Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

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Toxicity234
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by Toxicity234 »

Ready enjoyed the match. Well done to a very positive management and team
“Common sense is not so common.”

kingscounty
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by kingscounty »

Left Tullamore a proud Offaly man today for the first time in years . I thought we were outstanding, fitness , ball carrying , score taking were all excellent for me today . Some of our points today were top class , and guilfoyle's goal was brilliantly worked and finished. Cunningham centre back was my man of the match I thought he was solid , took two great points and two massive hits in the second half really showed his commitment to the team , he knocked the stuffing out of Quinn when he was running through with the ball. The team tackled and work for each other all over the field , Alan Mulhall made a mistake early on but he will come back stronger the next day , he kept the backs tight and on their toes , chin up and move forward .Niall of old showed up today , very fit , hungry and took the game to Longford with some lovely points . All in all I'm very happy and well done to the panel of players and management. 23 scores scored today , keep it going boys and we will look forward to supporting you in Mullingar 4 weeks time!!

ryot
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by ryot »

Delighted with the win.


Now I have to admit that when I saw the lineout I did not expect Peter C to play centre back and was worried,,,,,, But how he proved his worth & the hit on Quinn, a legimate hit at that, was worth the addmission.... So well done Peter & Pat...

Niall Mac was also back on form and that was great to see,,,,,,

Massive score from play and considering Longford had plenty ball especially in the first half when their keeper was finding his wing backs...

Grahams goal was a vital score and Smiths one finished it. Had it made any difference the blatant fould on Niall Mac in midfield leading to their second goal would have angered me & I was not impressed with Mr Nolan in that case but he did give us the benefit a few times in the first half when he might have used his cards.

So well done all & onwards for Mullingar.

DAF
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by DAF »

Really good performance from Offaly.

Niall Smith was top class especially in the first half and should be one of the first names on the team sheet he's simply a brilliant fielder of a ball.

McNamee was excellent and as someone else said he looks leaner than he has for a while and the hunger and desire seems to bcoming back that looked lost a while back.

Peter Cunningham looked good at centre back I assume the reason he's being played there is to get him to help the team break forward quickly out od defence as he's very fast when gets going and be an attacking tretah as much as a defensive player

The great things is that Alan Mulhall had an absoulutely horrific game and it made no difference which shows how well the rest of the team played and he probably won't have another one of them in a long while.

The one worry I would have is that we carried the ball alittle too much and I would say against a better team that could be a little dangerous at times, I'd prefer to see a few more accurate long passes into the full forward line rather than over doing the running game.

Should be a cracking game against Westmeath hopefully I'll be able to get a ticket as I'd say they might be hard to come by.

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Wing Back
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by Wing Back »

Well done to all involved yesterday. Played some great Football. The run of scores before half time really put is in the driving seat and set us up nicely to kick on then in the 2nd half. Offaly seem to have stepped up on a solid league campaign and can hopefully push on from here against an out of sorts Westmeath.
'Babs keating 'resigned' as coach because of illness and fatigue. The players were sick and tired of him'

NewEra
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by NewEra »

Well done and congrats to all players, management and backroom staff on yesterday. A well deserved win which has been 4 years in the making IMO. Pat & Co have really improved this bunch since taking over and you can just see what a tight knit group of lads it is now. The S&C team have seriously transformed this team also...the lads may not be the biggest intercounty team but they are very physical, get stuck in and are the fittest I have seen them in many years - Joey O'Connor sprinting the length of the field in the 69th minute to kick a point an example of this.

It is hard to pick up any one player when a team scores 2.17 from play. Pender, the Darbys, P Cunningham, Smith and Carroll in midfield were outrageous, Niall Mc all had great games. Great to see the two Nialls lead from the front.

My only concern was how we were opened up quite easily at times with a handpass through the middle. Cunnigham obviously is new to the CB position and us a natural forward. Holding the middle is crucial and against a better team we might have suffered more. A poor Longford team missed a penalty and scored a point when a goal was easier from cutting us open. Cribben will have duly noted this.

Overall, a great championship day and a great boost to football in the county. Great to see kids running up for pictures and autographs at the final whistle. 5,000 in attendance. I'm really hoping we as a county row in behind this team for the remainder of 2016 and let's see where it brings us.

Well done lads again!

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by Bord na Mona man »

We're entitled to enjoy this one.

Offaly's attacking was as smart as I've seen it in years. There were very few turnovers, bad decisions or poor shots. Ok, so Longford didn't manage to bank up their defence, but Offaly were able to keep the ball moving around quickly.
We've come a long from when our only attacking plan was the long ball at Niall McNamee.

The winning of it was the 8 point burst before the break. Where it could have been lost was two crucial periods where Longford had the upper hand and didn't make hay.
In the first half where Offaly couldn't get out of their half for a long spell off Offaly kickouts, but crucially Longford only came out of it with a 2 point lead. Having ballooned a few wides from frees and play.

In the 2nd half Longford had a good point waved wide and missed a penalty immediately after. A 4 point yield, could have brought Offaly back within range and who knows how the psychology of both teams would have been changed.

It was a pleasure to drink in the win afterwards. Even better to watch the Sunday Game and have two young and fresh thinking pundits give a bit of decent analysis. You get bored of the negative punditry from others about how Offaly and Longford belong in B championships.

manfromdelmonte
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by manfromdelmonte »

Westmeath are there for the taking. No confidence in the county team up there at all
only the best...

Kevin
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by Kevin »

Great job to all involved.

Exciting that the team won in the manner that they did.

Another big day awaits!
Kevin Clancey. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

Exiled in Connacht
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by Exiled in Connacht »

There was something incredibly cathartic about yesterdays win.

There was almost a touch of nostalgia about yesterday in Tullamore. A beautiful sunny day, the smell of cut grass,and an Offaly team who produced much of what I would associate with good Offaly football down the years. They were honest to a man,they are fit and they are well organised.

I suppose the goodwill towards the team shows the yearning in the county for the footballers to progress after a long time in the wilderness.

Of course we also have to be careful and not get carried away with yesterday either. Longford weren't a patch on last years team. How did the beat Westmeath in the last league match ? However they scored two goals yesterday and could have had more.We need to shore up things down the middle of the defence for the next day. Pat Flanagan will know that the game at times yesterday was very open and loose and we could be in trouble if we don't address this.

Overall it was a good and badly needed win. Keep it going lads. It might be an interesting summer yet !

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bracknaghboy
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Re: Leinster SFC Round 1 vs Longford

Post by bracknaghboy »

Bord na Mona man wrote:It's an ideal day for a 6 pack of cider on the terrace!
It sounded like ye hoodlums at the back of the terrace were on more than just the cider :D
Seriously though I was talking to some of the payers after the game and they heard the 'Uibh Fhaili Uibh Fhaili' chants and reckon it spurred them on even more! It created a great atmosphere.....one like it I can't remember in a long time and is full proof that supporters have a huge role to play in these games. More of it I say.

The 4 week break to the Westmeath game is a godsend. It gives time for everyone to get back to earth and its likely Tom Cribbin will spend that time reviewing the tape of the Longford game trying to devise a plan to stop Offaly instead of focusing on what Westmeath can do.
I'd say this is the fittest fastest Offaly time in my memory. Its well balanced if a little short on size at the back. I genuinely think its up to them how far they can go in the next 5 years. It shows what can be done by getting a recongnised manager at this level, something unfortunately our hurlers hasn't had since....since...since when?

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