Offaly .v. Cork - SHC Round 1 Qualifier - 4th/July/2009

[Lone Shark]

Agree with that. I see on Hogan Stand they are reporting that Rory Hanniffy and David Franks will be fit to play, but that David Kenny is still a doubt. I hope he makes it because we saw the last time what happens when a player is used when not fully fit.

Is it tickets or cash on the gate for this does anyone know? I'll only be able to get out of Ferbane around 6:20, so it could be tidy enough to make it if there are huge queues - is it possible to buy tickets beforehand if needed?

[Treasurer]

No tickets. Cash at Stiles. Stand €20 Terrace €10 Students /OAP €10 Juveniles U16 Free

[bracknaghboy]

LS Tickets can be purchased at Ticket Master outlets or on the ticketmaster website. http://www.ticketmaster.ie/Offaly-tickets/artist/943626 20Euro to sit and 10Euro to stand. Thats a fair difference if there are 4 or 5 people attending....difference of 50Euro.

[Offalys Future]

Lets be serious here. If any one of ye on this forum think Offaly are going to win this saturday night
ye are completely mental.
It is the worst draw we could have got and it would only have been worse if we drew Cork away.
Nothing over the past year hints towards Offaly been able to keep it pucked out to Cork.
We are so far behind its not even funny.
I have went to u-14/minor/u-21 county games this year and in my opinion the attitude
mentality of coaches and managers is cripling Offaly. Never mind the shambles that is the county board.

I find it funny how lads slate the Cork hurlers at the moment. I cant stand them for their strike action but
as hurlers they are still serious players and athletes. They have 9 lads starting that have senior all-ireland hurling medals
as well as all-stars, u-21 and minor all-irelands and have played in big pressure matches on a regular basis and came out on top.
So to even think a young inexperienced Offaly team with a manager completely out of his dept and 1 forward can go
out and beat them is madness. I feel sorry for the 2-3 Offaly players that are really good hurlers and have dedicated years of service
to offaly hurling and deserve much better.

Cork in my opinion are the 3rd best hurling team in ireland at the moment and the only team that might take all-ireland from Kilkenny.
Offaly in my opinion are the 9th best hurling team in Ireland. If Offaly can keep it below a 10 point beating it will be a good result. My feelings
are though that it will be a lot heavier defeat than that.

Unless like i have stated on many many occasions that there is a complete overhaul at county board level and correct structures are put in place
at underage level Offaly hurling is finished competing at senior level. Finished.

[Bord na Mona man]

They have 9 lads starting that have senior all-ireland hurling medals

Offaly had 14 All Ireland senior medalists in the starting 15 for the 2000 All Ireland final and it didn't seem to matter.
Cork are in decline and while Offaly mightn't beat them, we shouldn't fear them because of what they did 4 or 5 years ago.

[Lone Shark]

I find it funny how lads slate the Cork hurlers at the moment.

Nobody is slating Cork. They are a fine team with some of the great names of the past decade in their ranks, combined with some very useful younger players. However none of that changes the fact that the end of the line has to come for these lads at some point, and it is only natural to hope that it will be on Saturday evening. Of course they are favourites, but this young Offaly team has made considerable progress in the past eighteen months and if that is to continue, a logical step is to hurl a very competitive game against Cork. If we do that and Cork aren't quite mentally ready for the challenge, which would be understandable after the pathetic challenge we offered the last time we met them, then there is every chance of making them sweat a little bit.

[Kemo Sabe]

offalys future everytime you come on here its to be negative .there is nobody on this site who think we are going to have it easy against cork .i feel that we have a decent chance if we play well and get a bit of luck along the way .you have nothing but bad things to say bout offaly and its getting really annoying at this stage .we all know we are not going to win the all ireland but what is wrong with having a small bit of faith in the county .people will always disagree on sites like this but with you its always the same shit .why not try this stop running down the county because there is enough people doing that already and get behind them saturday .

