O’Byrne Cup

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
jimbob17
All Star
Posts: 914
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:40 am

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by jimbob17 »

Underwhelming performance overall. Longford fully deserved it. They had a lot more spark in second half and were full value for win and were much better than a bang average Westmeath outfit we beat the last day.

That said, we had scoring chances in 2nd half we didn't take. Anton took a score in second half with Michael Brazil inside him baring down on goal. Horan, Hayes and Johnson also had weak attempts that on another day might have raised flags. The cards didn't help and brought Longford into game when at a time I felt we were the better team (1st half). We never really got motoring after. Again for me Michael Brazil very good (surprised he was taken off) as was David Dempsey in defence while Panda was by far the pick of the forwards. Midfield did well but I felt our speed of movement through half forward line was non existent compared with last day against Westmeath. I felt Shane Horan (while he had some good moments) slowed down the play for us and instead of releasing ball quickly, kept soloing - to point where our forwards had to operate in confined space with our wing backs not getting on same level of attacking ball as a result. Horan is a right good player and great addition and this was his first game of season as far as I know so game will bring him on. Lots of game time for plenty of other lads too and now there is strong competition for places in team.

Disappointing really that the large crowd never really got behind the lads as we struggled to close the gap from 2pts to 1pt constantly in 2nd half.

All in all though - and more importantly, it was an excellent O'Byrne Cup from Offaly and there is a lot to look forward to for when the more important stuff starts next weekend against Cork and in weeks ahead.
jimbob

SearingDrive
All Star
Posts: 1196
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:00 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by SearingDrive »

Not a good day for Offaly. Too many chances spurned, when scores were needed. I will never understand why Offaly had 15 players in their own half early in the second half.
Hard to pick player other than B Allen who stood out today. Tough league game away too Cork next week.

oneshot
County player
Posts: 109
Joined: Wed Oct 02, 2019 7:22 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by oneshot »

it might be only the obyrne cup and the league and championship are the ones to win but that was a poor result today again longford. a good crowd in home game cup to be won and offaly were out fought and out played in the second half. if offaly are to get some where back to the top you have to be beating teams like longford . you fear for them next weekend again cork its going to be a hard league run.

and make no mistake carlow will have no fears coming to tullamore for the championships game like they showed again kildare in 2018. just on todays team i don’t know about fitness or players injuried but you would think the likes of johnston and farrell from edenderry should be starting games they are good young players and can score and should be played its not as if we are holding them back for the summer to win sam .

kingscounty
All Star
Posts: 1082
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:42 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by kingscounty »

Johnston and Farrell made no impact when introduced, that could be a number of factors, college games during the week etc but over all I think Longford were stronger, fitter and more up for the game and they really made hay when we were down to 13 in the first half not scoring a lot but dominating position. We looked very leggy in positions coming near the end Hayes looked blown out, and few more began to labour. I wonder have we been training heavy in the last week for the league game next week? Also while Longford were deserving winners the ref was poor in my view, anyone know why the goal keeper got a black card at the end?

greenairfield
All Star
Posts: 1013
Joined: Thu Jan 01, 2015 12:20 pm
Club: birr

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by greenairfield »

Its very early in the year to be making any judgements on games

Doon Exile
All Star
Posts: 263
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 2:03 pm
Location: up in the air

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by Doon Exile »

kingscounty wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:34 pm anyone know why the goal keeper got a black card at the end?
I think he said something to the umpire after they got the last point. The Longford forward was definitely behind the line when he caught the ball. I think that Paddy D and Rigney were also arguing that the forward did an illegal hand pass type fist over the bar for the score.

Don’t know why this would be a black as opposed to a yellow but equally Anton got his black for an off the ball when really that should be either a yellow or a red should it not?
Doon exile....

kingscounty
All Star
Posts: 1082
Joined: Fri Jan 21, 2011 4:42 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by kingscounty »

Doon Exile wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 9:47 pm
kingscounty wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:34 pm anyone know why the goal keeper got a black card at the end?
I think he said something to the umpire after they got the last point. The Longford forward was definitely behind the line when he caught the ball. I think that Paddy D and Rigney were also arguing that the forward did an illegal hand pass type fist over the bar for the score.

