Leinster U-21 Hurling Championship Kilkenny vs Offaly

[joe bloggs]

Carlow won it, with i think around six or seven points to spare.

Having been down in Nolan Park tonight I think it is time we gave up this romantic notion about ground hurling.
Now I am not saying that we tried it too much tonight, but once again kilkenny proved that if you can win 1st time possesion then you'll come out on top.
I believe that we need to start coaching our younsters to contest the ball in the air and in time we should have lads able to do it at IC level.
I would also think that physically we were behind Kilkenny. This is not a criticism of the lads training the team as developing a players core strength doesn't happen in one season. We need a system in place to work on this with young players from the time they start playing minor right through to the end of their U21 career. Essentially you could have around 15- 20 lads at each age working together each year for U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21

[Bord na Mona man]

I suspect Offaly as a county who came from nowhere (i.e. no real obvious hurling background) 30 years ago has failed to tap into the reason why the breakthrough was made in the first place and build on it. Someone needs to take a look at the Kilkenny model and see what they are doing with the very young kids and how they bring them through because we are obviously not doing it right here.....thats if we are doing anything at all.

Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in it.
Momentum alone doesn't keep a county at the forefront. You have to work bloody hard at all times to keep standards high.
Kilkenny and the likes don't sit back and admire their past history, they keep pushing onwards.

At this stage Offaly are fooked for a couple of reasons.
Firstly I don't think people fully realise how far behind we have fallen. There still seems to be the attitude that things will just 'click' like they did decades ago and we'll be back at the top table. Ain't gonna happen!

Secondly, I don't believe we have the resources and know-how to get to back to the top on our own. In hurling for example, the coaches who got Offaly to the top were from outside the county. Bro. Denis and Bro Vincent in the 60s, Diarmuid Healy 80s, Eamon Cregan 90s etc. The Offaly hurling boom didn't produce many great Offaly managers.

When you see the poor crowds at matches, low interest and the all round apathy, you can't be too confident.

[Bord na Mona man]

Having been down in Nolan Park tonight I think it is time we gave up this romantic notion about ground hurling.
Now I am not saying that we tried it too much tonight, but once again kilkenny proved that if you can win 1st time possesion then you'll come out on top.
I believe that we need to start coaching our younsters to contest the ball in the air and in time we should have lads able to do it at IC level.
I would also think that physically we were behind Kilkenny. This is not a criticism of the lads training the team as developing a players core strength doesn't happen in one season.

As I hinted at above. Offaly's ideas are now outdated and unfortunately there doesn't seem to be embedded reservoir of hurling IQ to bring about change.

I can guarantee you that some of the former players who are now coaching would put that defeat to Kilkenny down to Offaly not playing enough ground hurling, first time hurling and hitting(giving) away the ball as quick as humanly possible.
But sure its very difficult to carry out the old Offaly tactic of 'letting the ball do work' when a Kilkenny hand has it grasped the whole time.

[Slieve Bloom Man]

This is awful depressing. Thought we had genuine chance of actually winning-how stupid do I feel? God if things go really badly against Galway there could be dire consequences!

[Plain of the Herbs]

A black day. Offaly's heaviest defeat at under 21 level - previous worst being a 23 points hammering in 1982 at the hands of . . . Kilkenny.

Offaly's half forward line couldn't get near the ball, and only a string of Kilkenny wides kept Offaly 'in it' up to Kilkenny's first goal which came around the 25 minute mark. Kilkenny had no difficulty hitting the target second half.

James Dempsey enhanced his reputation with some acrobatics around the square in the first half.

No point singling anyone out for critiscism. All were bad.

[leinsterman]

just back the worse i ever saw and i seen a few bad one's the offaly player's just didn't want to know and were bet before they left
the dressing room. the site of the kilkenny jersey now and we are bet there was a time it brought out the best in us.

it will be the same in two weeks time again their minor team in tullamore. kilkenny don't fear offaly in any grade of hurling anymore
well this shouldn't come as a shock as most of these's players lost to carlow and westmeath in the minor the last few year's
so when carlow and westmeath beat you and i am not running down these's counties what hope have you again kilkenny
no hope as it showed tonight .

[Offaly2010]

It just shows the difference between Kilkenny and Offaly in Senior hurling aswell as Offaly had 6 seniors in that squad and Kilkenny hadn't got one!

[bracknaghboy]

It just shows the difference between Kilkenny and Offaly in Senior hurling aswell as Offaly had 6 seniors in that squad and Kilkenny hadn't got one!

6 seniors!! This is worrying going into the Galway game. Senior players tend to dominate at u-21 level so having 6 senior panalists would normally suggest a good u-21 team but obviously not in this case. The county is slowly falling apart. Our minor and u-21 hurling teams are seen as target wins for the likes of Carlow and Westmeath. Our senior hurlers are feared by nobody. Our senior footballers are one of the worst 4 teams in the country. We are facing oblivion and its hard to know if anything can be done to reverse the trend? Its too late.

[Bord na Mona man]

just back the worse i ever saw and i seen a few bad one's the offaly player's just didn't want to know and were bet before they left
the dressing room. the site of the kilkenny jersey now and we are bet there was a time it brought out the best in us.

it will be the same in two weeks time again their minor team in tullamore. kilkenny don't fear offaly in any grade of hurling anymore

Its a long time since Kilkenny have feared any Offaly team at any level.
About 15 years ago they started seriously hammering Offaly at underage.

At minor...
1995 - KK 4-16 Offaly 2-6 (Note this Kilkenny team couldn't score for the first 50 minutes when they played Cork)
1997 - KK 3-16 Offaly 0-10

Through inaction, what started out as a small cut, turned into a haemorrhage.

