Leinster club championship

[Faithfully]

Is the tullamore game on Rte Saturday evening?

I'd be stunned if they didn't show a Dublin club playing a semi-final.

[Lone Shark]

Yeah, the game's definitely on RTE

[Anfearban]

Fair play to Tullamore, gave it a great shot. Thought Cuala were let away with a lot of persistent fouling without cards being issued?

[pigeon house biffo]

Fair play tullamore, be sick enough to lose it conceding the goal the way they did.

[jimbob17]

Good effort by Tullamore against a better and more balanced Cuala outfit. Tullamore kept it tight in first half but could easily have been 6 or more down at half time with Cuala missing goal chances, having carved Tullamore open at times. In second half, Cuala upped the ante once Tullamore closed the gap and to be fair, they probably 'out-tullamored Tullamore' in how they played. They turned Tullamore over and broke at pace and got their scores easier than Tullamore I thought and looked way more potent going forward than Tullamore did. And then at times they pushed up on Tullamore kick-out, were brave to go after the game and it paid dividends for them.

Tullamore's forward division has probably been their achilles heel in that they have been very reliant on Plunkett to date for scores and have needed to be a good bit better than opposition out the field to win matches. I think they might need a few more potent inside forwards to make the next step I think. Niall Furlong had good moments in 1st half and could add to the current team but went out of it in 2nd half. That said, thought Cormac Egan was excellent in half forward line and his switch from the backs to forwards in recent games has served Tullamore well and this should be noted by the Offaly management.

Generally, I think Tullamore probably lacked a focal point in 2nd half in full forward line and had to run every ball as a result as Plunkett was often out the field when I think they needed him further in - whereas Cuala had more men up in forwards and moved at much higher pace and in more cohesive fashion when attacking than Tullamore and this was the difference. Cuala had the athleticism to stay with Tullamores running game, whereas they had a bit more forward and footballing nous in attack than Tullamore - and this was probably the reason why Cuala had only 2 wides to Tullamores 6 wides as Tullamore were often kicking under pressure. We saw likes of Bracken and Furlong getting up for scores in 2nd half and aside from Plunkett, no other forward scored from play. That contrasts a good bit with Cuala who were not overly reliant on Con O Callaghan despite him being a key player for them. In a game of small margins, that is very important. From positions 2-12, Tullamore are probably as good as what is in the country (club wise) but until they find some more threatening inside forwards or else attack at more pace and with more forwards, they will struggle to make the next step in Leinster. Cillian Burke is a fine player and played well but he is more a midfielder that gives extra protection defensively than a forward giving extra threat offensively.

Overall, Tullamore acquitted themselves very well I thought and went close to their max against a good organised Cuala side who will likely win Leinster. There were some calls re refereeing at the end from Tullamore that I thought were a bit exaggerated given that I felt the referee was hard on Cuala for some of the Tullamore frees, earlier in the game that kept Tullamore in the game. In fact, I felt Tullamore were given the edge by the referee in a good few instances and there were some fairly harsh calls against Cuala at times. All round though, it has been a great period for Tullamore and they are well set up now to dominate Offaly senior football championship for the next 10 years or so.

[Bord na Mona man]

Tellamore gave a decent account of themselves. They were squeezed at different stages but managed to stay within a puncher's chance throughout.

Cuala were a bit more slick and savvy when they launched their attacks. They pulled the Tullamore defence out of shape that bit easier over the hour. On a different day, they could have bagged 3 or 4 goals.

Tullamore were dogged and stayed committed throughout and forced Cuala to foul a lot. With Plunkett in good form with the frees, it kept them in touch. Maybe Nolan could have flashed a couple of more yellows to deter these professional fouls, but I don’t see that they could have gripes about the refereeing.

The downside was the Tullamore attacks were often one-dimensional. Static players apart from the next receiver, but rarely the next player after that. They needed players dragging their markers around the place. The John Furlong point with 5 minutes left was one of the few times they managed a weave with three players - Cormac Egan, Brazil and Furlong, to pull open the Cuala defence.

The last Cuala point by their no.6 was a good example of their slick play. The Tullamore defenders, under pressure, got drawn to the ball carrier and missed his wraparound run. A split second later, he’s in open space for an easy tap-over.

There is the argument that Tullamore should have been more direct and kicked more ball into the square. Cuala flapped at a couple of these, yes. However, with turnovers being punished at a high rate, I can understand why the Bottle Washers wanted to keep control of the ball.

