Any take on the League final this weekend? Last time Doon made the League final they ended up playing three games vs. S/Bridge and the last one ended up in an almighty scrap.
Would love to see them win it after all their hard work for the last number of years. Have a feeling that Rhode could be a hard one as their in Leinster but they got it hard last weekend.
League final
The Venue...
Apparently its a bit like the Champions League final in that a different ground is picked every year to host the Div 1 league final and this year it just happens to be Fr Dowling Pk. I can't see really what the big deal is ?
That's it, Hyper.
According to Kevin Corrigan in the Tribune -
"The game will take place in Rhode in line with the policy of the Games Administration Committee in fixing finals at the venue nearest to the sponsor of the new cups for league competititons - Rhode GAA Club sponsored the Mick Casey Memorial Cup for the Division 1 FL."
According to Kevin Corrigan in the Tribune -
"The game will take place in Rhode in line with the policy of the Games Administration Committee in fixing finals at the venue nearest to the sponsor of the new cups for league competititons - Rhode GAA Club sponsored the Mick Casey Memorial Cup for the Division 1 FL."
-
black and red exile
- All Star
- Posts: 587
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:59 pm
- Location: kilcullen
-
the Untouchable
- All Star
- Posts: 217
- Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2005 2:15 pm
It was going to be a tall order for any team thats being out of the Championship for a good few weeks now to be able to beat a team thats still training very hard for the Leinster Championship!!!
Hopefully Doon can take some heart from their first half display because there wasn't much in it & the goal for rhode right on half time probably had a bit of a bearing on the game too cause it was a real sucker punch to have got!!!
I think the score line even flattered Rhode a bit, they certainly didn't play that well & I think if they play like that against Rathnew then they will be bet because their passing was very poor & they fouled an awful lot!!!
Hopefully Doon can take some heart from their first half display because there wasn't much in it & the goal for rhode right on half time probably had a bit of a bearing on the game too cause it was a real sucker punch to have got!!!
I think the score line even flattered Rhode a bit, they certainly didn't play that well & I think if they play like that against Rathnew then they will be bet because their passing was very poor & they fouled an awful lot!!!
The Untouchable
-
Lone Shark
- All Star
- Posts: 5378
- Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
- Club: Ferbane
- Location: Roscommon
- Contact:
Rhode 6-17 Doon 1-6
With the county championship safely secured and a Leinster Club Championship fixture against Wicklow champions Rathnew looming, it’s probably fair to say that this Rhode team have much bigger fish to fry than a county league title. However even if the title is more mackerel than monkfish to the only club that can be called the Head Chefs of Offaly football at the moment, the sumptuous performance that they served up in Fr. Dowling Park on Sunday was no less delectable for that.
What makes this scoreline all the more remarkable is that Rhode only played really well in the second half, having been well matched by Doon throughout the first thirty minutes. They went into the break four points in front, 2-6 to 1-5, but their two goals had come courtesy of defenders giving the ball away in key positions, and they were certainly not four points the better team. However the second period saw Rhode utterly dominate, particularly around midfield, and Doon by contrast fell away completely. Doon started the second half with five of their six forwards having previously played for Offaly at one level or another, three of them this year, and yet they failed to make even the slightest impression on the Rhode backline. The ball was coming up to them occasionally at best, but even then their interplay was not up to its usual high standard, and with that being the case, their backs were always going to find it tough defending constantly for the half.
As you would expect from two clubs noted for scoring freely, both wasted no time in getting off the mark and keeping the scoreboard operators on their toes. Alan McNamee was superb throughout this game, covering every blade of grass, and he was involved in both opening scores, taking the first himself after a good run from midfield, and picking out his brother with a pinpoint pass for Niall to score the second. Trevor Phelan matched this with an identical score almost immediately, converting from 25m after Fintan Ryan had found him from deep, and with that both sides were clearly settled into the game. Another Niall McNamee free was followed by two Donie Ryan points that levelled matters, before Doon shot themselves in the foot with some poor defending. An overlap had left them outmanned as Rhode came flooding forward, but after a handpass went astray and John Ryan got possession, there was an opportunity for the ball to be cleared and the pressure relieved. However there was no call from around him, and he delayed on the ball too long, eventually being hassled into losing possession. The ball spilled out to the side and rolled towards Paschal Kelleghan, who chipped it straight off the ground and over the head of Kieran Gavin into the net.
This would have been a hammer blow if Doon didn’t follow it almost immediately with what was probably the best goal of the game. They were awarded a free some 50 metres out, and Donie Ryan took it quickly, picking out Trevor Phelan’s run in behind Mark Cassidy. Phelan got to the ball, dummied Cassidy, and hammered a high shot past both Masterson in goals and the covering Shane Sullivan. With a Niall Kelly point to follow, Doon found themselves 1-4 to 1-3 in front after twenty minutes and looked for all the world like the better team.
