As i did not attend Tullamore on Sunday this scoreline is only a number to me.
I would have a couple of comments to make though if I may on the discussion so far;
Without courting controversy I would equate Athlone I.T. to that of an extremely strong Intermediate/ weak senior team (Offaly).
Though I do not rate John Reynolds as much as he might rate himself , I am of the belief that Full- Forward is his best position. Due to his lack of stature I cannot see him making any significant inroads against Ross McConnell and others. However i have noticed that he at least shows for the ball in tense situations unlike our malignant mercenary from Kilbeggan.
Would be interested to receive answers to the following questions;
How did Richard Fox fare if at all?
How did Casey fare if at all?
And is there any chance of getting a succinct review of the proceedings?
Emm, not really. As you'll see from previous posts by the Shark, John O'Hara has been on the Radar for a little while now. Had a big year for Clara last year, playing very well in the County Final defeat. Also started this years campaign very well, but ultimately had too heavy a load to carry.
The Dog chases the Car....the Car stops....the Dog can't Drive!
I attended the match yesterday, nearly died of pneumonia, but thats a different story! I will leave the detailed review to some of the more established and well versed posters, but ill add a few of my own observations.
Firstly, I feel it will be nigh on impossible for Pat Roe to have gained anything from this such was the gulf in class. Having said that, they can only do their best against what was put in front of them and i was very pleased with our use of possession when in the scoring zone. I dont recall a high wide count for Offaly, however Niall Mc did miss a few frees, still not his strong point, and still finished with 2-7, but he such a class player on the ball. Some of his foot passing yesterday was sublime. He can spot things others cant. The forwards looked fit and were clinical with possession. Egan kicked 4 points, 3 in the first half. O'Hara looked good and seemed to be available for a pass all the time. Having said that, the Athlone defence was non existent at times and if the Forwards had Brian Cullen and co breathing down their necks im not sure how they would have coped, but still a good start to the campaign was needed.
The game was effectively over at half time when if memory serves me correctly Offaly led by 2-14 to 0-4. At this stage I felt sure Roe would empty the substitutes bench, but he didnt make a change until 15 mins to go, with Eddie Kavanangh , Brian Darby and a Carroll chap from Raheen (apologies, I cant remember his first name!) came on. At this stage Offaly were so far out of sight, the subs couldnt really make much of an impression on the game, although Darby did pop up for a good point.
Just on Silken Thomas' Questions, Fox looked fit, but it would be very hard to judge from yesterday. Athlone were all over the place at times.
Casey kicked 3 scores and looked lively, but again, stiffer tests lie ahead.
Overall, a good clinical start, but seriously stiffer tests lie ahead.
Yeah it was good to see us put up a big score like 5.24, but remember the opposition were sad to say the least and ye can be sure our opponents next Sunday won't be half as generous. We are still going to have the usual old problem of having no midfield.We did not make one clean catch in that sector in the whole 70 mins yesterday, Smith and McNamee are just not up to it but the problem is that there is nobody else in the County even remotely resembling a midfielder of County standard. I was really looking forward to Shane Cunningham having a go in the O Byrne cup but apparently things didn't work out for some reason and he is not even on the panel. Finally its a pity that Dean Bracken didn't get a run out in goal for the second half seeing that the game was put to bed by then, it was the perfect game to give him a run out because I've a feeling we are going to need him before this year is out knowing the history of our long standing No1. It was good to see Pat Roe getting off to an impressive start yesterday after all the drama of last year but no doubt far bigger tests lie ahead.
Since other angles have been covered I'll do a quick run through the players:
Padraic Kelly: Little to do except organise the defenders from behind (which he did).
Ger Rafferty: Loves to hit and looked fit & sharp. Natural defender e.g. made sure that everything was sorted on the goal-line before handing the ball back to a free-taker.
Conor Evans: Conceded quite a few frees to James Coughlan and picked up a Yellow. Generally gets better and better as the year goes on.
James Keane: Good footballer with great hands. Still a little casual in possession for a corner back.
Paul McConway: Played well but pulled a muscle while running 2nd half and limped off.
Richard Fox: Held the No. 6 position for the whole game no matter what was happening around him. Didn't look as slick in possession as others but strong.
Nigel Grennan: Played well with the odd foray forward.
Alan McNamee: Looked fit. O.k. in general play but won little ball.
Niall Smith: Scored 2 fine points and was great at giving & running for the return ball. Very direct going forward but won little primary possession. Looks to be developing as a player and the best is yet to come.
Ken Casey: Good link play and 3 points.
John O'Hara: Looks like the Real Deal. Enormously impressive. Direct, pacey and good score taker. Took the right options - pass, go or shoot - and did all well. 3-3
David Egan: Quietly effective, kicking 4 good points in the process. Good vision and a peach of a defence-splitting pass at one stage.
Thomas Deehan 0-01 : Made his usual good runs when showing for the ball.
John Reynolds 0.01 : Better at full forward and a lot of ball that went into him stuck. Not bad layoffs either. Definitely his best position.
Niall McNamee: Strolled through the game but still his class shone through. 2-7
Subs: Brian Darby 0-1, Eddie Kavanagh, Gary O'Connor and Conor Carroll all got a run.
James Coughlan looks to have given Conor Evans a rough enough time for a team that were crap. Would he have done better FF on an Offaly team than Reynolds? I still think he has a lot more to offer than Deehan and Reynolds, he's been put in positions on the half forward line but his best position is in the FF line. When you break things down 5-10 was scored by two players, don't get me wrong it's great to see a big score but Louth will tell alot more. With so many new faces in I hope they don't think that this Inter-county thing is easy
1. panel is being reduced to 30 from 36 on Jan 20th.
2. Neville Coughlan has being dropped until his fitness improves.
3. James Coghlan may be invited back to the panel later if his form keeps up.
DCU beat Louth by 6 points last night so its DCU next. This will be a tough enough test as DCU are a decent side with a good few intercounty players and hopes of claiming the Sigerson.
Neville's got an achilles injury which apparently different physios are giving
different assessments on. Neville is to go back training with the club
until he is deemed fit enough to train with the county.
I would have thought the best way to regain fitness is training with the county panel.
If county training is as organised, scientific, grueling, specialised, professional as many claim, then surely a player trying to do this work under his own steam would be at nothing?
, I am of the belief that Full- Forward is his best position. Due to his lack of stature I cannot see him making any significant inroads against Ross McConnell and others. However i have noticed that he at least shows for the ball in tense situations unlike our malignant mercenary from Kilbeggan.
