Rhode V Tullamore

[naasmanxrhode]

Any odds on this match. Its hard to believe that its 1954 since these two last met in a county final as they have 47 titles between them. I feel that Rhode will be favs, maybe 4/6 and Tullamore 11/8. Any thoughts?? Who will Tullamore have on Niall Mac??

[Silken Thomas]

Any odds on this match. Its hard to believe that its 1954 since these two last met in a county final as they have 47 titles between them. I feel that Rhode will be favs, maybe 4/6 and Tullamore 11/8. Any thoughts?? Who will Tullamore have on Niall Mac??

The last time these two teams played the margin was two points and I expect something similar this time. Cathal Daly will surely make a better fist of marking Niall Mc than the youthful Stephan Egan. Throw in Gearóid O' Grady and a more polished Shane Dooley and I would fancy Tullamore to sneak it.

As an aside I believe a wet day will suit the blues as poor conditions will disrupt Rhodes forward play( all running, all movement and diagonal balls) a little more. Likewise Niall McNamee may be blunted a little, as conditions can be a great leveller. Roy Malone won't be able to steal his customary ten yards with his hop. In addition lighter players like Gareth Hickey, Niall Darby and especially Glen O' Connell will struggle. Whether Rhode have the ball-winning abilities to overcompensate this hypothetical situation at the back will remain to be seen.

The 2006 county final was an occasion where Rhode were levelled by poor conditions and had to scrape the barrel to annex the title. It gives me little pleasure to remind Rhode fans how they got on in the following Leinster final, played in monsoon conditions.

The key match-up will be I lár na páirce. Both teams midfields are of a poor standard for a county show piece but Niall Stack seems to be coming into form and could be the blues saviour. With Shane Dooley well able to win dirty ball, midfield deliveries for the town men won't be so crucial.

Rhode's trump card will inevitabally be their rock solid defence. Manned by county class, their able deputies could well gain the upper hand, especially at half back.

I'm looking forward to it. For me it's the acid test for Phil O' Reilly. Arguably blessed with the rub of the green in the last 24 months he has proven himself to be a judicious judge of football. By Sunday evening we will all find out if he has mastered it.

[Kemo Sabe]

Any odds on this match. Its hard to believe that its 1954 since these two last met in a county final as they have 47 titles between them. I feel that Rhode will be favs, maybe 4/6 and Tullamore 11/8. Any thoughts?? Who will Tullamore have on Niall Mac??

rhode are favs at 4/6 while the town are great odds at 2/1 crazy .egan will start on niall mc for at least 20 mins to see how it pans out if he is causing damage cathal daly will be brought back to keep tabs on him .i think it would be foolish to concentrate just on niall as finals has a habit of a so called lesser player taking the headlines.this game will be neck and neck till the last 5 mins where i expect the blues greater fittness to give us our second dowling in 2 years .come on the the town .

[DD]

Will Anton O'Sullivan get a run on Sunday? A nice option up front for Rhode if things aren't going their way - I wonder would Coffo take a chance with him..

[Square Cab]

Anton should get a run if rhode are in trouble going on his performance last sunday for the jnrs. The result will be dependent on niall macs performance. If he's held Rhode are in serious trouble, they'll even admit this themselves. Tullamore are vastly improved on earlier games but whether they have enough fire power up front is debatable. Hopefully its a good game cause god knows we need it after a poor champ. Rhode to sneak it by 3-4. On a side note, the parish of rhode are in line to do a clean sweep of the adult grades this year, Rhode in the snr and jnr, Clonmore in the jnr b and croghan in the inter. A remarkable achievement if completed.

[Lone Shark]

If Rhode are the colour of 4/6 I'll be piling in. 4/9 would be nearer the mark. Conditions are all very well, but Tullamore need too much to go right for them in my opinion.

Funnily enough I'd say Ronan Heavey would be the first junior to be called on. Anton is a fantastic talent, but if Rhode need to change up their forward line, they probably won't need another small lad. Heavey is playing very well and would be a safer call in my mind - not that I think they'll need him.