[Offalys Future]

i will get behind them like i always do. But you have to be realistic and people on this forum arent one bit realisitic.
Do you think you can go down shout ur head off and all of sudden offaly will win get real for gods sake. It Is 2009 we are in
now. Timmy Mccarthy apart i would guess that all those cork hurlers will be playing for another 2 years. so to say they close to
end of road isnt true.

Condiserable progress?
What is that? Been relegated to div 2? beaten a limerick setup that was a shambles losing by 7 points to waterford?
Winning div 2, and then getting hammered by wexford with 7 players missing. u-21 with 10 senior panellists
couldn't beat an average kilkenny team. Is that considerable progress?

Look at Dublin they had moderate success at underage they put structures into place that are still non existant in offaly, then
most importantly they got a good manager and now they are reaping the rewards.

Stop living in the stone age for chriest sake.

[Kemo Sabe]

we got promotion from division 2 and that is progress .the avarage age of the team is 23 and will learn from games in the top tier nextyear .you say limerick wer a shambles but yet before that game you wer on here saying that limerick wer going to hammer us and all the other bull that comes out of your mouth .yes waterford beat us but 7 points flattered them in the end and at the time they wer the 2nd best team in the country .thats the last il say on the mather with because you are nothing but a grumpy bitter man who for whatever reason has a serious grudge against all things offaly .

[Bord na Mona man]

Timmy Mccarthy apart i would guess that all those cork hurlers will be playing for another 2 years. so to say they close to
end of road isnt true.

Cork aren't going to win an All Ireland with a team backboned by that group of players
They certainly won't improve either, some of them have been on the go since 1999.
They can stay on another 5 years if they like.

So to all intents and purposes it is the end of road for them, even if some of them don't realise it.
When Kilkenny blew them apart last year it should have been final confirmation that the game was up.
The strikes have merely delayed the rebuilding process.

[Offalys Future]

why did we get relegated in the first place? because Joe dooey didnt take the laois game serious that year
and had players playing in ridiculous positions. All was done was a mistake was rectified.

It was only told a few months later exactly was going on in the limerick camp and their manager got sacked.
The average age of team can be 20-21-22-23 it doesnt matter a shite. if these players cant win at minor and
u-21 level then they cant win at senior level. Any success in any county comes from underage. Not in Offaly though,
there is over 14 lads on the Offaly panel for playing well in a very bad standard club championship. Nothing to do with
whether they are good enough for iuntercounty hurling or not.

I went to u-21 vs kilkenny and in my opinion there wasnt 1 hurler for offaly that at the moment is good enough to hurl senior
inter county. Kk had richie hogan and maybe 2 more thats it.

I have no grudge but i have a serious problem with the way hurling is been administered and coached in our county. It is scandelous
what is going on and the longer it continues the longer offaly hurling is fecked.

[bracknaghboy]

Offalys Future is correct about the general hurling set up in the county. Many of us have looked on in horror here at how hurling has been allowed to virtually disappear in East Offaly....but this is for another topic.
In the short trem we need to beat Cork. It'll take another game like Limerick last year. We will need at least 3 goals to have a shout....hard to see where they will come from but you never know. I have a feeling that the Cork half back line could undo us but we got to go into O'Connor park on satuday with some hope.

[Plain of the Herbs]

It’s very difficult to see how Offaly can make headway in the face of the Cork possession-oriented style of play. Probably the most radical change in hurling style the game has ever seen, Cork have been at this too long and Offaly have so little experience of coping with it that they will surely take some time coming to terms.

“Beware Cork” is an expression used by hurling followers the country over. This refers largely to the rebel county’s hurlers’ ability to make serious championship progress despite having no form in the lead-up. This year, Cork have slipped off the radar almost completely. They made headlines off the pitch during the spring, but apart from the build-up and post-match analysis of their Thurles encounter with Tipperary, there’s not been a word.

Offaly forwards struggled to win any of their own puckouts against Wexford. Now they face John Gardiner, Ronan Curran and Seán Óg Ó hAilpín, the most experienced half back line in the game. At the other end, while Offaly did well under Wexford’s puckout, we can take it Dónal Cusack won’t be dropping bombs on the Offaly half back line, despite having targets in the shape of Pa Cronin and Timmy McCarthy to aim at.

