Kinnitty Vs Birr

[Killer B]

Any thoughts on the game for sunday??

[redser]

Would be good to see kinnitty win it. They have come from nowhere in the last few years and its remarkable that they are challenging for a county title now. They seem to progress a little every year which shows strong dedication and commitment.

Now, to be fair looking on paper it would be a sign of a poor championship if they won it. Thats not been harsh but more realistic. Man for man Birr are a far better side and even at that Birr were miles behind Portumna last year. So i dread to think what would happen Kinnitty in Leinster competition. Kinnitty will always up their game for Coolderry which happened but only for some terrible shooting and goalkeeping brilliance, i think Coolderry would be in this decider. Lets not take anything away from Kinnitty, when they got their chance they took it.

I think Birr have looked well below par this year and even against KK they struggled alot. This game should be an interesting battle but Birr should be have more physical presence. Browne is a huge addition to their squad as he showed in winning the game effectively for them against KK.

My heart would say Kinnitty, but my head would say Birr should win it or hurling is really struggling in Offaly.

[Lone Shark]

I wouldn't say that it's as clear cut as that in the sense that there is always the possibility that Kinnitty could win it playing really well. If they do that, then so much the better for them or Offaly. Obviously our hurling championship wouldn't be well advertised by a county final that finishes 0-13 to 1-7, but a good game will reflect well on all, whether it's Kinnitty or Birr that end up on top.

Incidentally, I'd be of the opinion that Birr could cut loose here too. I just don't know how Kinnitty are going to compensate for their lack of height, particularly against very good fielders of the ball.

[Lone Shark]

Here's my paper bit by the way. I've come over all Vincent Hogan this week.


As introductions go, they don’t come much easier to write than this week’s. David vs Goliath, Slieve Bloomers face a mountain to climb, town vs village, the clichés and puns just roll off the typewriter. The David and Goliath analogy is probably the most overused of the lot, but it’s simply too difficult to turn away here. One look at James Rigney lining up alongside Gary Hanniffy and the comparison with a certain battle in Judah would be glaringly obvious.

The question is, will the formline hold? David showed excellent wristwork and accuracy, scored well from long range, breaching Goliath’s defences, before striking a final telling blow from close in; not unlike Kinnitty’s win over Coolderry in the semi final. David turned down the offer of Saul’s armour, while Kinnitty continue to resist the temptation of bringing one of their bigger hurlers back into the half back line.

It is unlikely, in several respects, that Kinnitty will be able to completely match the performance of the young Israelite. For one thing, if Kinnitty were to conclude by beheading their opponents and their supporters followed by chasing the Birr followers out of town, it is almost certain that lengthy suspensions and possibly even a fine on the club would ensue. So let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that at least.

Just as David went into battle showing no fear, hurling with enough but not too much respect for Birr is crucial if Kinnitty are to emerge victorious out of this game. (The biblical analogies are done now, we promise!!).

The facts are the facts. Birr are chasing their ninth title in ten years, they were All Ireland finalists last March and they bring into this game a very healthy mix of youth and experience. Barry Harding, Brian Watkins and Brian Lonergan have all come into the reckoning this year and that fresh blood has rejuvenated Birr and helped them to maintain their appetite for hurling and for success at every level. They have a fine array of past and present county players, many of whom have continually played much better hurling in their club colours than when called on to hurl for Offaly. Above all, they have proven quality all along the spine of the team, with little or no real weakness anywhere in the starting fifteen.

It would be easy to go on, but the point is clear, Birr are a very good team, and entitled to be the extremely hot favourites with every bookie and pundit in the run up to the final.

This of course begs the obvious question – what can Kinnitty do to upset the apple cart this Sunday?

The first and foremost priority is to take Birr out of their comfort zone. Birr hurl best when moving the sliothar up and across the field at pace, occasionally but selectively using the handpass in order to pick out a player with more room to strike. Their deliveries are always targeted, never hit without thought.

It goes without saying that Kinnitty must exert huge pressure on the striker of the ball. The midfield and half back line players will pick out the corners of O’Connor Park all day long if they are allowed, while the forwards will thrive in the open spaces and look to create space for Dylan Hayden to run into. However Kinnitty must take this one step further – they must exert pressure, but also they must exert pressure from their own side of the ball. By forcing Birr to strike the ball with a restricted view or better yet, over the shoulder, they eliminate the option of the low line drives that the Birr forwards thrive on. Slower ball will allow the Kinnitty midfield to drop deep and pick up breaks while also suffocating the Birr forwards.

