Offaly Under 20s hurling 2024

[G91]

Dublin tomorrow will be unrecognisable from the first round.
[/quote]

They Will indeed but so will offaly I think this time we will bring a record crowd hopefully the team can feed off that and negatively feed of it from a dublin side

[Doon Exile]

Alex Kavanagh starting instead of Leigh.

Rest of team the same.

[faithfulfanatic]

As I thought may happen, Alex comes in for his younger brother.

Diggy Hand returns to the bench, meaning Cathal Robinson drops to the extended panel.
You’d have to wonder how fit he could be, given that he wasn’t even togged out last week.


In the last couple of years we went into these games with a sense of mad excitement across the county.
It feels more like quiet anticipation ahead of tomorrow.
Let’s just hope there isn’t any complacency amongst the players.
Any hesitancy and Dublin will be in our faces and punish us all over the pitch. They will come with a game plan designed to exploit any weakness they have identified.

Best of luck to each and every one of the lads.

[G91]

Expecting a slightly toned down version of what cork did In the final last year ,

Getting in the faces pushing shoving celebrating tackles with exaggeration

There was lots off the ball trying to rise and aggravate our forward line especially Adam vs kk that neither the umpire or linesmen bothered to deal with

[Bord na Mona man]

A big Offaly turnout will be a help. Against Kilkenny the home crowd was a help when some off the ball activities were being initiated by Kilkenny.
Watch out for Dublin lunatics on the sideline encouraging them too. They've a couple of pound shop Davy Fitzs who can get very wound up.

[Wing Back]

Dublin are in Provincial final at 3 out of 4 of the key underage grades. Minor hurling, u20 hurling and Minor football. Just got pipped by Louth in the u20 football, but would normally be winning those games to make it to the final at that age group also. Was curious to know they're playing resources.

Had a quick look at their minor leagues for hurling and football.

In Hurling they have 8 divisions of hurling teams - with between 8 and 10 teams in each division.

In Football they have 10 divisions of football teams - again with between 8 and 12 teams in each division.

Really is unbelievable. You have to admire the people who take on the Dublin minor county board fixture administration.

I know a few of these teams are from clubs which have 3, 4 and possibly 5 teams at the grade (a story for another day) and I know it's nothing new, but I like to remind myself how well we have done with our underage lately when you compare the sheer volume of hurling and football resources that Dublin have to select from compared to ourselves.

[Up The Faithful]

Really looking forward to this Leinster Final, lets get to Portlaoise and roar these lads on to every ball!!

Any advice on good places to park the car in Portlaoise?

[JimBwobb]

Really looking forward to this Leinster Final, lets get to Portlaoise and roar these lads on to every ball!!

Any advice on good places to park the car in Portlaoise?

Wherever you can lamp it.

I was in portlaoise last weekend, came off the motorway from the Roscrea side and noticed all the paths on the way in where a lot of people parked for the minor final are now not accessible as their is wooden stakes in the path. Not ideal for us really.

Park at Supersacs on the way in.

[Glendassaun]

Wednesday's have become the new Friday's, or at least that's been the case in Offaly for the past two years. The end of week slump, the four o'clock exodus, the drifting of one's attention from the task at hand to more pleasurable pursuits, all have been replaced instead by midweek euphoria. Doctors and dental appointments all of a sudden seem to strangely coincide with Offaly U20 hurling fixtures, a mere coincidence of course, but an increasing anomaly of late. Yes, Wednesday's really have become the new Friday's around Tullamore, Birr, Clara and Ferbane.

In fact, the phenomena seems to transgress the historical boundaries of traditional hurling and football areas, with schoolchildren being spotted down boreens in Rhode and Walsh Island, Croghan and Bracknagh with hurls slung proudly across their necks. Puck arounds here are more laborious however, retrieving balls from shot stoppers I'll equipped to cater for the miniature nature of sliotars. Around these parts ever shot carries greater weight, in this county ever fixture carries ever greater significance as we venture once more into a new dawn.

