Offaly 2009 Senior Hurling Championship Semi Finals

[Plain of the Herbs]

You’d never know from reading this site during the week but there are actually two Senior Hurling semi-finals on this weekend! I know no-one is interested but here's a few thoughts on the two matches anyway.

BIRR v TULLAMORE
Last meeting: Birr 1-15 Tullamore 1-10, round 4 this year
Since Tullamore regained senior status in 1991:- Birr 7 Tullamore 2 (1994 & 2008)


It goes without saying that Birr should have too much here. They showed last week against Kinnitty that the hunger is back and that they’re ‘mad for the road’ again.

So where can Tullamore make any headway here? Firstly they will look to Shane Kelly to provide the leadership from midfield. Kelly has been their most consistent performer all year and his battle with Barry Whelahan will be interesting, to say the least.

As a unit, the halfback line of Nigel Mannion, Brendan Dagg and Hugh Treacy has a certain appeal to it. All three are good readers of the game; if anything they could do with a stopper in the line to complement two ‘readers’, but anyway.

In attack, Francis Kerrigan’s return swung the scales against St. Rynagh’s. Tullamore need him to take the pressure off Shane Dooley to an extent. Thing is, can Tullamore get enough scores off Michael Verney, Niall Claffey and John Paul O’Meara? I can’t see it. Dooley will likely roam to the left corner of the attack to bring Claffey out of position, but Claffey should be happy enough to see Kevin Martin being introduced. Martin will stand at the edge of the square where Claffey will enjoy best.

Thing with Birr is, they can appear to be going through the motions, yet can step on the gas for a devastating five-minute spell. During that time, Rory Hanniffy will gain possession, accelerate into space a few times and score. Dylan Hayden, apparently quiet, will turn up to collect a few passes and score 3 points. Sean Ryan was in top form against Kinnitty, who had no answer to his pace or his finishing touch. Tullamore don’t have an answer here either.

Birr to win by what they like.



COOLDERRY V KILCORMAC/KILLOUGHEY
Last meeting:- Coolderry 2-11 K/K 1-13, round 1 last year
Last semi-final meeting:- Coolderry 2-8 K/K 1-7, in 2004
Last 10 meetings:- Coolderry 4, K/K 4, 2 draws


To use a boxing term, this is the fight to decode which of these is the number one contender to Birr’s title.

They last met in the first round last year and Damien Murray’s late goal gave Coolderry the win and the two points which enabled them top the group. The year before, K/K got their year back on track with a 2-9 to 0-13 win over Coolderry. The momentum gained here saw them go all the way to the final. Indeed, the five meetings this decade have seen winning margins of 3, 4, 5, 2 & 1 point in that order. So there’s much at stake and all to play for, as they say.

Last week, K/K looked good against Clareen. They were well organised and played a good brand of hurling. However, they will worry that they went out of the game for long periods.

Daniel Currams is a big addition to the attack and he will be the ultimate test of Martin Corcoran’s nous in the centre back slot. Corcoran likes to hold the centre, but Currams will roam alot, particularly when Coolderry attack. Thing is, Currams, in form, can’t be allowed roam on his own as he will cause too much damage. Allowing their half back like drift too far will leave room for James Gorman to roam from the corner forward position, gain possession and score.

Further in, Paul Hudson likes to play his man from the front but Ciaran Slevin likes to stay goal-side and with the ball more likely to be coming in high, this could be crucial. Ger Healion started at full forward but made no headway and was replaced by Kevin Grogan, another converted defender. Either way, Trevor Corcoran should prevail here.

Brian Leonard’s touch has much improved lately. Oftem cumbersome in striking, he took some sublime scores off the hurl against Clareen. He will keep Kevin Brady fully occupied and Brady won’t have the advantage in height, or ball-winning he normally enjoys at this level.

Conor Mahon and Eamonn Lee will also have a significant advantage in terms of height. They will rarely stay in the centre and Joe Brady could well find himself under the dropping ball with Peter Healion behind him, Conor Mahon in front and Eamonn Lee sweeping around. Healion, who has lost weight and is much trimmer now, had two good hours against Joseph Bergin and his clash with Brady will be worth keeping an eye out for. Should K/K be holding onto the lead in the final stages, watch out for Mahon falling back behind his half back line too.

In goal, Ray Murray has done well replacing Shane O’Connor and Coolderry have benefitted from Murray’s better-placed puckouts this year. Seamus McDonald has grapped his chance well in the K/K too, having been in the shadow of Stephen Byrne and latterly Damien Kilmartin, for so long.

Brian Carroll would be Coolderry’s secondary target for the puckout but no better man than Colm Cassidy to batten the hatches here, while the midfield dropping deep will cut out much of the space Coolderry will try to create with Damien Murray roaming.