[bazza]

1-0 to tullamore this wekend after the u-16's beat rhode in county final today.. cant see them stoppin the 2 nialls tommorow though

[Dynamite]

I'm very happy as if Tullamore had one back to back titles, Phil O'Reilly may have got the Offaly job at some point and I would not have like that.
Honestly though, Very hard to pick before the game who i disliked the least so I didn't really know who to shout for. The score line in the end did not flatter rhode. The Missed penalty and Tullamores great response to that penalty meant that mid way through the 1st half there was nothing in the game. But had the penalty gone in, It would have been game over. So the missed penalty made a game of it... for a while. Rhode outclassed Tullamore in all sections of the field and probably would have won the game even without Niall McNamee. However, with him, they was no chance of them being beaten today. He was immense. I'd nearly go as far as to say, If you put Niall Mac on any of the top 5 or six teams in the county, he would be the difference and which ever club he was with, they would win the county title. He is that good. And apart from him, the other teams in the county are very even.

[Lone Shark]

I'd have no such negative feelings towards Phil O'Reilly at all and I'd be quite happy to see him in charge of Offaly teams in the future, but he fairly got it wrong today. In order to mark Niall McNamee, a top class inter county standard forward, you need a top class inter county standard full back line player. I don't believe that there is such a player in Offaly, never mind in Tullamore. Stephen Egan had a very tough day at the office, but it wasn't his fault. In order to mark Niall you need to just bite the bullet and deploy an extra man in behind him. That way the corner back can play a yard in front of him, fight him for the high balls and not worry about the dodgy bounce or the well measured pass that floats inches over your head. I genuinely believe it's the only way.

In the half back line, he had two county players - Keane and McConway - who weren't at the races at all. Keane was getting cleaned by Darby, while McConway never crossed the 65m line. The midfield was anonymous, to the point where even a relatively small player like Padraig Sullivan was outfielding them, while the half forward line never looked like breaking the line and causing any real penetration. Shane Dooley rarely saw a ball and Gearóid O'Grady badly needed a switch to the inside line. Players in genuine form like Ronan Monaghan and Simon Byrne were left on the bench until well after the game was lost and all in all there just wasn't any clear evidence that there was anyone on the Tullamore line really studying where things were going wrong and examining options in terms of fixing matters.

Obviously Rhode were by far the better team on the day and there would have been little chance for Tullamore either way, but the fact that Rhode were only leading by four or five points a few minutes into the second half even though they had missed a penalty, hit the crossbar and absolutely dominated the game shows how sometimes you can sneak a result which is better than you deserve. God knows I'm sure Clara know this all too well this year, just as Tullamore should know well from that game too.


As regards the game, there's not a lot to say. Niall was Niall - though he still missed a couple of handy ones as well, Niall Darby had another very lively day in the half forward line, Alan McNamee had his best game in years, and the entire Rhode full back line was very impressive. Joe Kilmurray continues to impress me on every outing and once again today he was very solid on a good opponent. Very close to man of the match for me.

It really is hard to say who would now be considered the second best team in the county. In fact I'm going to set up a poll now, for no reason other than curiosity.

[redser]

Rhode totally demolished the not so "SUPER" Blues with good direct football. It was by far and away the best performance of the championship by Rhode and i think they hit top gear on the day. Tullamore i always said didnt deserve to be in a final this year after losing twice. To be fair they are a dedicated squad with a top class manager but they got it completely wrong on the day.

I think and LS can correct me that the blues made 4 substitions of their forwards and 1 midfield. To me that was crazy that they looked at the same backline for the entire game. James keane got roasted alive by Darby and McConway as usual just wanted handy ball and wandered around marking space. LS is bang on correct that they should have deployed an extra back in front of Mcnamee but the quality of ball the likes of Malone and Darby were supplying him with was top notch and nobody would have marked him. I thought it was harsh taking off the likes of Duffy who got on the ball a huge amount and won alot of frees and maybe Miky Flynn could have been brought into the backs instead of to the sideline. O' Grady was disgracful bad. When it wasnt put on his chest he sulked. Dooley just didnt get enough decent ball. Kenny should have been put in Midfield directly.