This evening once again the supporters of the green, white and gold will rally on masse, traversing the same routes Red Hugh O'Neill traversed across the beloved Slieve Bloom on his way south to the battle of Kinsale. And be not mistaken for one moment of the scale of the battle we face this evening. Dublin are backboned by quality hurlers, picking from a pool of available players from over sixty teams. Dublin will bring with themselves belief that they can derail Offaly as they nearly well did during the very first game of this season at a sodden Parnell Park, a battle in itself.

But Offaly supporters can travel with confidence to O'Moore Park this evening. Not of the confidence or assuredness of victory, but confident in the knowledge that they will witness a performance that will rouse a sense of pride to declare in colour and voice that we are once again a rising force. We can, and we will, travel in ever greater numbers. The arteries of the N80, R440 and R400 will bleed in green, white and gold as generations of old flock to revel in the memories of campaigns gone by. Memories of 81, 84, 94 and 98, while new generations make memories of their own.

In an uncles house of mine in a place called The Little Island near Daingean, their hung for decades an Offaly Hurling clock with pictures of the Dooley's and Pilkington's, the Whelahan's, Troy's and Hanamy's. The clock watching over the comings and goings of that old house. It's little and large hand perpetually ticking onwards as the memories of a golden era receded ever farther into the past. But today, instead of counting the time since the glory's of yesteryear, instead the hands count down towards 7:30, counting down towards the next chapter in our illustrious history.

Whose faces will adorn the next series of commemorative clocks? Whose stories shall we tell in our old age? Whose photos will hang from the walls of each parish pub? The memories, though fresh in our minds, already gather around this team, and while we cannot see the future, or foretell where this journey shall end. The sight of children picking up hurls, their drawings like snowdrops appearing on school windows, the growing list of medical appointments that have somehow managed to coincide with Offaly U20 games. All bear testament to the magic of sport and the manner in which this team transcends it.

Yes, in Offaly, indeed right throughout Offaly. Wednesday's are the new Friday's.

Up the faithful!

[JimBwobb]

^^^^^^ I love this man's posts

[Gobbler]

Best of luck to all involved.

Its going to be a massive challene tonight. A very very strong Dublin side and they have alot of momentum and then recent familiarity with O' Moore park from the Galway game so there is alot going on their side. And with Dan Ravenhill out it could be argued that the Dubs are favourites now considering he played in the 1 point win.

Working in Dublin and chatting some of their GAA folk and they are confident about this. They feel they have a physical advantage and they are not short of pace and skillful attackers.


Nothing less than Offaly performing at their best will get them over the line.

[Anonymous1]

If we are to lift the *checks notes Séan Robbins Cup later tonight we need to address the post half-time lull.

This has happened in the Dublin, Galway and KK games where we’ve had strong first halves but thrown it all away in the third quarter and then had to go and win the game again.

I’m not sure we’ll be afforded the opportunity to go and win the game again if we let Dublin on top of us in the third quarter.

[Bord na Mona man]

Well done Glen! Counting down the hours now.

The challenge tonight is another big one.
Dublin will be very different to Kilkenny in how they play. The Cats were conventional, man to man, deliver with the stick.
Dublin can unleash a powerful running game, flooding certain areas with bodies to overrun Offaly, seeking collisions, drawing Offaly players out of position, leaving space elsewhere to run into, or else deliver tasty ball for their inside players to run onto.

The Offaly lads will have to continually respond and react to what Dublin are throwing at them.
Yes, we can!

[One Time]

If we are to lift the *checks notes Séan Robbins Cup later tonight we need to address the post half-time lull.

This has happened in the Dublin, Galway and KK games where we’ve had strong first halves but thrown it all away in the third quarter and then had to go and win the game again.

I’m not sure we’ll be afforded the opportunity to go and win the game again if we let Dublin on top of us in the third quarter.

