OFFALY V FERMANAGH. 07/02/2010

[Phoenix]

Wexford beat us twice in senior hurling in 2008, league group stage and Leinster championship, and once in back-door senior football. The only consolation was that Offaly won the Division 2 League hurling final which was probably the most important game. They're not the worst county for us to lose to but it is getting a bit old at this stage.

[black and red exile]

I hate Wexford Park with a passion. How is it that we never get this lot down to Taullamore, we always seem to end up having to play this shower in that kip down in the south east. Our record there in all codes over the last decade is dire and no matter how small a crowd there is in that place it sounds like there is double the attendance there because the locals in fairness really get behind the team big time which against us anyway really drives them on.
The two senior hurling games there last year were very bad defeats for us and the football qualifer defeat on the 4th of July last was even worse especially when we made a right bags of it conceding two stupid goals. With two very difficult away games in Cavan and Sligo to come in this division we really need to win next Sunday to give us a platform for promotion and to make up for a possible defeat or two which could derail us before the end of the league, we are well capable of taking both points here, Wexford are crap, I know we are not a million miles better but we should be fairly confident after winning last Sunday where as the Yellowbellies were beaten by Louth. This would be a nice one to win, we owe them one big time, it would be nice to drive home after finally winning in this kip.

[leinsterman]

Have to say wexford park is a graveyard for us in the last few year's, don't get to see the football that much more of a hurling man, wexford have a good record in hurling at wexford park they are a hard team to beat there they have beaten tipp,cork,limerick,clare and kilkenny over the year's there.
and if galway have to go there for the champonship game they will get all they want of it off wexford. never seen the footballer's there but offaly have to win this one if they want to get up to divison 2 sligo and cavan will be hard one's
and roscommon never mind playing offaly don't have good record again them.
antrim football is on the up as well they will have the st. galls players back as well
so a win would be great on sunday. doe's anyone know why niall smith is not on the
team or is he hurt .

[azoffaly]

One of my worst days following the Offaly footballers was the Qualifer back in 2004 or so, when Mattie Forde beat us up and down a stick. It was the time Wexford paraded the Leinster Hurling Cup at half time.

[Johnno81]

We played Wexford off the park for the first half hour that day and still went in behind at half time. The Wexford lads are hard to listen to at the best of times but when the cup came out at half time, they were unbearable... That was a long drive home!!!

And the two defeats there last year were hard to swallow. If we had have cut out the silly mistakes, we would have won both of them easily!!!!

Sundays win should bring the lads on a lot. There was some positives to take from it. Bar the last 10-15 mins, we didnt hit too many wides, we defended very well (some great blockdowns) and still won with our best player not at the races and our midfield struggling in the first half.

Was at all of the away matches in the league last year which were all disasters and if we are aiming for promotion, we will have to correct this and if we could win on Sunday, it will set us up nicely for the remaing games. And we owe the yella bellies big time!!!!

[Bord na Mona man]

Wexford Park hasn't been a happy hunting ground for Offaly teams, but then again neither has Nowlan Park when playing Wexford.
Regardless of the venue, Wexford have shown the ability to edge out Offaly in both hurling and football in recent times.
Much of this is down to mindset - Wexford have shown greater steel upstairs to win these games.

In both codes, analyse the games Offaly have lost and you'll find that Offaly had most of the play, didn't press home their advantage, whereas Wexford hung in determinedly and took what breaks came their way.

Wexford teams having savage passion and pride might sound clichéd from being frequently quoted. But there is definitely validity to it in the context of how they have gotten the results against Offaly.

I'd be a bit more confident about this weekend's visit to Wexford though. The footballers were more disorganised for last summer's qualifier fixture, but were still only edged out by a kick of a ball. There certainly isn't an ability gap to be bridged, so the points are very much there for whichever team grabs them.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Funnily enough Offaly have only played in Wexford Park once in the NFL! That was in 1984 when Offaly were on the slippery slope towards permanent residency in Division 3. Wexford won that division 2 tie by 3 points.
Offaly also had a good win in Gorey in 1998 on the way to winning the league. Wexford have only came to Tullamore once and won by 3 points in 1994, a forerunner to their Leinster championship win over Offaly at OCP later that Summer - one of Offaly's worst days ever, in my view.
Offaly also beat Wexford in Carlow in a division 4 semifinal in 1968 and a division 2 final in Athy in 1979, so the record in the NFL is Offaly 3 wins, Wexford 2.

I hate Wexford Park with a passion. How is it that we never get this lot down to Taullamore, we always seem to end up having to play this shower in that kip down in the south east. Our record there in all codes over the last decade is dire and no matter how small a crowd there is in that place it sounds like there is double the attendance there because the locals in fairness really get behind the team big time which against us anyway really drives them on.
The two senior hurling games there last year were very bad defeats for us and the football qualifer defeat on the 4th of July last was even worse especially when we made a right bags of it conceding two stupid goals. With two very difficult away games in Cavan and Sligo to come in this division we really need to win next Sunday to give us a platform for promotion and to make up for a possible defeat or two which could derail us before the end of the league, we are well capable of taking both points here, Wexford are crap, I know we are not a million miles better but we should be fairly confident after winning last Sunday where as the Yellowbellies were beaten by Louth. This would be a nice one to win, we owe them one big time, it would be nice to drive home after finally winning in this kip.