Kevin Brady may well prosper in the face of Timmy McCarthy, and Ger Oakley, if fit, may well relish the challenge posed by Pa Cronin. Oakley and Brady could also switch if needs be, without exposing themselves to any mis-matches. In the main, though, Cusack will be carefully placing the puckout, guaranteeing possession for his side.

Cork won’t be throwing up the ball and striking under pressure leaving themselves likely to be blocked. Rather, they’ll have a supporting runner in their sight-line, where they can guarantee keeping the ball. There will be little or no breaking ball for which Offaly can compete – Offaly’s preferred method of getting on the ball and so Offaly will suffer for the duration of the match.

Cork have raised a few eyebrows with their selection, most noteably with ‘2009 panellist’ Tadhg Óg Murphy comes in at midfield with Jerry O’Connor moving to the wing and Ben O’Connor moving to the corner at Pat Horgan’s expense. Murphy at midfield is an unknown quantity though he will hardly upset the dynamic of the area, with Tom Kenny still the dominant force here.

Offaly should of course select Rory Hanniffy and Brendan Murphy at midfield, two hurlers who would have the mobility and the speed to counteract Cork here. That may change though if they are without two defenders in which case Hanniffy would be required in defence. They may well be tempted to start Conor Mahon here what with Murphy making his first championship start for Cork.

Very often a change in position can freshen up a player coming to the end of their career and this may be the reason for Jerry O’Connor’s move to wing forward. He will more than likely still rove alot. James Rigney has improved with every outing this year and would be the right man to pick him (or Ben) up. Rigney is an injury doubt though, and it’s difficult to see an alternative to fill his place if he doesn’t make it. Though the more I think about it, the more I think of the suitability of Colm Coughlan for this role. Remember the Kinnittyman’s man-marking of Richie Hogan during the under 21’s win in Nowlan Park two years ago?

Some expect Cork to make changes prior to throw-in on Saturday but Cork generally start in the positions in which they are selected. Anyway, if they are to spring a surprise by varying the lineup, it will be later in the year against Kilkenny or Waterford maybe. It looks like Cork may well look to bring Ben O’Connor outfield and play the ball into the vacant corner to Aisake Ó hAilpín, similar to the way Wexford exploited David Kenny in Wexford Park. Despite his Wexford Park horrors, Kenny fully fit and on top of his game, remains the best option to directly oppose the youngest Ó hAilpín. Ben O’Connor, after all, saw significant action at corner forward last year.

That Cork didn’t introduce Cathal Naughton until the Tipperary match was well on was a surprise, and it’s a bigger surprise that he’s not starting on Saturday. The Newtownshandrum flyer will surely be introduced during the third quarter of Saturday’s game. When he is, he will have a devastating effect on the game, being good for a few scores, and it’s hard to see how Offaly will cope with his pace and movement.

In Wexford Park, Joseph Bergin was a first touch away from three more scores, one of which might have been a goal. I’ve always felt the Clareenman’s best position is full forward, but it was his movement when moved to centre-foward late in the game which brought Richie Kehoe out of position, thus making the space which led to Offaly’s scoring spree which might have rescued the game. While he should start at the edge of the square, he should see some action further outfield as the match unfolds.

Brian Carroll was practically anonymous in Wexford though, and his biggest contribution to the scoreboard was to make the foul which led to Wexford’s clinching goal. At least he was moved to the full forward line, a move not afforded to Derek Molloy who was hauled straight off. Molloy, following a cooling-down period, might have been more of a goal-threat closer in.

Note that Carroll has only scored one goal in over two-dozen championship appearances, despite playing most of his hurling in the full-forward line. Carroll tends to do most of his hurling with his back to goal. Molloy will need to keep his head when faced with John Gardiner, who will be niggly and experienced enough to get away with it.

Shane Dooley, while oft-criticised, scored two fine points off his right side against Wexford. He should trust his right side more, and can be considered a two-sided hurler now, which increases his selection options.