Rhode won this game by controlling midfield totally. All their forwards were cleaning the Tullamore backs. Pascal had a big game a kicked a few lovely scores. Roy kept Daly busy which meant cathal couldnt cover other areas.

All in all the best team won the championship. Id like to see them give Leinster a good lash but i dont think it will happen.

[Archangel]

Leinster is wide open now,.. Tullamore, Moorefied & Tyrrellspass all gone from their championships.
So pretty much a whole new lineup for the club championship. A Leinster final in not a bad bet at this stage.

[naasmanxrhode]

Rhode were Rhode yesterday, brilliant. Tullamore were lucky to score 2-04. I thought that Jack Kilmurray was man of the man but when when you score 1-09 its hard not to be picked. I hope that Rhode will give Leonster a good lash. Portlaoise if they win Loais will be very tough as Rhode found out a couple of years ago, but you never know. Look at the 2006 Leinster champs yesterday evening beaten by a point by the Sash and whoever wins that final have to play the Dubs (St. Vins 2007 champions). Good win for Kilmacud Crokes beating UCD by 9 points. They now play St. Vins in the semi.

[doobane man]

This was as good an exhibition by an Offaly club side as seen in many a year. Rhode were awesome at times and don’t let hindsight fool you – most of us couldn’t see this Tullamore defence conceding anything like 1-20. It has been their main strength for a long time. Even games they have lost have been low-scoring encounters. And this result is not about Tullamore’s inadequacies, though there were a few on display yesterday.
Rhode had men all over the field who were on top of their game:
Alan McNamee was a colossus at centre-field, and those of us who doubt his worthiness as an inter-county centre-fielder were left with a new conundrum (how does the county side get this level of performance out of the guy as it’s obviously in him. And unfortunately it’s unlikely he’ll respond to the promptings of a man whose name-calling antics have included McNamee in most uncomplimentary terms).
Niall Darby revived the memories of his first half tour de force against Carlow in this year’s under 21 defeat and his man of the match performance against Shannonbridge, on the one occasion in this year’s championship that Niall had - by his standards - a poor day. His workrate is massive and his scoring prowess from both frees and play is something not prevalent in other Offaly forwards.
Their dominance of midfield meant that the defence wasn’t over-stretched but the performances of Joe Kilmurray, Brian Darby, Eoghan Byrne and a fit-looking Shane Sullivan still caught the eye. Is there a more consistently dependable defender in Offaly than Kilmurray? For me the question is rhetorical.
And then Niall – missed a penalty (that Darby should have taken –as the very much form forward at that stage of the game) and had a couple of wides that he would normally have slotted over and still finished with 1-8 from play. A sublime footballer who was assisted by poor tactical decisions by Tullamore, but this man requires little assistance and we are privileged to witness his footballing genius at first hand.
And well done Tom Coffey too! Not an easy job to replace a man who is obviously – to everyone except the few whose opinions count more than ours - the best club manager in Offaly this decade. Tom came in and has gained a trust and respect that many thought reserved for former schoolteachers. It is a commendable achievement and pours further folly on his replacement at Under 21 manager – by this year’s Shamrock’s manager.
To Rhode – for all our sakes, don’t let that be the end of your ambitions! Well done – and the Best of Luck!

[bula bula]

Well done to Rhode for yesterdays fantastic performance and another thoroughly deserved county title. Hope they go on and claim some revenge against Portlaoise( if that fixture comes about ) and march on to an overdue Leinster title.

[arbarg]

Aaaghhh, it wasnt a dream!


What about Tullamores best player yesterday..

lets hear it for Socks.. Some buachaill in fairness even if his goal did go in off another player