Some result yesterday - it was my first sunday across the pond, so I'll need some updates on what looked like a remarkably innovative team.
Casey at full back? I've been crying out for this for ages and on paper with Brendan Jer scoreless, it looks like it worked. Did it?
Rafferty at centre back? I never would have seen this coming - how'd he do?
Connor to me is too slow for midfield, but maybe taking on the big guys like Hurley and Murphy was perfect for him. I'm willing to accept I might have been too quick to judge here.
When Coughlan came on did he stay centre forward, or was it Paschal came out?
The indo's brief summary picked out Kelleghan - was he that good?
Was Phelan and Ryan together not a bit samey, or was it too late to matter?
All in all though, happy day .....
Great start to the league
-
Lone Shark
- All Star
- Posts: 5394
- Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
- Club: Ferbane
- Location: Roscommon
- Contact:
-
Doon Massive
- All Star
- Posts: 221
- Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 10:37 am
- Location: Club M
-
Bord na Mona man
- All Star
- Posts: 4082
- Joined: Fri Nov 05, 2004 11:34 am
- Club: Clara
Sean Casey did well at full back, though in truth most Cork attacks broke down around the 45 once they over elabourated and Offaly crowded them out Tyrone style.
James Rafferty also coped well at centre back. He was well supported and covered by the players in front of him.
Ross Connor didn't manage to compete for kick outs or high catches. Most of his good work was on the ground.
He doesn't appear to be a high ball winner, but his kicking game is good. Don't know if he is going to feature at midfield for much longer. Maybe he needs a bit more aggression.
Cork's midfield wasn't dominant, Murphy went off at the start of the second half (when he had switched to wing forward). For most of the game Offaly managed to collect most of the midfield breaks, apart from a spell early in the second half.
Paschal had a very good game. He started off at full forward and was always out of front of Canty and part of most of our good attacks. When McManus was clearly having an off day, he moved out to half forward line and played in some great measured ball. He is due a good year in an Offaly jersey, and it looks like this could be it.
Sean Ryan came on and did his usual good running. Trevor Phelan wasn't on long enough to make an impact.
With Roy Malone gone off the scene, we do need impact runners who can come off the bench and put tired opposition legs to the test.
James Coughlan came in at right corner forward, though in a slightly withdrawn role. He didn't get any chances near the goal, though did win a scorable free.
An excellent performance. It might have been different had Cork stuck away a couple of goal chances.
Padraig Kelly pulled off some great saves. These were at stages when a Cork goal would have made really put Offaly on the slippery slope of self doubt.
Two very valuable points won.
James Rafferty also coped well at centre back. He was well supported and covered by the players in front of him.
Ross Connor didn't manage to compete for kick outs or high catches. Most of his good work was on the ground.
He doesn't appear to be a high ball winner, but his kicking game is good. Don't know if he is going to feature at midfield for much longer. Maybe he needs a bit more aggression.
Cork's midfield wasn't dominant, Murphy went off at the start of the second half (when he had switched to wing forward). For most of the game Offaly managed to collect most of the midfield breaks, apart from a spell early in the second half.
Paschal had a very good game. He started off at full forward and was always out of front of Canty and part of most of our good attacks. When McManus was clearly having an off day, he moved out to half forward line and played in some great measured ball. He is due a good year in an Offaly jersey, and it looks like this could be it.
Sean Ryan came on and did his usual good running. Trevor Phelan wasn't on long enough to make an impact.
With Roy Malone gone off the scene, we do need impact runners who can come off the bench and put tired opposition legs to the test.
James Coughlan came in at right corner forward, though in a slightly withdrawn role. He didn't get any chances near the goal, though did win a scorable free.
An excellent performance. It might have been different had Cork stuck away a couple of goal chances.
Padraig Kelly pulled off some great saves. These were at stages when a Cork goal would have made really put Offaly on the slippery slope of self doubt.
Two very valuable points won.
-
Muck Savage
- All Star
- Posts: 307
- Joined: Mon Feb 14, 2005 10:07 pm
- Location: CA USA
Cork response attached
Lads, for a lad away from home very few reports from ye. We'll have to fly LS in every weekend. Searched a few other sites and the Cork supporters are a bit pissed, see the post below from their site. Great win for them and great to see two Doon men coming on with another in the wings, it's been a while since Doon had three lads togged out for the Seniors.
Roll on next week.
It's one thing being made to look naive by Kerry lads. It's another to be made to look naive by Offaly. No excuses.
If ever a game was capable of being summed up in one passage of play, then this was it. Offaly led by four points to one and there were about twenty or twenty five minutes gone.(It might have been four points to two but I don’t think we'd used up our full tally of two first half scores by then). Cork broke from defence and worked their way steadily up the field until they arrived on the fifty yard line. Cue the Eddie O’Sullivan playbook. The ball was worked left and then right and then left again, through the hands of what seemed like the entire half forward line, the midfield and the half backs (I don’t think the keeper got a touch) without being advanced much more than a yard or two. The move ended with Brendan Ger lying on the 50, trying to recover possession of the ball which had been knocked from his grasp by thrashing at it with both feet. Free to Offaly, quick move downfield, minimum of fuss and over the bar.
Ultimately Cork lost this game because Offaly played a blanket defence when Cork had the ball and, particularly in the first 35 minutes, Cork had no answer to it.
Until Cork figure out how to play against a system where the half forwards are surrounded by four men every time they get the ball, they are doomed to more days like this one. Until Cork start to defend as a pack, rather than as individuals throwing shapes they are doomed to be easy to score against by teams who have the patience to wait for the gap. Until Cork find a way to overcome those days when Nicholas Murphy is having one of his quieter ones then the forwards are doomed to having to fight for the ball rather than having it served up to them on a plate. (The move of Canty to midfield near the end brought an immediate improvement there but cost us two simple points because of errors at full back). Until those forwards learn to win those 50/50 balls with greater regularity than they did yesterday, we can forget any thoughts of titles.