From then on Rhode just came more and more into the game, as they began to step up to the standard of football that has won them the last two Dowling Cups. Points from David Hope and Niall McNamee twice got them back in front, before James Coughlan pulled one back, leaving the game seemingly nicely poised before the break. It wasn’t to be though, as Paschal got his second goal with the last act of the half. A loose handpass by David Larkin put his midfielder Dessie Egan under pressure, and he fouled Fergal Dunne. Dunne played the free in quickly to Kelleghan, who was completely on his own on the edge of the area, and unsurprisingly finished easily with time and space.
The second half was an exhibition of Rhode football from start to finish, and their lead of four points was up to fifteen after only eleven minutes, representing an increase of a point every minute. In that time they scored 2-5, the pick of the scores being the first of the two goals, scored by Mark Cole. It was a superb pass from Padraig Sullivan that made it, hit from the left hand side of the field and floated over the defender into Cole who blasted past Gavin from close range. In that time Rhode could even have had more goals, as Derek Kelleghan had one shot from 10 metres out which he struck too high, and Cole missed a second chance with the keeper beaten when it seemed easier to score.
The last fifteen minutes was somewhat of a procession, with Rhode using their full allocation of five subs, the most effective being Roy Malone, who scored 1-1. Paschal Kelleghan also had the time to bolster his already spectacular scoring tally, registering a few more points and the game’s final goal to go with the three he had already, finally finishing up with a mammoth 4-4.
Last year in this fixture Rhode edged out Shamrocks in a very tight game, which turned out to be a very accurate indicator of the following year’s championship. It seems fairly unlikely that the 2006 county final will be decided by a twenty six point margin, but even so, it does emphasise completely how Rhode are comfortably the top club in Offaly football and look set to remain so. Where that puts them in terms of Leinster football is something we look set to find out in the coming weeks.
Teams:
Rhode: Colm Masterson; Mark Cassidy, Shane Sullivan, Brian Darby; Joe Kilmurray, David Bannon, Eoin Byrne; Alan McNamee (0-4, 0-1 ‘45), Fergal Dunne; Mark Cole (1-0), Padraig Sullivan, Derek Kelleghan (0-1); David Hope (0-1), Paschal Kelleghan (4-4, 0-2 free), Niall McNamee (0-5, 0-1 free).
Subs: Garret Hickey (0-1) for Padraig Sullivan (Blood Sub), Hickey for Mark Cole, Eddie Byrne for Padraig Sullivan, Roy Malone (1-1) for Niall McNamee, Alan Kelleghan for Eoin Byrne, Niall Derby for Joe Kilmurray
Doon: Kieran Gavin; Paul Heavin, David Larkin, Declan Rohan; John Ryan, Fintan Ryan (0-1), John Egan; Dessie Egan, Aidan Holly; Paul Heavin, James Coughlan (0-1), Matthew Boland; Niall Kelly (0-1), Donie Ryan (0-2), Trevor Phelan (1-1).
Subs: Damien Hunt for Paul Heavin (10), Marcus Egan for Dessie Egan, David Claffey for Matthew Boland
Referee: Con Costello
With the county championship safely secured and a Leinster Club Championship fixture against Wicklow champions Rathnew looming, it’s probably fair to say that this Rhode team have much bigger fish to fry than a county league title. However even if the title is more mackerel than monkfish to the only club that can be called the Head Chefs of Offaly football at the moment, the sumptuous performance that they served up in Fr. Dowling Park on Sunday was no less delectable for that.
What makes this scoreline all the more remarkable is that Rhode only played really well in the second half, having been well matched by Doon throughout the first thirty minutes. They went into the break four points in front, 2-6 to 1-5, but their two goals had come courtesy of defenders giving the ball away in key positions, and they were certainly not four points the better team. However the second period saw Rhode utterly dominate, particularly around midfield, and Doon by contrast fell away completely. Doon started the second half with five of their six forwards having previously played for Offaly at one level or another, three of them this year, and yet they failed to make even the slightest impression on the Rhode backline. The ball was coming up to them occasionally at best, but even then their interplay was not up to its usual high standard, and with that being the case, their backs were always going to find it tough defending constantly for the half.
As you would expect from two clubs noted for scoring freely, both wasted no time in getting off the mark and keeping the scoreboard operators on their toes. Alan McNamee was superb throughout this game, covering every blade of grass, and he was involved in both opening scores, taking the first himself after a good run from midfield, and picking out his brother with a pinpoint pass for Niall to score the second. Trevor Phelan matched this with an identical score almost immediately, converting from 25m after Fintan Ryan had found him from deep, and with that both sides were clearly settled into the game. Another Niall McNamee free was followed by two Donie Ryan points that levelled matters, before Doon shot themselves in the foot with some poor defending. An overlap had left them outmanned as Rhode came flooding forward, but after a handpass went astray and John Ryan got possession, there was an opportunity for the ball to be cleared and the pressure relieved. However there was no call from around him, and he delayed on the ball too long, eventually being hassled into losing possession. The ball spilled out to the side and rolled towards Paschal Kelleghan, who chipped it straight off the ground and over the head of Kieran Gavin into the net.
