Allianz-Hurling-league 1B

[SearingDrive]

Good report on Sunday's game Tox. Do you know why Del Morkan wasn't playing v Antrim? Glad to see Ciaran Slevin played well, he got man of the match in Monday's Indo.

The team line out as follows.

Dempesy,
Mc Donald, Kenny, Cleary
Camon, G. Helion, Brady
Hanniffy, B. Carroll
C. Selvin, Egan, T. Carroll
Dooley, Molloy, Mullourey

Played aginst the wind in the 1st half, Our half back line were on top for a lot of the game, Camon played well in his first day out. Helion at centre back use of the ball was awesome all day. it was just simple but he use it well. for the 10 before half time and for the 15 mins at the start of the second half he got dragged into midfield. it put pressure on the midfield to drop and cover the space. they didn't and we were in a lot of trouble.
after that he drop in the centre back slot again and stop almost everything going in.
Kenny has his hand full with the Antrim full forward who could have won the game for them. He had an air shot when the goal was open.
overall the Defence played well. all 6 had moments where they were under pressure but played well.

Our Midfield was both good and bad. Hanniffy got through a lot of work and scored a great point to push Offaly forwarded in the last 10 mins. Carroll was in space and got a lot of ball in the frist half but faded in a crowded midfield in the second half. Ryan came on and fought the way he allways does.
Selvin played number 10. was great in the second half. scoring all apart from 2 frees. he was excellent from open play as well. Man of the match by a good bit.
Egan won a lot of ball and worked hard but he waste a lot of ball as well.
Tom Carroll had a really off day never got into the game. the day pass him by.
Dooley look good for large part of the game but a bit off from him frees but maybe i'm being too hard on him.
Molloy was way off form but work hard.
Mulronney was much better today out ahead of him man and winning a few balls but use of the ball wasn't great. this could have being him best perforamce in an offaly shirt.
The ref was over fussy today and was hard on Antrim. but was hard on Offaly backs as well. But Antrim are right to be upset with him. (we got 2 very soft free in the second half but Antrim got a few in the first)
If this game was a draw it would have being a fair results.
Offaly were Lucky to win this one. Slevin and Dooley look like a good team in the making at no10 and no 13.
The KK lads influence was stamp all over the game. Offaly never looked like they were in a state of panic when they were 4 point down.
they won the next puck out and ran at the Antrim defence got what they need to get over the line. not great to look at but gets the job done. Not like the Carlow game where it was a full on panic from 5 mins into the second half.
If this was the 1st day out in the league i be saying we were lucky but they lots to work on.
We did a lot of small thing right today for the frist time this year.

Reading over this i think i made us sound better than we were,
Antrim were Poor and we were Average but we won and that what important today.
I counted the Offaly supporter they was me and 3 others. including Mick 'Smokey' McDonagh the man in the "Offaly jersey behind the goal".
can't blame anyone for not going after the last few weeks and it was fecking cold in casment park as well.
Happy Easter everyone.

[Toxicity234]

Good report on Sunday's game Tox. Do you know why Del Morkan wasn't playing v Antrim? Glad to see Ciaran Slevin played well, he got man of the match in Monday's Indo.

Morkan has a foot injury acording to the Hogan Stand website but what the injury is and how long he be out i'm afriad i don't know.

That lead me to a question, Did Thomas Carroll and Pat Camon play u21 for there club and then play for the Offaly Senior less than 24 hours later??

[Plain of the Herbs]

Pat Camon lined out at full-back for Rynagh's, according to the weekly notes on the Rynagh's website.

Morkan has a foot injury acording to the Hogan Stand website but what the injury is and how long he be out i'm afriad i don't know.

That lead me to a question, Did Thomas Carroll and Pat Camon play u21 for there club and then play for the Offaly Senior less than 24 hours later??

[Killeighman]

derek morkan broke a bone in his foot during the defeat to limerick and will be out for up to 8 weeks

[joe bloggs]

Good report on Sunday's game Tox. Do you know why Del Morkan wasn't playing v Antrim? Glad to see Ciaran Slevin played well, he got man of the match in Monday's Indo.

Morkan has a foot injury acording to the Hogan Stand website but what the injury is and how long he be out i'm afriad i don't know.

That lead me to a question, Did Thomas Carroll and Pat Camon play u21 for there club and then play for the Offaly Senior less than 24 hours later??

I'm sure Carroll would have been playing too, and his match went to extra time.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Antrim v Offaly on Youtube here -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibhqZeUJ ... e=youtu.be

[durra1]

Firstly don’t know about the house music as a backing track … for some of the fare on view, the Benny Hill soundtrack might have been more appropriate!