Their semi final win was the perfect example of this. Coolderry players won a mountain of ball in the half back line, but all too often played an aimless high ball to nowhere in particular rather than methodically bringing Brian Carroll and his fellow inside forwards into the game. The unfamiliar jerseys were no doubt an issue in this regard too, but Kinnitty never stopped harassing the men in possession and they must repeat that work rate, but also apply their vigour judiciously. Birr will run around headless chickens all day, so Kinnitty must be poised rather than poultry.

Midfield will be absolutely crucial and Colm Coughlan and Enda Grimes have a particularly important role to play here. If Birr create an extra man by taking a Kinnitty player out of the game, it becomes impossible to cover that player and to mark the supporting runners at the same time. Barry Whelahan’s dummy strike and Rory Hanniffy’s sudden injection of pace into his run are widely used weapons in this regard – Kinnitty must not over commit to the tackle with these two players, instead standing firm and holding up their Birr opponent for as long as possible, with the half forward line ideally dropping back to offer the extra cover.

One or two of the half forwards dropping deep on a regular basis will of course cause a knock-on effect at the other end of the field, where Kinnitty’s scoring players must accumulate a winning total without necessarily having a lot of help. This could be used to their advantage however. Further to disrupting Birr’s rhythm and keeping them guessing, one withdrawn half forward and a lot of movement up front could create the space in which they can thrive. Stephen Molloy is particularly adept at popping up in unexpected places, unbeknownst to his marker, and with Paul Cleary his likely opponent, Kinnitty could do worse than send Molloy roaming and simply aim to bypass or ignore the centre forward position. Cleary is a fine catcher of the ball, but if James Dempsey’s puckouts never fall within fifteen yards of him, then that skill becomes less valuable. High ball should ideally either reach Fergal Kealey at full forward or else not be used at all.

For Molloy, the key is to anticipate where the ball is coming. In the group stages, particularly against Belmont, he did this magnificently. Against Coolderry his radar was off and he tended to pick the wrong spot. Same effort, very different result. Rugby style lineout calling is probably some way off in hurling yet, but it would be a novel, albeit radical solution to implement.

One withdrawn half forward, midfielders that always stay goal side, carefully directed puckouts with regular use of the low, hard sixty metre pass, and we could be in for a good game on Sunday. Whether we’re in for an upset of biblical proportions is another matter entirely. If you see a plague of locusts on your drive into Tullamore, then maybe we could be on to something.

[Plain of the Herbs]

October, and the trees are stripped bare of all they wear, what do I care,
October, and kingdoms rise and Kingdoms fall, but you go on . . .

October, the title track to U2’s second album hardly has county final season in mind but many hurling kingdoms have risen, and fallen, on county final day. This year we have a unique one, the first final meeting of Birr and Kinnitty and the differences between the two sides is stark indeed. Kinnitty are emerging after two decades in the wilderness to face a Birr side for whom county final day is part of a routine now. On the Birr side Brian Whelahan is aiming to win his twelfth county medal on Sunday, Simon Whelahan and Gary Hanniffy their tenth, Brian Mullins, Niall Claffey and Barry Whelahan their ninth and John Paul O’Meara his eighth.

This turnaround in Kinnitty’s hurling fortunes had its geneses in the minor team which reached the county final ten years ago, going down to Kilcormac/Killoughey on that occasion. Of that team Enda Grimes, Matthew McRedmond, Mark Robinson, John Clendennen and Liam Bergin featured in the resent semi-final win over Coolderry, while Andrew McRedmond is a long term injury casualty. Progress has been incremental and five years later they reached the senior semi final, losing out to Ballyskenagh while two years later they lost narrowly to Coolderry at the same stage. The current team was taking shape however and last year they were caught by a Kilcormac equaliser in the dying moments of the semi final and were well beaten in the replay.

Despite sharing thirty county titles between them, the sides have never met on County Final day before, as the sides prosperous eras never clashed. Of Kinnitty’s nine titles, three came in the twenties while they harvested five during their golden era when they contested nine out of the ten finals between 1976 and 1985, that 1985 win completing a three-in-a-row while. Birr were experiencing a drought at that time. That 1985 title win was to be their last appearance on final day until this year however.

