Baggy Jersey wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 8:48 pm
Leinster venue made no difference when it came to a 50:50 decision late on vs Tipperary in the minor final.
We know what we’ll get from this team from 1-9 next Saturday. Here’s hoping a few more of the forwards can come up to the level of Screeney, Rigney and Bourke. I think there’s a big game coming from Doyle, the match the other night will bring him on.
7.15 a crazy throw in time. At least we know Kilkenny will take a bit of pride in hosting the match. Portlaoise was a disgrace the other night, it’s nothing short of a dangerous venue for so many reasons. In this day of health and safety you’d wonder how it’s let host big crowds.
Great to see the Offaly jerseys being worn by kids around the county all week. Bring on next Saturday
Agreed, we need more from the other 3 forwards.
Personally I’d start the two Kavanagh’s in the full forward line alongside Screeney.
Hopefully Hand will be fit to come off the bench too.
Now that the dust has settled, we can take a breath and recap on what really was a magical journey with this magical team.
All week, talk was consumed with ‘what time will we leave at, what will parking be like, have we jerseys for the kids, what stand are you in, what will the traffic be like’……… ultimately all these things fell into place and we got to Thurles safe and sound and in plenty of time. The good weather ensured that the farmers could leave the hay till Monday, the long June days ensured we didn’t need to worry about the last person out turning off the lights.
The scenes that greeted us on arrival brought memories of Thurles ’98 flooding back as we thronged the Square with flags and colour as the mood of the county was lifted. The sight of a few Clare jerseys aided the memory bank – oh how we wished for a ‘Joe Dooley’ show; oh wait, we had a new Joe Dooley, his name is Adam Screeney. Chants of Uíbh Fhailí rang loud.
As we made our way to the ground, we met and talked with our neighbours and friends across the county (and the occasional Cork supporter too!!). We met people that we never saw at a match in our lives – wasn’t it great to see them there. Sport brings us all together and none more so than an All-Ireland final with the Faithful County right in the mix. The noise as Uíbh Fhailí took the field was akin to Clare in 1995 All-Ireland final. If supporters could puck a ball, put it over the bar, surely we’ll win easily!!!
Alas, the result was not to be. The team are young and they will be back. I hope they enjoyed the experience as much as the fans did. It’s ironic that a day that we tasted defeat was also one of the most enjoyable days in the memory of Offaly Gaels.
To the wonderful Leo O’Connor and his management team – hold your heads high, take a bow as you are rightly entitled to do. Outside managers have served us well; Healy, McGee, Cregan and Bond – let’s hope O’Connor gets added to that list shortly.
Lastly, best of luck to those involved that are sitting for their leaving certificates this week. It’s been a rollercoaster for you all. Thanks for the memories.
Doon Exile wrote: ↑Sat May 25, 2024 11:17 pm
Just sharing my story from last years u20 final: .
To the wonderful Leo O’Connor and his management team – hold your heads high, take a bow as you are rightly entitled to do. Outside managers have served us well; Healy, McGee, Cregan and Bond – let’s hope O’Connor gets added to that list shortly.
Uíbh Fhailí abu.
We sure do hope so what a servant he has been the last few years . An honorary Offaly man !! The pessimist in me sees vacancies in managerial positions in the coming years at div1 counties that may fairly turn heads .. but for the moment let’s back his team and do our best to be a 16th man in Nowlan Park next Saturday as we have done so far . My advice be at the ready at 8:50 tomorrow morning there going to go FAST
With the lack of movement in regards to ticketing information, could one assume there’s some movement behind the scenes to try and switch the venue to an alternative location?
Perhaps this is highly unlikely, given the venue was predetermined sometime in advance, but is the lure of a bumper crowd proving to be too good of a financial opportunity for the GAA to turn down?
Could it be a case that, given the photographic evidence of the standard the pitch that both sides could be pushing for an alternative venue, with a better surface and larger capacity… Gaelic Grounds perhaps?
Or could it simply be that to avoid a crash of the Ticketmaster site there’s no statement expected until the ticket portal is actually live, learning from the mistakes of the past where the site has crashed causing pandemonium, like the 2021 U20 football final.
Glendassaun wrote: ↑Mon May 27, 2024 7:01 am
With the lack of movement in regards to ticketing information, could one assume there’s some movement behind the scenes to try and switch the venue to an alternative location?
Perhaps this is highly unlikely, given the venue was predetermined sometime in advance, but is the lure of a bumper crowd proving to be too good of a financial opportunity for the GAA to turn down?
Could it be a case that, given the photographic evidence of the standard the pitch that both sides could be pushing for an alternative venue, with a better surface and larger capacity… Gaelic Grounds perhaps?
Or could it simply be that to avoid a crash of the Ticketmaster site there’s no statement expected until the ticket portal is actually live, learning from the mistakes of the past where the site has crashed causing pandemonium, like the 2021 U20 football final.
Your guess is as good as mine at this stage.
Pain in the arse to have to keep checking every few minutes though.