[SearingDrive]

Good effort by Tullamore against a better and more balanced Cuala outfit. Tullamore kept it tight in first half but could easily have been 6 or more down at half time with Cuala missing goal chances, having carved Tullamore open at times. In second half, Cuala upped the ante once Tullamore closed the gap and to be fair, they probably 'out-tullamored Tullamore' in how they played. They turned Tullamore over and broke at pace and got their scores easier than Tullamore I thought and looked way more potent going forward than Tullamore did. And then at times they pushed up on Tullamore kick-out, were brave to go after the game and it paid dividends for them.

Tullamore's forward division has probably been their achilles heel in that they have been very reliant on Plunkett to date for scores and have needed to be a good bit better than opposition out the field to win matches. I think they might need a few more potent inside forwards to make the next step I think. Niall Furlong had good moments in 1st half and could add to the current team but went out of it in 2nd half. That said, thought Cormac Egan was excellent in half forward line and his switch from the backs to forwards in recent games has served Tullamore well and this should be noted by the Offaly management.

Generally, I think Tullamore probably lacked a focal point in 2nd half in full forward line and had to run every ball as a result as Plunkett was often out the field when I think they needed him further in - whereas Cuala had more men up in forwards and moved at much higher pace and in more cohesive fashion when attacking than Tullamore and this was the difference. Cuala had the athleticism to stay with Tullamores running game, whereas they had a bit more forward and footballing nous in attack than Tullamore - and this was probably the reason why Cuala had only 2 wides to Tullamores 6 wides as Tullamore were often kicking under pressure. We saw likes of Bracken and Furlong getting up for scores in 2nd half and aside from Plunkett, no other forward scored from play. That contrasts a good bit with Cuala who were not overly reliant on Con O Callaghan despite him being a key player for them. In a game of small margins, that is very important. From positions 2-12, Tullamore are probably as good as what is in the country (club wise) but until they find some more threatening inside forwards or else attack at more pace and with more forwards, they will struggle to make the next step in Leinster. Cillian Burke is a fine player and played well but he is more a midfielder that gives extra protection defensively than a forward giving extra threat offensively.

Overall, Tullamore acquitted themselves very well I thought and went close to their max against a good organised Cuala side who will likely win Leinster. There were some calls re refereeing at the end from Tullamore that I thought were a bit exaggerated given that I felt the referee was hard on Cuala for some of the Tullamore frees, earlier in the game that kept Tullamore in the game. In fact, I felt Tullamore were given the edge by the referee in a good few instances and there were some fairly harsh calls against Cuala at times. All round though, it has been a great period for Tullamore and they are well set up now to dominate Offaly senior football championship for the next 10 years or so.

That game will bring on Tullamore a ton. They have some talented young players, and will be favoured to retain the Dowling Cup next year.
I wish Tullamore play a more attack minded game in future.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

Better display than many would have predicted. Very competitive but ultimately were outgunned and limited in the forwards.
John Furlong and Cormac were very good. Daire Mcdaid "oozed class"...to steal an overused quote from our scribe.
McConway has served well but gave away a couple of cheap posessions, their own kick out was a struggle.
Plunkett did well on the frees.

Not many that you would pick for OY,
John F, Cormac, Daire, and Killian Bourke in time.
The likes of Harry P could be looked at alright, but there are one or 2 more that will likely get called in that are not good enough.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

Looking at the game up north yesterday, it was a very good standard and the Canavan lads were a joy to watch.
Fancy winners up North as favourites for the All Ireland now.

[llkj]

Tullamore can be happy with their performance overall. They competed very well and had an outside chance to snatch a draw in the last couple of mins. Cuala got their scores easier and were able to stretch Tullamore, without ever looking too vulnerable themselves. Tullamore's effort off the ball was fantastic with plenty of blocks, tackles, 'turnovers'. They also showed that they are individually comfortable on the ball, but they did lack enough patterns of play at speed to open Cuala up - a lot of which was down to sound Cuala structures and intense tackling themselves.

Also, congratulations to Ballinagar on reaching the Leinster final. That is a great achievement and these games at a higher level with a long season together will stand to them as they move up to Senior B next season. Best of luck in the final!

[Faithfully]

Ballinagar Leinster Junior champions. Brilliant for them. Who would have imagined that a decade ago.

[SearingDrive]

Ballinagar Leinster Junior champions. Brilliant for them. Who would have imagined that a decade ago.

A real turnaround for Ballinagar, compared to 10 yrs ago. They are Leinster Junior Football Champions for 2024. A great day for them.

[The big hill]

Cheathru Rua of Galway next for Ballinagar