Recent championship meetings between the pair have been few and far between. It could be said that Birr’s 1988 play-off win over Kinnitty signalled the passing of the torch as Kinnitty’s team was breaking up while Birr’s young guns were embarking on their voyage which is still running. Birr have won the five subsequent championship clashes, the most recent of which was their 3-12 to 0-8 first round meeting last year, their first time to oppose each other in ten years. While Birr were amassing county and All-Ireland titles, Kinnitty languished in the weak group and more often than had an eye on possible relegation from senior ranks.

Among those meetings was the 1993 semi-final meeting, played at O’Connor Park, Sunday’s venue, as the curtain raiser to an All-Ireland under 21 final. Birr led all the way but Kinnitty introduced Johnny Flaherty (then in his mid-forties) in a bid to save the game but to no avail and Birr held on for a 1-17 to 2-12 win.

Kinnitty do bring probably the outstanding hurler in the championship to O’Connor Park, that being James Rigney. Rigney has had a superb year at centre half back, covering all his defence and clearing well, driving forward and delivering quality ball to his attackers. There’s no doubt but Kinnitty’s move of Rigney to centre half back for last year’s quarter final has transformed the fortunes of their side considerably.

The county panellist’s stature has not inhibited his performance in previous rounds but if marked by Gary Hanniffy he will almost certainly struggle. That’s if Birr choose to start the older Hanniffy at centre half forward as they may start Brian Whelahan in the role where he started in the semi-final before his enforced early withdrawal. Starting Whelahan may also test Rigney in a bid to force the Kinnitty defender to man-mark Whelahan, leaving gaps in the defence for Dylan Hayden to exploit. Gary Hanniffy will pose a big problem as Kinnitty have no-one with the stature to match Birr’s principal ball-winner. Liam Brewer, Enda Grimes and the Coughlans are all good hurlers but they will surely struggle in the air against the Hanniffys and Kinnitty really need the ball on the deck where they can compete on an equal footing with the champions.

In attack Kinnitty rely mainly on Stephen Molloy and Odhran Kealey for scores. Molloy tends to rove and get on the end of Rigney’s varied clearances while Kealey is lightening quick and can destroy most teams given space and a quick supply. That can’t be guaranteed against Birr’s defence though. Kilcormac carried a much more varied attack into the recent semi-final and neither Slevin or Currams made any headway against either John Paul O’Meara or Michael Verney. Whichever of the Birr pair mark Odhran Kealey would be expected to have the upper hand on the Kinnitty tyro and it’s difficult to see a burly full back turned full forward in Fergal Kealey making headway on Niall Claffey.

Any doubts about the Birr half back line were dispelled against Kilcormac. Paul Cleary had probably his best game for Birr, certainly his best since his move to centre half back. Barry Harding announced himself on the senior stage marking Conor Mahon while Brian Watkins came of age on the other wing. It’s difficult to see Mark Robinson or Matthew McRedmond making headway against the Birr wing backs, particularly if Watkins and Harding put in a repeat performance. Which leaves Molloy to plough a lonely furrow and depending on Rigney’s quick delivery. Ergo, if Rigney is kept pinned on the back foot it could be a long afternoon for the newcomers.

Midfield looks like being a microcosm of the game as a whole, Hanniffy and Whelahan winning the battle in the air and shading the tussle on the ground over Grimes and Coughlan. While the Kinnitty pair are comfortable in defence and will probably spend much time covering their half back line, the caveat is that they will draw the Birr partnership into attack where both will take scores at will.

Birr’s attack may be better served with Paul O’Meara in attack. O’Meara is a grafter who is often good for a score or two. Dylan Hayden got through an amount of work in the semi final and has scored consistently all year having clocked up 1-17 in Birr’s five matches to date. Simon Whelahan also looked lively against K/K, beavering away in the full forward line and scoring three points from play. Sean Ryan looked rusty though and worryingly for him looks to have hamstring trouble again with a bandaged thigh against Kilcormac. Kinnitty’s full back line does not inspire huge confidence though, and Michéal Corrigan’s form is a worry going into this test.

The O’Connor Park surface did not look up to scratch at the football final, certainly in front of the stand where it did not look suitable for hurling. There’s not much that can be done about the weather and with rain forecast for Friday, we are depending on a promised dry Saturday to improve the playing surface.

It’s difficult to see Kinnitty having enough to challenge the champions when the pressure comes on and Birr should win by what they like, my guess being something in the region of 1-15 to 0-11. It looks like Birr’s kingdom isn’t heading for a fall at this hurdle and another four-in-a-row is looking imminent.