Cork players tried hard yesterday. Individuals battled away until the end. Anthony Lynch played most of the second half through the pain of an injured shoulder (although he was taken for a few points near the start when it looked like he'd forgotten he was playing in the backs again). Nicholas Murphy tried, but ultimately failed, to do the same (an injury sustained after he had offloaded the ball). It wasn't one of his best games and Offaly did well at midfield where Rory Connor had a very good first half. Daniel Goulding scored a great goal with the last kick of the game (having missed an earlier easier chance and having struggled to make an impression in the first half). Kevin McMahon ran and ran but there wasn't always an end product. Ger Spillane couldn’t have done much more. But they looked like a collection of individuals waiting for a spark, rather than a team playing to a plan. The introduction of Robert O’Mahony and some positional switches at half time almost looked like providing that spark, but in the long run it would have been papering over the cracks.
Offaly looked like a team playing to a plan. They played without the ball for most of the second half and thirteen of them stood between Cork players and the Offaly goal for most of the game. They won pulling up. Two or three of their points at the end could as easily have been goals.
Cork’s best passages yesterday (and there were few enough of them) came when Cork players were willing to take players on rather than stopping to look for support. Noel O’Leary scored a fine point by bursting forward. Graham Canty almost scored a great goal by doing the same. Anthony Lynch was also on the charge from time to time. All three are backs. You can’t help thinking that if the Cork forwards were running in the grand national, they’d look for a way around beecher’s brook rather than jumping over it. Unless that changes, they won’t be running far this year.
I said in a piece last week that we needed eleven points from the League. After yesterday, I've changed my mind. We need an eleven. A centre half forward who can win ball and act as a fulcrum to the attack. Someone who can mix it if necessary. We need a ball winning full forward as well. Compare the way Mayo played on Saturday evening against Kerry to the way Cork played yesterday and you'll see why. Brendan Ger doubled as that ball winner last year. Yesterday he was substituted at half time.
Roll on next week.
It's one thing being made to look naive by Kerry lads. It's another to be made to look naive by Offaly. No excuses.
If ever a game was capable of being summed up in one passage of play, then this was it. Offaly led by four points to one and there were about twenty or twenty five minutes gone.(It might have been four points to two but I don’t think we'd used up our full tally of two first half scores by then). Cork broke from defence and worked their way steadily up the field until they arrived on the fifty yard line. Cue the Eddie O’Sullivan playbook. The ball was worked left and then right and then left again, through the hands of what seemed like the entire half forward line, the midfield and the half backs (I don’t think the keeper got a touch) without being advanced much more than a yard or two. The move ended with Brendan Ger lying on the 50, trying to recover possession of the ball which had been knocked from his grasp by thrashing at it with both feet. Free to Offaly, quick move downfield, minimum of fuss and over the bar.
Ultimately Cork lost this game because Offaly played a blanket defence when Cork had the ball and, particularly in the first 35 minutes, Cork had no answer to it.
Until Cork figure out how to play against a system where the half forwards are surrounded by four men every time they get the ball, they are doomed to more days like this one. Until Cork start to defend as a pack, rather than as individuals throwing shapes they are doomed to be easy to score against by teams who have the patience to wait for the gap. Until Cork find a way to overcome those days when Nicholas Murphy is having one of his quieter ones then the forwards are doomed to having to fight for the ball rather than having it served up to them on a plate. (The move of Canty to midfield near the end brought an immediate improvement there but cost us two simple points because of errors at full back). Until those forwards learn to win those 50/50 balls with greater regularity than they did yesterday, we can forget any thoughts of titles.
Cork players tried hard yesterday. Individuals battled away until the end. Anthony Lynch played most of the second half through the pain of an injured shoulder (although he was taken for a few points near the start when it looked like he'd forgotten he was playing in the backs again). Nicholas Murphy tried, but ultimately failed, to do the same (an injury sustained after he had offloaded the ball). It wasn't one of his best games and Offaly did well at midfield where Rory Connor had a very good first half. Daniel Goulding scored a great goal with the last kick of the game (having missed an earlier easier chance and having struggled to make an impression in the first half). Kevin McMahon ran and ran but there wasn't always an end product. Ger Spillane couldn’t have done much more. But they looked like a collection of individuals waiting for a spark, rather than a team playing to a plan. The introduction of Robert O’Mahony and some positional switches at half time almost looked like providing that spark, but in the long run it would have been papering over the cracks.
Offaly looked like a team playing to a plan. They played without the ball for most of the second half and thirteen of them stood between Cork players and the Offaly goal for most of the game. They won pulling up. Two or three of their points at the end could as easily have been goals.
Cork’s best passages yesterday (and there were few enough of them) came when Cork players were willing to take players on rather than stopping to look for support. Noel O’Leary scored a fine point by bursting forward. Graham Canty almost scored a great goal by doing the same. Anthony Lynch was also on the charge from time to time. All three are backs. You can’t help thinking that if the Cork forwards were running in the grand national, they’d look for a way around beecher’s brook rather than jumping over it. Unless that changes, they won’t be running far this year.
I said in a piece last week that we needed eleven points from the League. After yesterday, I've changed my mind. We need an eleven. A centre half forward who can win ball and act as a fulcrum to the attack. Someone who can mix it if necessary. We need a ball winning full forward as well. Compare the way Mayo played on Saturday evening against Kerry to the way Cork played yesterday and you'll see why. Brendan Ger doubled as that ball winner last year. Yesterday he was substituted at half time.