But shure we're a great little county and it'll fall right...

[Truth as i see it]

I don't think its unsaveable, i just think we need the right people at the top with the motivation to roll thier sleeves up and make the right changes.

[Bord na Mona man]

Leinster U21HC: Cats go to town on Offaly

10 June 2010


Kilkenny 2-31
Offaly 0-8

Holders Kilkenny blitzed Offaly by 29 points in a painfully one-sided Bord Gais Energy Leinster U21HC quarter-final at Nowlan Park last night.

Fielding eight of last year's All-Ireland final line-up, the Cats ran riot in the second half to book a semi-final date with Dublin on June 23. After leading by 1-12 to 0-8 at half-time, Michael Walsh's side rattled off 1-19 without reply to leave an Offaly side, who competed well in the first half, totally shell-shocked.

The Cats had ended the game as a contest within five minutes of the restart when points from Mark Bergin and Eoin Murphy were followed by a goal from James Nolan.

The home side scored at ease in the second period with Colin Fennelly (0-3), Mark Bergin (0-4), Liam Ryan (0-3) and Eoin Murphy (0-3) piling on the points against an Offaly team who finished with 14 players after corner forward Thomas Spain was red-carded in the 49th minute.

[old yellar]

i agree with the talk of this idea of playing hurling the old offaly way, ground hurling etc and it not working. i was involved up there when the development squads were marshalled by johnny flaherty and this idea of introducing more ground hurling was encouraged by him. he d ask you to put some in your drills at a session if he arrived! i also rem being at a meeting in birr about the squads and the top table were on about going back to the basics of what made offaly great in the past. i pointed out the fact that teams can change their styles of play ala cork, to suit the modern game and the players available. i pointed out that cork had fitzgibbon, mulcahy, hennessey etc, big men, in the early 90s, and the had one style the, then the had the game we associated them with them now, short and controlled. i was virtually laughed at and not supported in the room. so it has to change somewhere! also i was 11 years up there, yet i dont rem several of the key managers of the county teams there now and from thr last 2/3 years ever being involved with a club team let alone a deveolpment squad, and suddenly as ex players, the are seen as great men to take over. great players dont always make great coaches.. its great to get them involved and all but if they arent doing the business then good luck. this again was a policy encouraged a few years back to try get them involved, how many did? well in the 3 years i was there, 1 was all i rem. but when it came to it further up the line... this u21 team is a product of this system unfortunately.

[backofthenet]

This may sound a bit bitter....but can anyone explain to me how there is not one player from Coolderry on the starting 15 even though they are in the U 21 final after drawing with Clareen twice??? Just doesnt make sense that there wouldnt be at least one player worthy of a start.

The standard of club u21 hurling in Offaly isn't exactly wonderful so having finalists doesn't exactly mean you should have a player on the county 15. Better for the county team to have a big spread of clubs rather than focusing on teams who got to latter stages of championship. So ya you do sound bitter to be honest. County teams should never be about what club a guy comes from and we could do with taking that on board in Offaly in a big way. Too many people have that attitude. Club is Club, County is County.

Not sure where to start after that result, but I think I have been justified in what I was saying. 4 players from one finalists on the county team and not 1 player from the other team....just doesnt make one bit of sense, David King, Stephen Burke, Paul Hensey, Stephen O'Connor to name a few could have at least been considered.

On the whole I think the club U 21 Championship has to be looked at, there were 12 teams competing this year, but yet it was still held as a knock out competition, this means that the U21 County management might have only 70 minutes on which to judge some teams....and thats if there at the match. The Championship is ran as an inconvience, something to be gotten out of the way quick even though it is the premier under age competition in the county, it is the last chance to play with your own age group and should be taken a little more seriously in my book. Also look at the way the final has been left, 2 great matches back to back and now nothing...it will be nine weeks next saturday since the last replay.

On having 6 county panelists under 21....what advantage is this?? In Offaly we have a tendancy to throw any young player that shows promise right off the deep end into senior championship, a grade they are possibly not physically developed enough for. We should be going the other way, let them develop at their own level, bring them onto the panel at 20 years old no sooner, make them hungry to be going senior, this will free up spaces for older players in the 25 - 30 bracket, who are lets face it, as good if not better than some of the younger players coming up anyway.

[Southend]

Well after that shambles last night what could we expect from a team only given 4 weeks to train by our County Board!! This is not fair on Management and Players esp coming up to a knock out match!!Not good enough and it showed in the performance!!

It's also being heard that the team have shown no interest in training and have had a bad attitude!! thats also showed with the team last night and in alot of the players!! I'm sure anyone that was there will know who they were!!

Things need to change big time!!

I think no man should own a jesery on any county team and it should be earned!! Which is very hard to do seen as our club hurling is stopped!! There should be a constant call in of players to keep the other players fighting to play for Offaly!! There is a lot of players that never get a call up to the panel that deserve a place. There is alot of player that are only there because there a son of so and so!! Offaly hurling needs to be stripped down and rebuilt!!

Good luck to the seniors sunday week. Hope all goes well.

[Plain of the Herbs]

There’s so much in what Old Yellar posts. I don’t have time to go into it in detail, but the most damning indictment of those running hurling in the county was the following:

i was virtually laughed at and not supported in the room.

Very briefly, Offaly hurling also needs to look at how it approaches rucks and mauls. Too often we hear the cry “will ya pull on it, will ya” from the sideline. Fact is that, rightly or wrongly, a referee is going to blow if he hears the sound of timber hitting off timber in a ruck. They may be unsightly but they are a fact of modern hurling, and there are so many of them that they are a useful method of gaining possession and thus controlling the game.

“Control the game” should be the mantra.