One former kingdom heading for a fall however is Drumcullen. Without even a semi-final appearance in some thirty years, nine points look like too big a margin to make up on Clareen. Drumcullen's hurling style is thirty years out of date and reports of an ugly spitting incident in their match against Shamrocks mean they don’t get any sympathy for their plight.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Meant to say earlier, the match is covered on TG4 on Sunday so ye can set ye're videos. I think its a deferred showing, after the Meath football final.

[Leather to Leather]

Meant to say earlier, the match is covered on TG4 on Sunday so ye can set ye're videos. I think its a deferred showing, after the Meath football final.

what time is minor match at and rynaghs are playing who, is it in connor park

[Plain of the Herbs]

1.15pm, Coolderry and yes. Enjoy the matches

what time is minor match at and rynaghs are playing who, is it in connor park

[Leather to Leather]

1.15pm, Coolderry and yes. Enjoy the matches

what time is minor match at and rynaghs are playing who, is it in connor park

thanks a million, the offaly independent hadnt the minor fixture printed.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Birr won by what they wanted to against a game but ultimately limited Kinnitty yesterday. While Kinnitty may claim that they came as near as anyone else to beat Birr in a final (bar Coolderry, obviously) in truth they never really looked like they were going to win. They were visibly labouring in attack as the second half wore on although the defence stood firm and James Rigney became more influential as the match progressed.

Kinnitty will rue the fact that their two best attackers, Odhran Kealey and Stephen Molloy, never really showed up. Instead it was Colm Coughlan who led their attack. Kinnitty did play some fine hurling, moreso during the first half and their policy of ‘pull hard and move it on when it breaks’ worked well an they sent in a good supply of ‘forwards ball’. Crucially their full forward line were getting out in front and they should have scored more in that first half. That said, Claffey, Verney and O’Meara competed ferociously at the breakdown, which kept them out.

But Birr are still a cut above the rest and they still had a number of gears to use but they didn’t need to. Lonergan’s superb goal epitomised Birr with Rory Hanniffy anticipating well, ghosting through unmarked and Lonergan’s deft flick was worthy of a man who had played in county finals all his life. Probably the difference was that Birr had six forwards and each of them could have been a matchwinner whereas the challengers, as happens with the more rural clubs, relied on too few leaders in attack.

Starting Simon Whelahan at full forward was an unusual one. Sometimes I wonder if they select their forwards by writing their names on pieces of paper, throwing them in the air and selecting them where they land. Dylan Hayden was their best forward in that first half, scoring four good points and working hard throughout. It was strange that Birr took some twenty minutes to bring Gary Hanniffy into the play, though Liam Brewer had a fine game at wing back as had Bergin and O’Donnell in the full back line. Kinnitty did delay a lot of their deliveries in to attack in the second half preferring to steady themselves when a more measured delivery when on the run might have paid better dividends.

So Birr’s demise seems as far away as ever and it’s hard to see any team bridging the gap between the champions and the chasing pack in the foreseeable future. When the dust settles on the mountainside, Kinnitty will realise that there is plenty of potential to maintain a decent title challenge in the years ahead.

[jimmyeatworld]

Kinnitty will have woken up this morning rueing missed chances in yesterdays first half. Unlike POTH, I think Kinnitty could have won this game yesterday and I feel the ten minutes before half time Kinnitty really believed this themselves and let loose. Unfortunately for them, in this period they missed alot of good chances in open space. Dylan Hayden was a constant thorn in Kinnnitty side, four very good points from play and made use of every ball that came his way. Gary H really came into the game in the second half. Rigney intercepted alot of ball and ran onto ball but could not compete under the puckout or any other aerial ball, Hanniffy finished with three points I think.

In the first half Kinnitty hit some really good ball to their full forward (Fergal Kealy I think). Although he could get out in front of Claffey he couldn't control the ball cleanly, this didn't matter a huge amount as Colm Coughlan read these well and ran in front of the man. Verney would not commit to running forward, Coughlan got a lot of breaks, scored some,missed some.

Different story completely after half time. Where the ball was initially dropping in the first half for Kinnitty full forwards to run onto, Birr planted their half back line. Ball after ball went down on top of Cleary, Watkins and Rory H who lapped it up. Birr were able to clear majority of resulting breaking ball and deliver into space, this is where I feel there was a Birr weakness. With all the space Birr forwards had in the second half they didn't make a huge amount of use of it.