These local productions are one-eyed by nature but in the first half Antrim looked like they were making all the running. Their whole demeanour and set up looked sharper and they appeared to be in better all round condition than our lads.

Can see what the gripe might have been with the ref – how the hell can he give a free to a lad lying over it in a schmozzel like that in winter/spring hurling in a tight game?

There might have been an auld boot to the lad on the ground but in a man’s game that part of it too …

Who’s the – for want of a better word - “southerner” – in the Antrim colours interviewed at the end who looks to be part of the management set up? He sounds Galway and I recognised him from somewhere.

Glensleafer me auld stock - anything to add?!

[Bord na Mona man]

These local productions are one-eyed by nature but in the first half Antrim looked like they were making all the running. Their whole demeanour and set up looked sharper and they appeared to be in better all round condition than our lads.

Antrim had a little bit of a breeze in the first half which might have helped.

[Ahlethimoutwithit]

He would be the bainisteoir Kevin Ryan would he not?
Music cat, and hurling not much better by the looks of it!

[Plain of the Herbs]

A one-point win for Dublin, which I must say I didn't expect.

Means Offaly will have the relegated team (Cork or Clare) in OCP next year. That's in the event the format isn't changed again.

[KillougheyGoBragh]

Durra1 wrote

Firstly don’t know about the house music as a backing track … for some of the fare on view, the Benny Hill soundtrack might have been more appropriate!

good shout Durra
somebody tells me its get up by the Bingo Players used alot on Soccer AM.

[townman]

A one-point win for Dublin, which I must say I didn't expect.

Means Offaly will have the relegated team (Cork or Clare) in OCP next year. That's in the event the format isn't changed again.

wasn't surprise with Dublins win, they still have a good team and most that won the league and got
to the all ireland semil final, Limerick's backs are slow and they only have Hannon and up front.

Liam Rushe must be one of the top hurlers in the game outstanding last night and he always buts on
a good show when he pulls on the Dublin jersey.

plus Daly was quick to take off his big names that weren't going well in Conal Keaney getting the call.

[llkj]

I see that Limerick are already leading the charge with the calls for something to be done about the league structure...This time the angle is the financial end of things and the threat that they may not be able to open the Gaelic Grounds next year for league games.

I really do hope that it is Cork who go down to 1B for next year, simply because they are one of the 3 traditional powers of the game... I bet their own campaign will begin before they even get off the field against Clare.

The call will be for more games and an 8-10 team division... yawn!

If someone actually sat down and came up with a proposal that had the general and best interest of the game of hurling in mind, then I'd be all on for debating it. If the proposal is just aimed at keeping the individual county or 2 playing at a higher level, then I'd prefer not to change things, as this gives an impression that everything is fine... when in fact the promotion of the game leaves so much to be desired.

[Plain of the Herbs]

The calls for change are coming thick and fast now. Today it's Cork's turn to feature in John Fogarty's campaign as God's gift to hurling.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/gaa/ ... 27949.html

On the whole league debate, is a six week league campaign that is over before the clocks go forward REALLY that significant? I have my doubts.

And on LLKJ's point, no matter where the line is drawn someone is going to be left below that line, whether there's 6, 8, 10 or 20 teams in the top flight. Yaaawn is right!

[Lone Shark]

I'm actually shocked, it was only a few years ago the same debate was being held about the eight team division one, on the basis that it was also bad for Offaly/Wexford/Clare whoever else happened to be stranded down there. As POTH said, there will always be a cutoff point and whoever finds themselves as the best team to miss out on the top tier will always feel hard done by.

I've always believed that the biggest problem is not the number of teams, but the insistence on one-up-one-down, instead of two and two, as is the case in the football. That way if you did make the drop, you wouldn't be in a situation where one bad game could deny you the chance to come back up. Everyone's talking about what a travesty it would be if Cork made the drop - as if their history should have any bearing here - but by rights they and Clare should already be down, and Limerick should be gone up along with Dublin. That way teams wouldn't feel as trapped in the second tier.

Whatever else is done however, it should be done for 2015 - not 2014. Teams have a right to know what they're playing for when they go out on the field. The last time they did this, I think, was after the league in 2010 - and I have a vague recollection of Carlow in particular being hard done by in the sense that once promotion to the eight team division one was off the table, they started concentrating on their U21 team and they stepped off the gas in their last couple of games, only to miss out on the new division 1B by a point.

If the system is wrong, then change it - but change it for 2015 and make sure teams know what they're playing for - it's not fair to change the goalposts after the league is done, just to suit the teams that everyone thinks should be hurling in the top level.