This would have been a hammer blow if Doon didn’t follow it almost immediately with what was probably the best goal of the game. They were awarded a free some 50 metres out, and Donie Ryan took it quickly, picking out Trevor Phelan’s run in behind Mark Cassidy. Phelan got to the ball, dummied Cassidy, and hammered a high shot past both Masterson in goals and the covering Shane Sullivan. With a Niall Kelly point to follow, Doon found themselves 1-4 to 1-3 in front after twenty minutes and looked for all the world like the better team.
From then on Rhode just came more and more into the game, as they began to step up to the standard of football that has won them the last two Dowling Cups. Points from David Hope and Niall McNamee twice got them back in front, before James Coughlan pulled one back, leaving the game seemingly nicely poised before the break. It wasn’t to be though, as Paschal got his second goal with the last act of the half. A loose handpass by David Larkin put his midfielder Dessie Egan under pressure, and he fouled Fergal Dunne. Dunne played the free in quickly to Kelleghan, who was completely on his own on the edge of the area, and unsurprisingly finished easily with time and space.
The second half was an exhibition of Rhode football from start to finish, and their lead of four points was up to fifteen after only eleven minutes, representing an increase of a point every minute. In that time they scored 2-5, the pick of the scores being the first of the two goals, scored by Mark Cole. It was a superb pass from Padraig Sullivan that made it, hit from the left hand side of the field and floated over the defender into Cole who blasted past Gavin from close range. In that time Rhode could even have had more goals, as Derek Kelleghan had one shot from 10 metres out which he struck too high, and Cole missed a second chance with the keeper beaten when it seemed easier to score.
The last fifteen minutes was somewhat of a procession, with Rhode using their full allocation of five subs, the most effective being Roy Malone, who scored 1-1. Paschal Kelleghan also had the time to bolster his already spectacular scoring tally, registering a few more points and the game’s final goal to go with the three he had already, finally finishing up with a mammoth 4-4.
Last year in this fixture Rhode edged out Shamrocks in a very tight game, which turned out to be a very accurate indicator of the following year’s championship. It seems fairly unlikely that the 2006 county final will be decided by a twenty six point margin, but even so, it does emphasise completely how Rhode are comfortably the top club in Offaly football and look set to remain so. Where that puts them in terms of Leinster football is something we look set to find out in the coming weeks.
Teams:
Rhode: Colm Masterson; Mark Cassidy, Shane Sullivan, Brian Darby; Joe Kilmurray, David Bannon, Eoin Byrne; Alan McNamee (0-4, 0-1 ‘45), Fergal Dunne; Mark Cole (1-0), Padraig Sullivan, Derek Kelleghan (0-1); David Hope (0-1), Paschal Kelleghan (4-4, 0-2 free), Niall McNamee (0-5, 0-1 free).
Subs: Garret Hickey (0-1) for Padraig Sullivan (Blood Sub), Hickey for Mark Cole, Eddie Byrne for Padraig Sullivan, Roy Malone (1-1) for Niall McNamee, Alan Kelleghan for Eoin Byrne, Niall Derby for Joe Kilmurray
Doon: Kieran Gavin; Paul Heavin, David Larkin, Declan Rohan; John Ryan, Fintan Ryan (0-1), John Egan; Dessie Egan, Aidan Holly; Paul Heavin, James Coughlan (0-1), Matthew Boland; Niall Kelly (0-1), Donie Ryan (0-2), Trevor Phelan (1-1).
Subs: Damien Hunt for Paul Heavin (10), Marcus Egan for Dessie Egan, David Claffey for Matthew Boland
Referee: Con Costello
-
black and red exile
- All Star
- Posts: 587
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:59 pm
- Location: kilcullen
One thing i noticed yesterday that in the first half when things were'nt going according to plan for Rhode a few of their players were getting a bit narky with each other and it would just make you wonder how they will react in the pressure cooker of Aughrim with about ten minutes to go neck and neck with a very experienced Rathnew side.
The scoreline was a bit harsh on Doon yesterday,the Rhode second goal on half time was the killer especially when Doon could so easily have been level just seconds before with a wide, once the floodgates opened in the second half there was only going to be only one winner but because of the different ambitions of the two teams at this present time you would have to expect a huge Rhode victory.
The scoreline was a bit harsh on Doon yesterday,the Rhode second goal on half time was the killer especially when Doon could so easily have been level just seconds before with a wide, once the floodgates opened in the second half there was only going to be only one winner but because of the different ambitions of the two teams at this present time you would have to expect a huge Rhode victory.