Don’t know why this would be a black as opposed to a yellow but equally Anton got his black for an off the ball when really that should be either a yellow or a red should it not?
I was thinking the same if he said something to the umpire it should have been yellow , couldn’t understand why it was black

Hyper
All Star
Posts: 473
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2005 12:37 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by Hyper »

Searing, I presume you are referring to the first five minutes of the second half? Offaly had 14 men in their own half, i'd say that was tactical, waiting for Anton to resume after his black card... Jimbob Panda best forward? in fairness he won a lot a ball but his distribution was poor, he possibly kicked 5 wides, easy free in first half when we were well on top, gave away a couple of soft frees from poor tackling. In my opinion Ruairi Mc was best forward until tiredness gave away. If it was a soccer match i'd say he had 5/6 assists of the 6 pints scored in first half. Anon was hard done by for black card, Paddy Fox smacked him on the arse going in at half time as much to say, got ya!!!And he was fouled previously to that and guy never got a card. Paddy D called the umpire a retard... The two Cian's, well it just didn't work for them tday, its a big step up to Senior Inter County. Longford were probably a bit more streetwise, Micky Quinn should get an oscar, the rolling around he does. How that was a free against Dave Dempsey in 2nd half...Ref was kind to Longford. But lads in fairness the boys fought to the end and you have to be proud of them credit where credits due. A few tweaks here and there ( 11 wides and 6 into keepers hand yesterday), come 2nd February they'll take Longford. I think they were heading to pool etc this morning at 7.30am. Looking forward to Cork next Saturday. Its all about positive thinking......

SearingDrive
All Star
Posts: 1196
Joined: Sun Jul 13, 2008 10:00 pm

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by SearingDrive »

Hyper wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:34 am Searing, I presume you are referring to the first five minutes of the second half? Offaly had 14 men in their own half, i'd say that was tactical, waiting for Anton to resume after his black card... Jimbob Panda best forward? in fairness he won a lot a ball but his distribution was poor, he possibly kicked 5 wides, easy free in first half when we were well on top, gave away a couple of soft frees from poor tackling. In my opinion Ruairi Mc was best forward until tiredness gave away. If it was a soccer match i'd say he had 5/6 assists of the 6 pints scored in first half. Anon was hard done by for black card, Paddy Fox smacked him on the arse going in at half time as much to say, got ya!!!And he was fouled previously to that and guy never got a card. Paddy D called the umpire a retard... The two Cian's, well it just didn't work for them tday, its a big step up to Senior Inter County. Longford were probably a bit more streetwise, Micky Quinn should get an oscar, the rolling around he does. How that was a free against Dave Dempsey in 2nd half...Ref was kind to Longford. But lads in fairness the boys fought to the end and you have to be proud of them credit where credits due. A few tweaks here and there ( 11 wides and 6 into keepers hand yesterday), come 2nd February they'll take Longford. I think they were heading to pool etc this morning at 7.30am. Looking forward to Cork next Saturday. Its all about positive thinking......
I don't agree re Ruairi McNamee, he was replaced in the second half, after putting a chance in to the goalkeeper's hands. He was not alone in this, as you say too many other chances dropped short.
I never believed in flooding 14 of your team in your own half. The opposition can attack unchallenged.

Longford were the better team, better at creating space,and using possession.
The two Cians might have been introduced earlier, they didn't play to their ability yesterday.