Playing an open game in the forwards in the first half Kinnitty scored 9 points and created many more chances. In the second half when it looked like they felt they badly needed scores everyone pushed forward - at times there were 6 and 7 players inside the Birr 45. They scored 6 points using this tactic, created few chances and a few of these points were from long range frees.

Perhaps if they had the belief to stick to their initial plan they would be county champions today.....I think they definitely had the hurlers to do it.

[Lone Shark]

I'm halfway between the two of ye. I don't think it was a case of Birr having it in hand all along, but I do think they had an extra gear if they needed it. Kinnitty needed that goal, and I'd be 90% - but not 100% - confident that if they got it, Birr would have found the extra couple of points that were needed.

Kinnitty will rue the fact that their two best attackers, Odhran Kealey and Stephen Molloy, never really showed up. Instead it was Colm Coughlan who led their attack.

I disagree regarding Molloy - I can only assume he was asked to drop deep, and it worked as far as I'm concerned. He hurled a rake of ball, as well as getting in a lot of good tackles and flicks on Birr players in possession. I think it was the right tactic - Paulk Cleary was an ornament at centre back, he couldn't go following Molloy around the pitch, but the puckouts were kept away from him and all in all Molloy had a much bigger impact on the game than Cleary did - I think that's a win for Mick Molloy and his management team and I'd say well done on that.

Odhrán Kealey was bottled up to a certain degree, but he got very little ball to work with. I thought Kinnitty gave up on the long balls into Fergal Kealey very early. He was preventing Claffey from winning clean ball and Kinnitty were competing reasonably well on the close in breaks. I'll accept that O'Meara and Verney scrapped very well, but I think there was more in this tactic for Kinnitty if they used it right.

Some performance from Dylan Hayden all right. Watkins did well, but how Hayden wasn't man of the match I'll never know. A few really classy points at times when his team badly needed them.

[Square Cab]

First and foremost, well done to Birr on securing another county title and fair play to Kinnity for putting in a spirited performance but in fairness they never really looked like winning. Birr were capable of picking it up a gear at ease. The Hannify’s, Dylan Hayden (best score of the day), Watkins, Claffey (in the second half) were Birr’s best performers. Rigney,Coughlan and their goalie were Kinnity’s best men. In all fairness though it was a poor game. The first touch on so many occasions was terrible. And the problem of being unable to keep ball in hand or catch high balls (apart from Gary Hannify) was yet again on view. Kilkenny are the masters of catching the high ball and Offaly hurling need to work on this skill big time!! Kinnnity as a whole looked small and lacked any real power. And while I don’t want to name names, there was a certain Kinnity player who looked completely lost and how he lasted the whole game beggars belief. Even Birr have slipped a lot and I really would fear for them if they faced a very confident Ballyhale team further down the line. Another surprise for me was hearing the shouting and roaring Sid did on the field of play on sun. At one stage in the first half he roared at pat joe to shut up. Disgraceful stuff from a true legend of the game. I don’t want to appear too negative but for our showpiece game, it was poor.

[gutless08]

[quote
I disagree regarding Molloy - I can only assume he was asked to drop deep, and it worked as far as I'm concerned. He hurled a rake of ball, as well as getting in a lot of good tackles and flicks on Birr players in possession. I think it was the right tactic - Paulk Cleary was an ornament at centre back, he couldn't go following Molloy around the pitch, but the puckouts were kept away from him and all in all Molloy had a much bigger impact on the game than Cleary did - I think that's a win for Mick Molloy and his management team and I'd say well done on that.

molloy started centre forward but had to move to midfield,after the blood injury at midfield, kinsella played most of the game on cleary and never really made an impact.So we didnt learn much about molloy at centre forward on sunday, he did keep the ball moving and was very hungry in the tackle,he needs to look at posts before shooting as he hit 2 wayward wides.



Some performance from Dylan Hayden all right. Watkins did well, but how Hayden wasn't man of the match I'll never know. A few really classy points at times when his team badly needed them.[/quote]

hayden was top class and was birrs best player without doubt,watkins is a nice hurler with great potential,tends to clear balls blindly at times and batted a couple of times sunday when he was free to catch.one for the future though.rigney and brewer were on fire amd coughlans free taken was as good under pressure as seen since johny dooley