The make-up of Coolderry’s full forward line will be interesting. Cathal Parlon did well at corner forward in the first half against Shinrone though Paddy Teehan fired blanks at full forward. Parlon fared less well at full forward in the second half, but the introduction of the pacy Eoin Ryan swung it their way. Allowing for the fact that Willie Comerford dominated the square, the conversion of Damien Kilmartin to full back during the under 21’s title run has been significant.

K/K will be satisfied to see the former goalkeeper do well the last day, moreso when shadowing Billy Dooley. Thing is, can Coolderry afford to have Parlon, on whom so much depends, tied up by Kilmartin? I don’t think so. On the other hand, with the K/K defence dropping back, Parlon will be denied room to roam. Neither will Eoin (or Michael) Ryan have an edge on pace over Killian Leonard or Alan McConville. The latter has impressed as a tidy hurler this year.

Finally, a poor quality semi-final should not hamper the winners’ chances of toppling Birr in the final. Remember the 2004 final between this pair was a particularly poor affair yet Coolderry went on to beat Birr in the final.

Coolderry looked impressive against Shinrone in their quarter final. Yet I think the extra match against Clareen will have brought K/K on. They’ve now a clearer idea of their best team, and that team seen more drilled in the nuances of positioning and team play. Coolderry will play a much more traditional game and when you weigh up the duels line-for-line that leans towards a K/K advantage. K/K have tended to drift from matches though and they will hardly hurl for a full sixty minutes here either.

K/K have more experience of O’Connor Park having hurled there seven times in the last three years (though only winning once and drawing three) while Coolderry have lost the two times they hurled there, though they won the minor title there last year.

When they hurled well K/K were more impressive against Clareen than Coolderry were against Shinrone and on that basis I’d expect K/K to advance.

[Oceans 15]

Excellant stuff POTH that is a lot better than the shite that is wrote on the local papers.. One thing I do disagree with you though is you say Peter Healion had 2 good hours against Joe Bergin, I wasn't at the first game but I though Begin roasted him in Birr although Healion caught some good ball towards the end of normal time... while I'm at it I thought the KK man should have walked for that chop on Joe Bergin. Any thoughts ???

[Aweflee]

while I'm at it I thought the KK man should have walked for that chop on Joe Bergin. Any thoughts ???

Ah no, his hurl slipped.

You’d never know from reading this site during the week but there are actually two Senior Hurling semi-finals on this weekend! I know no-one is interested but here's a few thoughts on the two matches anyway.

There's plenty of interest - but maybe not from the football snobs on this site.
Thanks for your posts. They are better than the local papers, with the exception of the Offaly Independent of course............

[uibhfhailiabu]

while I'm at it I thought the KK man should have walked for that chop on Joe Bergin. Any thoughts ???

No I don't agree, I think there was no malice in it, it was just a late attmept to get the ball, I thought a yellow card was sufficent.

By the way cheers POTH, great stuff.

[Plain of the Herbs]

That wasn't how I read the Healion / Bergin duel at all. I wasn't at the drawn match either and I'm only going on anecdotal evidence. I thought Joseph was well held by Healion in Birr. Bear in mind that Clareen are very, very much reliant on Bergin hurling well and scoring freely, as the rest of the forwards aren't good enough yet to perform without him hurling well. That is, they need Bergin to win the ball for them and to score himself. I thought Bergin wasn't dominant enough and I attributed that to Healion. I felt t'was moreso James Mulrooney (when he came back to midfield when Billy Dooley came on) and Dermot Mooney who dragged them back into it during the final quarter.

I don't recall that chop specifically so I don't have an opinion, but Martin Kirwan would be lenient enough on red cards anyway, as correctly noted on the Offaly Indo this week. Also, he blew up on 29:59 with the match level.

Excellant stuff POTH that is a lot better than the shite that is wrote on the local papers.. One thing I do disagree with you though is you say Peter Healion had 2 good hours against Joe Bergin, I wasn't at the first game but I though Begin roasted him in Birr although Healion caught some good ball towards the end of normal time... while I'm at it I thought the KK man should have walked for that chop on Joe Bergin. Any thoughts ???

[Bord na Mona man]

Also, he blew up on 29:59 with the match level.

Refs usually start their stopwatch a second before they sound the whistle and throw in the ball.

[swiftpost]

Excellant stuff POTH that is a lot better than the shite that is wrote on the local papers.. One thing I do disagree with you though is you say Peter Healion had 2 good hours against Joe Bergin, I wasn't at the first game but I though Begin roasted him in Birr although Healion caught some good ball towards the end of normal time... while I'm at it I thought the KK man should have walked for that chop on Joe Bergin. Any thoughts ???

Especially the midland tribune - they are useless and i often wonder if they go to the games at all!!

