Offaly Senior Footballers 2024

[Hyper]

Any of know if the following are involved in the panel this year?

Bill Carroll
Chilly Donnelly
Cian Donohue
Nigel Bracken
Conor Mc Namee
Oisin Keenan Martin

Bill& Conor were never asked in. Chilly overseas working. Cian dropped from panel last week. Oisin was cut this week - not sure if that's a result of injury as mentioned somewhere here. Nigel is not on panel.
Deccie could be out for most of the league. Jack Mc is injured also.

[jimbob17]

Nothing surprising really only Aiden Bracken. Was one of the better u20s on Kellys u20s in years before they won All Ireland and Central to Ballycommon success. Well capable.

Hyland Hogan and Cunningham are big losses but Cunningham could appear in 2nd half.

Huge game. Players have put in huge effort to date. Question now is if they are all strong enough for Senior inter county football. Won't be wanting for effort on players part and very mobile looking team. Just wonder about how we fare in physicality stakes in middle third.

Big game for all these young players with good few making league debut starts. Hope the supporters get behind them and we can get a good result.

[Hyper]

lads, anyone know when the last time Rhode had only one starter with the Offaly senior footballers?

[Bord na Mona man]

It's a brave selection overall but clearly Kelly wants to put his own stamp on the team. We may see the ball getting moved a bit quicker, but the conditions could make it difficult.
Westmeath are a step up in a few different ways. They're more established and also had the benefit of an extended run after getting knocked out of Leinster this past 2 years, whereas Offaly haven't.

I had to google why Dylan Hyland was suspended btw. You'd nearly forget a red from 7 months ago and end up picking him!

[Fairplayalways]

so we lost by 4...could have been more..we missed some easy chances according to R3...nice to see a few U20s cut their teeth be it unsuccessful and some were subbed off..R3 analysis usual comparing where and what we are lacking etc. with the likes of Derry etc. apparently we are years off of that level and we are only at the start etc."...but i remember hearing this now year in year out..when exactly are going to reach the perceived advanced levels of physicality and maturity referred to..its a bit like Government solutions of last few years..everything is to bw fixed in the future, nothing is fixed now or this year...look its day one of league, 0-10 will win feck all for a team in any division...Antrim away next day..a very very tough game after today's defeat..they got 2-07 today, say they are poor all we want, 2-07 would have been enough to down Offal today..

[jimbob17]

Where do you start with that?

Welcome to senior football chaps.

Big gap from u20 to inter county senior.

First half was as poor a half as I've seen from Co senior team in a long while. A few sympathy frees from referee kept us somewhat competitive at Half time. We were totally over powered in middle third and that was the difference.

2nd half much better. Actually went at them and troubled them to certain extent without ever really threatening the goal that we needed. That said, Westmeath just killed game with 15 behind the ball and never looked in danger, and threatened as much as we did. Generally, they got scores a lot easier as couple of our younger players nay have been overawed by occasion.

Couple of odd calls I thought. Ronan O Toole was doing wreck until Jack O Brien went onto him and did great job. Then O'Brien was moved off him and O Toole came back into the game. The two lads taken off in 33rd and 34th (Dunne and Donoghue) min will be disappointed, albeit the Dunne one looked purely tactical with Cuningham playing midfield role with 2 inside. Just felt they could have been left to HT.

Of the plusses, Sullivan ran his heart out and provided great quality ball for Cian Farrell who was excellent. Jordan Hayes was one of our better lads today and looked only one of very few who could compete physically. We played much better in 2nd half and hope that is the standard for Antrim game.

We struggled with Luke O Loughlin throughout and a designated speed merchant was probably needed for him. Dempsey struggled on Baker but was under pressure due to the WH dominance in middle third. Hogan's absence was missed and Hylands too.

Just for context though, this was good bit off Westmeaths best team too with Heslin and Maguire also absent.

Antrim next. They beat LK today well and will be hard beaten in Belfast. To win, we need to play at least as well as we did in 2nd half for over 70 mins.