This is probably simplifying it but I'd have to agree.. its not a criticism of the players its a fact of every game at every level, every team will have purple patches and how we deal with them will have a big bearing on the outcome. To be fair at this level there is very little experience in any team and we tend to go gung-ho start to finish, they do make hay when on top but we keep going gung-ho when the other team have their purple patch instead of slowing them down and gaining composure and managing the game, game management is difficult for u20s in fairness but they are well managed and some senior experience in there will help, the crowd will also help during Dublins purple patch.. they seemed to thrive when they got going and got momentum against Galway, expect a lot of chest beating and fist pumping for every score, free and turnovers.. given the results in the semis you'd have thought 50 50 in the betting but looks like we've shortened even since it opened, must mean offaly people are throwing a few Bob and backing the lads.. the one the we know is these lads will strain every sinew to do the right thing and give their all and you can't ask for anymore regardless of the result which won't define them, an awful lot of these lads will progress to make a good senior team over the next few years. Best of luck to all involved.

[Kevin]

Wednesday's have become the new Friday's, or at least that's been the case in Offaly for the past two years. The end of week slump, the four o'clock exodus, the drifting of one's attention from the task at hand to more pleasurable pursuits, all have been replaced instead by midweek euphoria. Doctors and dental appointments all of a sudden seem to strangely coincide with Offaly U20 hurling fixtures, a mere coincidence of course, but an increasing anomaly of late. Yes, Wednesday's really have become the new Friday's around Tullamore, Birr, Clara and Ferbane.

In fact, the phenomena seems to transgress the historical boundaries of traditional hurling and football areas, with schoolchildren being spotted down boreens in Rhode and Walsh Island, Croghan and Bracknagh with hurls slung proudly across their necks. Puck arounds here are more laborious however, retrieving balls from shot stoppers I'll equipped to cater for the miniature nature of sliotars. Around these parts ever shot carries greater weight, in this county ever fixture carries ever greater significance as we venture once more into a new dawn.

This evening once again the supporters of the green, white and gold will rally on masse, traversing the same routes Red Hugh O'Neill traversed across the beloved Slieve Bloom on his way south to the battle of Kinsale. And be not mistaken for one moment of the scale of the battle we face this evening. Dublin are backboned by quality hurlers, picking from a pool of available players from over sixty teams. Dublin will bring with themselves belief that they can derail Offaly as they nearly well did during the very first game of this season at a sodden Parnell Park, a battle in itself.

But Offaly supporters can travel with confidence to O'Moore Park this evening. Not of the confidence or assuredness of victory, but confident in the knowledge that they will witness a performance that will rouse a sense of pride to declare in colour and voice that we are once again a rising force. We can, and we will, travel in ever greater numbers. The arteries of the N80, R440 and R400 will bleed in green, white and gold as generations of old flock to revel in the memories of campaigns gone by. Memories of 81, 84, 94 and 98, while new generations make memories of their own.

In an uncles house of mine in a place called The Little Island near Daingean, their hung for decades an Offaly Hurling clock with pictures of the Dooley's and Pilkington's, the Whelahan's, Troy's and Hanamy's. The clock watching over the comings and goings of that old house. It's little and large hand perpetually ticking onwards as the memories of a golden era receded ever farther into the past. But today, instead of counting the time since the glory's of yesteryear, instead the hands count down towards 7:30, counting down towards the next chapter in our illustrious history.

Whose faces will adorn the next series of commemorative clocks? Whose stories shall we tell in our old age? Whose photos will hang from the walls of each parish pub? The memories, though fresh in our minds, already gather around this team, and while we cannot see the future, or foretell where this journey shall end. The sight of children picking up hurls, their drawings like snowdrops appearing on school windows, the growing list of medical appointments that have somehow managed to coincide with Offaly U20 games. All bear testament to the magic of sport and the manner in which this team transcends it.

Yes, in Offaly, indeed right throughout Offaly. Wednesday's are the new Friday's.

Up the faithful!

THIS

COME ON OFFALY!!!!!