Conor Mahon put himself in contention for a starting slot with a good aerial display for the under 21’s against Kilkenny and may well start at centre half forward. Cathal Parlon is tall but is also quick. Perhaps he’d be an option at wing forward? Both would be an unknown quantity as far as Cork are concerned

In the aftermath of the recent defeat in Wexford Park, Arrigle wrote in the under 21 match programme that Offaly were “possessing the talent up front but not the resolve.” Offaly’s performance in tight games indeed is a worry. Since 2003 they have hurled 28 championship games, winning 12. Of those 28 matches, 14 (half) have had winning margins of single-digit figures, with Offaly winning only 4, with 3 of those 4 against Dublin (’03, ’05 and ’06) and the other against Limerick (2003).

On the other side, tight losing margins have included 3 defeats by the minimum – Wexford ’03 & ‘06, and Clare ’05 (though a moral victory) with four point defeats to Wexford ’04 and Tipperary in Thurles. Shades of that dark room Limerick hurlers seemingly baulked at entering years ago which so incensed then-manager Eamonn Cregan.

Cork will no doubt insist on using Cummins balls, and Donal Cusack will have a bag of them to hand. Presumably Offaly will have been practicing with the Cork manufactured balls.

It’s almost thirty years since Cork last played a match in O’Connor Park, when they left with a two point win. The ‘home advantage’ accrues to Offaly in that they are spared a long journey, rather than O’Connor Park in itself being a fortress in any shape or form. Indeed, there are many in South Offaly who will see the ground as something as an ‘away’ venue of sorts, preferring Birr as Offaly’s ‘home’ venue. However, the ground was in pristine condition for the recent Kilkenny v Galway match and should guarantee quality hurling.

Showers are promised for Saturday. Traditionally Cork don’t like hurling in the rain, their record on wet days wasn’t great, and many’s the Munster opposition who hoped for rain when facing Cork. The rain may militate somewhat against their handling game but they’re experienced enough not to be discommoded by the elements.

In summary, it’s difficult to see how Offaly can cope with Cork’s style here. Cork have unfinished championship business and have realistic hopes of toppling Kilkenny later in the year. I’d say they’ll make an early drive to gain an early advantage on the scoreboard. After all, a moral victory (another one!) would suffice for Offaly which makes it very difficult to build up the drive necessary to attain ultimate victory.

It’s quite likely that Cork would outscore Offaly something like 10 points to 2 over a 15-20 minute spell at some stage. In addition, Cork are quite capable of running up a score tally well into the mid twenties, well out of Offaly’s reach who will hardly progress beyond the mid-teens.

[backofthenet]

This is a hard game to predict, Cork seemed to be on a downward spiral following the strike and departure of The Rock & Joe Deane, then put in a seemingly good performance to nearly pip tipp at the post.

Offaly on the other hand seemed to return to form last summer with good performances against Limerick & Waterford, only to lose to Wexford in the opening game.

I think the big difference between Offaly getting hammered and Offaly winning / bringing them close is attitude. The attitude of the offaly forwards has been terrible this year and also in previous years.

I would encourage introducing Conor Mahon for physicality and sheer hard work. The Cork half back line and midfield are the engine room of this cork team and their forwards thrive off the good ball they are given by these 5 players.

I think we can break even at midfield, i have no doubt that our back line will be able to limit the cork forward line. We need 3 physicaly strong half forwards who will chase and harry and work their arses off for 70 minutes.

For this reason I would go with something like Mahon / Brady / Bergin, with Carrol /Molloy / Dooley in the inside forward line.

I can see Derek Molloy grabbing a goal or two, and if the half forward line can get some breaking ball in Carrol and Dooley should be able to get a couple of points each from this.

I dont think we will have a problem keeping Cork down to a fairly low score, the problem we will have is trying to beat it

[lovelyhurling]

i see another article on brian carroll again on HS today plus one last saturday in the star.. that man does more talking off the pitch. Perhaps he should to concentrate a bit more on his on field performance than his media work.