[Hyper]

so we lost by 4...could have been more..we missed some easy chances according to R3...nice to see a few U20s cut their teeth be it unsuccessful and some were subbed off..R3 analysis usual comparing where and what we are lacking etc. with the likes of Derry etc. apparently we are years off of that level and we are only at the start etc."...but i remember hearing this now year in year out..when exactly are going to reach the perceived advanced levels of physicality and maturity referred to..its a bit like Government solutions of last few years..everything is to bw fixed in the future, nothing is fixed now or this year...look its day one of league, 0-10 will win feck all for a team in any division...Antrim away next day..a very very tough game after today's defeat..they got 2-07 today, say they are poor all we want, 2-07 would have been enough to down Offal today.

Antrim won 2.14 to 2.7....

[Doon Exile]

If we had taken John Furlong’s goal chance it might be a different result tonight. Brilliant run by JF but he had Cormac egan inside and should have given it to him. Think we were a point up at that stage and playing well.

Then of course they went down the field and got their goal. Game over then.

[Fairplayalways]

so we lost by 4...could have been more..we missed some easy chances according to R3...nice to see a few U20s cut their teeth be it unsuccessful and some were subbed off..R3 analysis usual comparing where and what we are lacking etc. with the likes of Derry etc. apparently we are years off of that level and we are only at the start etc."...but i remember hearing this now year in year out..when exactly are going to reach the perceived advanced levels of physicality and maturity referred to..its a bit like Government solutions of last few years..everything is to bw fixed in the future, nothing is fixed now or this year...look its day one of league, 0-10 will win feck all for a team in any division...Antrim away next day..a very very tough game after today's defeat..they got 2-07 today, say they are poor all we want, 2-07 would have been enough to down Offal today.

Antrim won 2.14 to 2.7....

sorry mistake on my part..more ominous then..

[Anonymous1]

There’s no need to beat around the bush, this was a really poor performance all around. Yes there was an improvement in the second half but that can easily be attributed to Westmeath sitting back and seeing out the win.

They started the game well, moved the ball at pace and took on their men but Westmeath dominated the last 20 minutes of the first half. They controlled midfield and seemed to walk past our players at times with no tackle going in whereas every time we went forward we were met with a wall of resistance and had to go back.

Furlong’s goal chance was the turning point as Westmeath went straight down the other end to score a goal of their own and it was impossible to see Offaly coming back at that stage. Things could’ve gotten really messy thereafter but the introduction of Peter Cunningham steadied the ship. Nigel needed to be taken off, he was out on his feet chasing his man. At his age, he should be brought on with 10-15 minutes to go not starting and Donoghue just never got into the game at all, he’s really struggling with the step up to senior football.

Anton and Cian Farrell worked their backsides off as usual and were our only real scoring threats but needed more help. The half forward line was poor although Cathal Flynn showed some glimpses of his potential in the first half. I’ll say again I don’t see Cormac Egan as a forward, surely we should try him out at wingback?

We really struggled at midfield, Carroll in particular in the first half although he improved in the second. Hayes held his own.

Hard to fault the backline too much given how much pressure they faced. Furlong acquitted himself well for his league debut but I wonder if wingback may also be the solution for him with Cunningham at 6.

Other than that, it was hard to point to any other defender who stood out for better or worse. Hogan was missed at fullback but it seems he may be out for a while so Dempsey needs to adapt fast.

Duffy’s kickouts were slightly improved today, a lot of times he simply had no option but to go long.

Besides Cunningham, none of the subs really made any impact and maybe the panel isn’t as deep as we all thought.

On the whole it was a massively deflating afternoon and confirms what most of us already suspected, we’re in a dogfight to avoid relegation. A quick scan of results elsewhere shows we may have to rely on results against Limerick and Wicklow. It’s hard to see us getting anything in Belfast especially with Hyland still suspended and Hogan likely out again.

It’s still early and he deserves time but on the basis of the game against Dublin and again today it looks like Kelly is really going to struggle to implement his free flowing, direct swashbuckling style of football that was on display with his U20 teams. The majority of our games are played in vastly different conditions to those in which the U20s played in.

