in the ten minutes before half-time. Had Shane Dooley converted a penalty in the 61st minute a five-point lead might have been a little tougher to defend.

Offaly host Laois at O'Connor Park in Tullamore next week in what promises to be a key local battle for points.

Offaly manager Eamonn Kelly says he liked what he saw for the most part from this charges. "Other than that 15 minutes before half-time, we were competitive for the rest of the game," said Kelly.

"I think the goal in the finish might have flattered the scoreline a small bit. If we had scored our penalty, it might have only been five or six points in it. It's a learning curve. We have a lot of work to do to be competitive at this top level."

In the end Aaron Shanagher's injury-time goal flattered Clare a touch, but getting off to winning start left Fitzgerald satisfied.

"You can't be disappointed when you win, that's for sure," said the Clare manager. "It's great, we want to keep winning games as much as we possibly can. If we win four or five of these games, we'll be delighted.

"I thought the 13 or 14 minutes coming into half time, I thought that was the Clare I know. We only saw it for about 15 minutes but we really played well in that patch."

Scorers - Clare: Colin Ryan 0-9 (7f); J Conlon 0-3; A Shanagher, P Duggan 1-0; B Duggan (1f), D McInerney 0-2; C Cleary, D Reidy, C Galvin, S O'Donnell, C Dillon 0-1. Offaly: S Dooley 0-8 (6f, 1'65); P Camon 0-3; P Murphy 0-2; C Doughan (1f), S Kinsella 0-1.

Clare - P Kelly 7; P O'Connor 7, C Dillon 8, D McInerney 9; Conor Ryan 7, P Flanagan 7, C Cleary 8; D Reidy 8, C Galvin 7; Colin Ryan 7, J Conlon 8, P Duggan 7; S O'Donnell 8, D Honan 7, C McGrath 6. Subs: A Cunningham 7 for Honan (35+1), A Shanagher 7 for Conlon (39), B Duggan 8 for Colin Ryan (52), D Fitzgerald 5 for McGrath (57), J Browne for Conor Ryan (64).

Offaly - J Dempsey 7; N Wynne 7, C McDonald 7, P Rigney 6; P Camon 9, C Doughan 6, S Gardiner 6; P Guinan 7, S Kinsella 9; P Murphy 8, S Dooley 7, J Bergin 5; J Mulrooney 6, C Egan 6, J Sampson 7. Subs: J O'Connor 7 for Guinan (32), S Quirke 6 for Sampson (35+1), S Cleary 6 for Mulrooney (63), B Murphy 5 for Bergin (65).

Ref - S Cleere (Kilkenny).

http://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic- ... 53202.html

[kaiserchief]

All roads lead to O'Connor park Sunday.

We talk about yesterday all we want but we are no where in the same standards as Clare. Realistically the games versus Clare and Limerick where all about putting in a performance and getting a win over Laois to raise confidence for Wexford games and pipping Kerry in last game for either 3rd or 4th place.
Clare and Limerick are going for Munster and All Irelands where as we are looking for solid league and learning more of our first 15 and to top round robin and hopefully compete with Galway in a quarter final.

I was in Ennis and there are good and bad points to take from it.

Dempsey was brilliant. Hands down one of the best in the country.
2 to 7 I was impressed with, solid first 25 mins from all. A few silly mistakes turn the game in the last 10 mins of second half. Especially letting Duggan come 45 metres with the ball for the goal. Camon put in an excellent shift scoring 3 from play and McDonald and Doughan where solid in the middle.
Midfield just didn't work on the day. Kinsella as the free man didnt work. His ball carrying and distribution was headless at times and hid tackle on Duggan was very soft. The idea of this role is the play good ball into the forwards and stop goals and neither happened. When he went midfield he was excellent. He is able to run at players and break the tackle and is more effective in that role.
Podge Guinan and Jason Sampson had a tough firts 25 mins and couldnt get into the game. They seemed to be lacking the fitness for midfield and both where out of steam after 30 mins. Joey O Connor made a big diffrenece in the second half.
Now to the part we can only improve on. Paddy Murphy was the only forward to stand up to the plate and had 2 excellent scores in the first half. Things didn't go right for Collie Egan and Bergin Dooley and Mullrooney couldnt get into the game. Playin 5 on 6 is always tough and poor ball in and things not going right just made things frustrating for everyone.

Sunday is so important to lay down a marker and get three points on the board


Recommended tean for laois:
Dempsey
Rigney
McDonald
Wynne
Camon
Kelliher
Mooney
Sean Ryan (Free Man)
Joey O Connor
Gardiner
Podge Guinan
Colin Egan
Dooley
Kinsella
Paddy Murphy

[Killeighman]

Wasn't at the game, could somebody post up the Offaly subs from Sunday's game?