Grogan meant it from what I saw, Joe Bergin didnt strike the ball as well after he got that belt. Still caused problems though. I thought Eanna Murphy was brilliant even though cummins caused him problems.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Murphy has been brilliant since his move to full back. Joe Dooley got sime stick for having him on the county panel owing to his connections, but I'd like to see Eanna get a run at full back in the Waslh Cup with David Kenny at 6 to see how t'would go. Clareen were out on their feet for the whole of extra time and I wouldn't fault Murphy for the way the K/K full forward line were rampant in extra time.

Grogan meant it from what I saw, Joe Bergin didnt strike the ball as well after he got that belt. Still caused problems though. I thought Eanna Murphy was brilliant even though cummins caused him problems.

[Kemo Sabe]

not on here to gloat ah fuck it i am ,go on the town .poth good post but you were a little bit off on the tullamore and birr game ha ha ha . its great another county final to look forward to but this time its the hurling final ,what a town get in there.

[bracknaghboy]

not on here to gloat ah fuck it i am ,go on the town .poth good post but you were a little bit off on the tullamore and birr game ha ha ha . its great another county final to look forward to but this time its the hurling final ,what a town get in there.

Well done Tulamore. However does this expose a flaw in the SHC group stages? Tullamore did not win a match in the group and Birr won all 5. I'm just asking what is the point in the group stages? Yes it gives more games but who does it favour in the long run? I'm not sure either way and perferibly would like to hear the opinion of the players and managers on this.

[joe bloggs]

not on here to gloat ah fuck it i am ,go on the town .poth good post but you were a little bit off on the tullamore and birr game ha ha ha . its great another county final to look forward to but this time its the hurling final ,what a town get in there.

Well done Tulamore. However does this expose a flaw in the SHC group stages? Tullamore did not win a match in the group and Birr won all 5. I'm just asking what is the point in the group stages? Yes it gives more games but who does it favour in the long run? I'm not sure either way and perferibly would like to hear the opinion of the players and managers on this.

I dont think it exposes any flaw, in fact it vindicates it if you ask me. The aim of the big groups was to provide more games and in doing so hopefully raise the standard. I would think that having had the extra games under their belt tullamore were all the better from it. You cant beat hurling under championship coditions, and even if where you finished in the group didn't eliminate you, teams still had treat the group games with respect. I would also say if you looked at KK now and compared them to may you would find a big difference. The old system allowed only a limited number of teams hurling into August and September,
whereas this year all twelve senior teams had it. That can only be good for the game.

By the way, well done Tullamore. It is great to see a new team in the county final and it might help get a few more young lads hurling in the town

[Plain of the Herbs]

Well holy Moley, what a sensation. Birr are gone! Who’d have thought?

Hats off to Tullamore on a fantastic team performance. It didn’t look good for them when they turned over at half time with only a four point lead (0-11 to 1-4) having hurled with the strong wind. Nor did it look good when Stephen Brown’s goal put Birr level with seven minutes to go. Even when points from a Shane Dooley (free) and Shaun Martin when he was well placed by Shane Dooley’s pass they still had five minutes to hold on. But they did, and they advance to the final for the first time since 1964.

Birr took off Sean Ryan very early in the second half, and replaced Gary Hanniffy late in the game. Birr got enough ball into their forwards but were unable to break down the Tullamore backs, each of whom were superb throughout.

Scorers: Tullamore: Shane Dooley 0-12, (9f), Francis Kerrigan 0-3, Edwin Finnerty 1-0, Ger Treacy & Shaun Martin 0-1 each.
Birr: Simon Whelahan 0-5 (2f), Darragh Molloy & Stephen Brown 1-0 each, Barry Harding 0-3 (2f, 1 ‘65’, Gary Hanniffy 0-3, Dylan Hayden 0-1.

Edit: I thought the eagle-eyed Tullamore lads would have spotted that t'was Shaun Martin who scored that last point and not Edwin Finnerty as originally noted above!

[bazza]

Well done to Tullamore. Fully deserved victory over the 60 mins. Just looked like a better hurling team than Birr on the day. Oh and can any of the Tullamore lads confirm, as was rumoured after the match, that a certain Kevin Egan article was used a motivation factor?

PS. Best of luck to Birr intermediates tommorow. Cannot be easy for a 2nd string side going up against 4 clubs in a county final.

[Bord na Mona man]

Some result for Tullamore! Fair play to them.
It will give a boost to the other clubs in Offaly too.
No offence meant to Birr who are a great club, but the rest of the pack have lived off crumbs for years.

Maybe its that extra bit of self belief that the townies have!
If only the fightback spirit that they showed in their last two games could be bottled and sold.

[turk]

Wow - amazing result. Well done Tullamore.