One wonders when looking at todays game why Kelly felt he could so easily discard with players like Panda, Cian Donohoe and Conor Mcnamee. Yes we need to give the youth a chance to make the step up but they need experienced players alongside them, throwing so many young players in from the off was a bit naive and I’d expect to see a couple of changes next week such as Cunningham and Ruairi starting.

[Tmacmahon]

Disappointed Leaving o connor Park yesterday but it is the first game of a new era, westmeath deserved to win and controlled the game.

Ian Duffy was very good with his kickouts and this actually helped in making a game of it,

Dempsey was unusual struggling,  Pearson was decent , bracken ok
The fb line to their credit battled all day long

Furlong i thought was our best defender albeit his best moments were not defending as such but taking tbe game to westmeath , he did so well for the goal chance but he should have passed to cormac Egan and it was a guaranteed goal

Midfield tried hard but still lost the battle , and Ray connellean had a great game

Carroll is a whole hearted player and never leaves anything out there , shot selection was suspect but was our best midfielder

Hayes drifts in and out too much but is a good athlete and we need him playing better over the next few weeks

Up front we were toothless,
Farrell was trying hard to get inTo it but his first touch was extremely poor on a number of occasions, he threw away a serious amount of opportunities

Anton tried and I liked tbe way he wasn't trying mad shots in which he was at last year, gave his all and is versatile in al forward positions , he can go in and come out

the decision to take off Dunne was bonkers , at that stage he was our best forward,  so I'll give Kelly the benefit of the doubt in that he could have been injured, as the crowd around me were assuming

Cunningham did OK when introduced and no more but in reality he is in our top 3 players and is critical to us this year, a great bit of stuff

Kevin mcdermott worked his socks off and was good to see him at this level

Jack Bryant and Keith o Neill  are surely worth a look at next Sunday,

Ruari did not do much when he came on but I think he would be better starting


Final word on the half forward line of Egan,  flynn and Donoghue,  all were poor but they need 4 or 5 games and then it would be fair to say if they are up to it or not
It would be very unfair to say right now we are not backing you again,  3 young lads that have the ability

[Superhans75]

Can't comment on the first half as I was at a funeral
Second half I think the corpse could have
Got a game .
Very disjointed team in my book
Westmeath clinical as usual even without there talisman.
Going to be a long division 3
Belfast next week at least the pints are cheap
Onwards and upwards

[faithfulfanatic]

Can't comment on the first half as I was at a funeral
Second half I think the corpse could have
Got a game .
Very disjointed team in my book
Westmeath clinical as usual even without there talisman.
Going to be a long division 3
Belfast next week at least the pints are cheap
Onwards and upwards

I know that Offaly were poor overall and should have been closer. But the corpse could have got a game in the second half? A half which Offaly won by 2 points?

[ah lethimoutwithit]

4 point defeat, not the end of the world, certainly as opposed to how it looked at half time. We will hopefully take a lot from the game. Not all our younger players are of the required standard. Ruairi Mc needs to start and NIgel Dunne can come in for last 20 as was said earlier. Aidan Bracken did well, as did Carroll in midfield. But probably looking like a battle to stay up and that would have been my opinion before the season started.

Too many forwards did not contribute and lacked composure compared to Westmeath. Not enough attacking threat from defenders either. Our style will not be "swashbuckling" as some maverick put it. It will be same as all other teams out there at the moment are trying. Game played in near silence given the size of the crowd thats disappointing, but no need for panic, but similarly not going to be jumping around in excitement either.
Mgt will need time and hopefully build a competitive panel with the desire to develop mentality and physicality.

[Fairplayalways]

Of course i hope Ime wrong, chop and change next weekend away to Antrim, my hunch is we will score another couple of points more than yesterday, will that be enough to win, i am very doubtful to be honest..we will need around 1-15 to be in with a chance of beating Antrim, that's 6 scores or 8 points more than yesterdays tally, and after huffing and puffing and talk up yesterday's second half all we want, where are that amount of ed extra scores going to come from...even that scoreline yesterday was poor considering WH were down Heslin etc..