Offaly play Cork away next Saturday, a tough game, followed by a home game v Longford. Two difficult games, Offaly will have played 5 games in a row by that stage, a lot of games, on a small panel of players.
Offaly had a pool session at 7.30 am, this morning, maybe a rest would be better.
Players have work, college, etc, they are amateurs after all.
Division 3 will be tough this year, every game vital, with the top two remaining in Tier 1 of the championship. An unfair penalty on the smaller counties.

jimbob17
All Star
Posts: 914
Joined: Wed Apr 25, 2007 12:40 am

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by jimbob17 »

I see Carlow IT beat UCC in Sigerson Cup quarter final. UCC featured Kerry's Sean O'Se among other Kerry players while Offaly's Cian Farrell kicked 7 points incl few frees for Carlow IT while Jack Walsh from Gracefield was also in the forwards for Carlow outfit who are now in semi-final......
jimbob

GAHMAD
County player
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 3:25 pm
Club: Over 50's club

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by GAHMAD »

Poor enough performance and Longford were a bit more streetwise.

Maughan has some tough decisions to make I think. I would say that they are not tough in terms of looking at performances of individuals, but in that he has been loyal to some players who IMO have not delivered.
Someone here mentioned about the large crowd, support was really poor from the Offaly crowd, lot of lads there that hadn't been to a game in a while I'd say.

But the game itself, kick out plan seemed to unravel badly and we struggled to isolate our midfielders, and wingforwards to overload one side or the other. Half back line was quite open and Longford made a simple switch with allowing M Quinn to drift into the forward line after 15 minutes and isolated him, they opened up space between full and half back lines and were badly exposed then as Longford ran at us through our half forwards and half backs/midfield. For the first game this season we were not able to track the runners and Longford could have had 3 goals.

Forwards need a shake up, I think Cian Farrell was being given a break maybe with the Sigerson game and well done to him in that. Cian Johnson never got into the game. Ruairi did some reasonable work but could have gone at half time as work rate was gone.

There is plenty to work on in analysing Longford in advance of the league game. But we need to be smarter and more streetwise, a more streetwise ref would have helped, composure in the forwards, and better use of kick outs alone will close the gap on Longford.

Disappointing performance but time to regroup, take the learnings and move on. We have played Longford a lot in recent years and have had a number of defeats, you would have to admire them for the size of the county and fair play to them on their win.
Enough admiration though and let's get some genuine support behind the team for the league.

User avatar
Lone Shark
All Star
Posts: 5377
Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
Club: Ferbane
Location: Roscommon
Contact:

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by Lone Shark »

Hyper wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 9:34 am Searing, I presume you are referring to the first five minutes of the second half? Offaly had 14 men in their own half, i'd say that was tactical, waiting for Anton to resume after his black card... Jimbob Panda best forward? in fairness he won a lot a ball but his distribution was poor, he possibly kicked 5 wides, easy free in first half when we were well on top, gave away a couple of soft frees from poor tackling. In my opinion Ruairi Mc was best forward until tiredness gave away. If it was a soccer match i'd say he had 5/6 assists of the 6 pints scored in first half. Anon was hard done by for black card, Paddy Fox smacked him on the arse going in at half time as much to say, got ya!!!And he was fouled previously to that and guy never got a card. Paddy D called the umpire a retard... The two Cian's, well it just didn't work for them tday, its a big step up to Senior Inter County. Longford were probably a bit more streetwise, Micky Quinn should get an oscar, the rolling around he does. How that was a free against Dave Dempsey in 2nd half...Ref was kind to Longford. But lads in fairness the boys fought to the end and you have to be proud of them credit where credits due. A few tweaks here and there ( 11 wides and 6 into keepers hand yesterday), come 2nd February they'll take Longford. I think they were heading to pool etc this morning at 7.30am. Looking forward to Cork next Saturday. Its all about positive thinking......
I like Rúairí, he's an intelligent lad that has all the skills, but I can't agree with this interpretation. He may have got assists by a soccer definition, but when I'm statting a game I don't put a lad down for an assist just because he was the last player to play a pass - I only mark you down for one if you've been the key to opening up the scoring opportunity, and Rúairí didn't do that too often (if at all) on Saturday. If he gets fully fit and on form he's a guaranteed starter for Offaly in my opinion, perhaps even as a playmaking centre forward, but right now he's neither fit nor on form.

