Laois v Offaly, NHL, Saturday 18 February, 7pm
Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2017 5:18 pm
TIME TO LOOK AHEAD
Time to go to battle. Time to make a statement. Time for redemption. Time to hurl.
It won’t be the most important match Offaly will hurl this year (that will come in Leinster’s quarter-final in June) but there’s no harm making a statement all the same.
Last Sunday wasn’t pleasant for any of the Offaly players who have committed to the Faithful cause for the year ahead. But they need to move on from last Sunday now. One of the (admittedly) few characteristics Offaly hurling retains from the old days is the ability to get over a bad defeat relatively quickly, and that is a ttrait they will be calling on this week. On the flip side, they also retain the ability to quickly follow a damn fine win with a setback (item: beat Wexford in Wexford, lose to Kerry a week later), but that’s for another day.
I’d prefer if Laois had gotten something from their spin to Tralee last Sunday. That result turns Saturday’s encounter on its head, for it means it is Laois who simply must win, and not Offaly. And Offaly don’t have a good record in matches they don’t have to win.
(As an aside, does it bug anyone other than meself when they hear media types refer to Saturday’s match as a ‘six pointer? The phrase is drawn from soccer where a league victory is worth three points and so three points for the winner combined with three denied to the loser brings a six point swing. If anything, Laois v Offaly is a ‘four pointer.)
The one pleasing feature was Offaly’s willingness to get stuck in and compete. And Offaly did middling well in the air. And they did look to play some good ball and there was no-one driving the ball as far as they could just to get it out of their own way. In an ironic twist, it might be to Offaly’s benefit, in the short term only, that they don’t have several players involved in the midweek Fitzgibbon Cup. Laois had Dwane Palmer, Stephen Maher and Charlie Dwyer all on duty for IT Carlow on Wednesday – three key players for them.
Other hand, Offaly seemed weak when Galway ran at them, and the Offaly defence was opened up all too frequently. The worry is that Laois will presumably play the possession, running game that has become the hallmark of all Laois teams from underage upwards. That will require Offaly to be disciplined in defence, to communicate with each other, to cover all relevant runners while covering gaps at the same time. With Laois likely to play with just five forwards, Offaly’s choice of ‘covering defender’ must be the right one, someone who can read the game AND reach the breakdown in order to collect breaks and set Offaly o the front foot.
Interesting to see how Offaly will line out, particularly the defence. That Kevin Ryan made three substitutions at half-time shows a certain ruthlessness. It would be a pity if Conor Doughan would have to move permanently to full-back, for he would be a fine centre half-back. While seemingly at sea at centre half-back, he read the game quite well a full-back.
Thing is, we can expect Laois won’t use their full-forward line to any great degree, and will more likely work the ball up from deep. That will require a more mobile Offaly defence to deal with home forwards running into space, which may well lead to Paddy Delaney getting a call-up. It will also require Offaly forwards pushing up on the Laois defence and pressuring them into mistakes.
Much being made of Laois being depleted, but over the winter really only defender Darren Maher and forward Willie Hyland have finished up. Eight of the team who lined out against Kerry last Sunday started in Tullamore last June, while Ben Conroy, Willie Dunphy and Ross King have returned to the starting 15. Eoin Fleming replaced Enda Rowland in goal, so things aren’t as unstable at they’d like to broadcast. They have released a team which I find strange, and which I don’t believe. If Laois were serious about replacing their goalkeeper, why would they give Offaly 30 hour’s notice? And the thoughts of Laois beating Offaly for smartness fills me with dread.
It won’t be pretty, it’ll test your pacemaker and they’ll need a couple of goals, but take Offaly to win.
Time to go to battle. Time to make a statement. Time for redemption. Time to hurl.
It won’t be the most important match Offaly will hurl this year (that will come in Leinster’s quarter-final in June) but there’s no harm making a statement all the same.
Last Sunday wasn’t pleasant for any of the Offaly players who have committed to the Faithful cause for the year ahead. But they need to move on from last Sunday now. One of the (admittedly) few characteristics Offaly hurling retains from the old days is the ability to get over a bad defeat relatively quickly, and that is a ttrait they will be calling on this week. On the flip side, they also retain the ability to quickly follow a damn fine win with a setback (item: beat Wexford in Wexford, lose to Kerry a week later), but that’s for another day.
I’d prefer if Laois had gotten something from their spin to Tralee last Sunday. That result turns Saturday’s encounter on its head, for it means it is Laois who simply must win, and not Offaly. And Offaly don’t have a good record in matches they don’t have to win.
(As an aside, does it bug anyone other than meself when they hear media types refer to Saturday’s match as a ‘six pointer? The phrase is drawn from soccer where a league victory is worth three points and so three points for the winner combined with three denied to the loser brings a six point swing. If anything, Laois v Offaly is a ‘four pointer.)
The one pleasing feature was Offaly’s willingness to get stuck in and compete. And Offaly did middling well in the air. And they did look to play some good ball and there was no-one driving the ball as far as they could just to get it out of their own way. In an ironic twist, it might be to Offaly’s benefit, in the short term only, that they don’t have several players involved in the midweek Fitzgibbon Cup. Laois had Dwane Palmer, Stephen Maher and Charlie Dwyer all on duty for IT Carlow on Wednesday – three key players for them.
Other hand, Offaly seemed weak when Galway ran at them, and the Offaly defence was opened up all too frequently. The worry is that Laois will presumably play the possession, running game that has become the hallmark of all Laois teams from underage upwards. That will require Offaly to be disciplined in defence, to communicate with each other, to cover all relevant runners while covering gaps at the same time. With Laois likely to play with just five forwards, Offaly’s choice of ‘covering defender’ must be the right one, someone who can read the game AND reach the breakdown in order to collect breaks and set Offaly o the front foot.
Interesting to see how Offaly will line out, particularly the defence. That Kevin Ryan made three substitutions at half-time shows a certain ruthlessness. It would be a pity if Conor Doughan would have to move permanently to full-back, for he would be a fine centre half-back. While seemingly at sea at centre half-back, he read the game quite well a full-back.
Thing is, we can expect Laois won’t use their full-forward line to any great degree, and will more likely work the ball up from deep. That will require a more mobile Offaly defence to deal with home forwards running into space, which may well lead to Paddy Delaney getting a call-up. It will also require Offaly forwards pushing up on the Laois defence and pressuring them into mistakes.
Much being made of Laois being depleted, but over the winter really only defender Darren Maher and forward Willie Hyland have finished up. Eight of the team who lined out against Kerry last Sunday started in Tullamore last June, while Ben Conroy, Willie Dunphy and Ross King have returned to the starting 15. Eoin Fleming replaced Enda Rowland in goal, so things aren’t as unstable at they’d like to broadcast. They have released a team which I find strange, and which I don’t believe. If Laois were serious about replacing their goalkeeper, why would they give Offaly 30 hour’s notice? And the thoughts of Laois beating Offaly for smartness fills me with dread.
It won’t be pretty, it’ll test your pacemaker and they’ll need a couple of goals, but take Offaly to win.