Certainly to compare him to the Cians, Cian Farrell was on the field for ten minutes when Longford were dominating midfield, he got few (if any) chances to influence the game. I certainly wouldn't criticise him in any way.

There's no doubt that Cian Johnson is not the type of player who is heavily involved in the game generally, he's a very old-fashioned corner forward in that he won't be working hard around the field or winning dirty ball, he's there to create and finish scores. Now if you take the view that there's no place for a player like that in the modern game, I'd say there's some legimitacy to that view, but on Saturday he won one scoreable free and created the goal chance for Shane Horan at the end of the game that could have snatched a draw. In terms of productivity out of his possessions, it was still a decent return. Does he need to do more? Absolutely, but without having seen the game back on video or anything, I'd be stunned if Rúairí's 60 minutes on the field yielded double the amount of positive plays that Cian's 25 did.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Tmacmahon
All Star
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:28 pm
Club: Ferbane

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by Tmacmahon »

Sunday was not a good day for us. The players out on the field can never be questioned in terms of attitude and desire, but we probably lack a bit of quality. There are obvious weaknesses interm of footballing ability at inrtercounty level, and i could name a handful of players that clearly are not the required standard. I dont want to name the lads because its not their fault. This all ties in with piont a few weeks back that we as a county are allowing our best players for whatever reason to be sitting at home while players of signifigantly less ability represent us. If i was told to name the best 5 footballers in our county at present, imo they are, and in no particular order, John Maloney, Niall Mcnamee, Nigel Dunne, Peter Cunnigham and Cian Johnson. ( Only johnson played on sunday and for 20 odd minutes) injuries, work and whatever else are valid reasons. we do not have good enough footballers to be with out our best talents.
The positives are that offaly have some players to come back into the fold, and i dont give a f***k what anyone says but Dunne and Mahar need to be told to ring management or vice versa. I feel im beating on this drum every time i watch us loose a tight game. meath, laois and sunday gone.

Ruairi is a tidy footballer but id have to agree with LS , he assisted very little in my opinion, people are mistaking being a playmaker with the reality which is drifting behind the play , taking a handy hanpass, and moving it sideways . Id disagree with him being a guaranteed starter in any circumstance. but i do feel he is less rash on the ball than some players and there is a certain comfort in knowing that he wont kick it away for the sake of it.

The two cians were non existent but that will happen , farrell only played a few minutes and johnson is going to have these games where he doesnt influnce as much as we expect. we need to be patient. These two young men will be fine going forward. Id be far less critical of these two than of guys who are constantly tried but still offer very little in influencing a game

Longford are never a easy nut to crack but if we are honest it was the first test this year for offaly considering the severly weakened teams we have faced. I still think we can stay up. we need some luck , we need our team to be picked correctly. The OBC is over now and the real stuff is about to begin. Im looking forward to the trip to cork next weekend and the campaign in general.

GAHMAD
County player
Posts: 89
Joined: Wed May 01, 2019 3:25 pm
Club: Over 50's club

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by GAHMAD »

TMAC,

There is no county out there at present with their best 15 players in terms of talent or ability on the field, including Longford.

I take your point re the lads you have named but you can only deal with who is available and who is willing to commit,
Niall Mc is still struggling from the Clara incident and may not be back
John Moloney is injured and should be back
Peter Cunningham might be fit and ready for championship
Nigel Dunne...well he's not there and unlikely to be

So to be fair, we are not in a bad position in relation to lads committed to the cause and making themselves available.

Tmacmahon
All Star
Posts: 169
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 2:28 pm
Club: Ferbane

Re: O’Byrne Cup

Post by Tmacmahon »

No i do understand that. I supposethe piont im making is the likes of ouselves or longford , westmeath laois cant afford to be without their best footballers. division 3 should still be fine. we will defnitly survive. id love us to be really pushing for promotion. i donth think even with them lads we would , but we would be better equipped

Post Reply