Just returned from the Shamrocks (0-11) v Clara (1-8) quarter-final. Good, hard game of football with some smashing scores – John Reynolds’ 1-2 from play in the first half were all superb scores.
Shamrocks could and probably should have won it – they kicked some awful wides and will do well to ask themselves 3 questions before the replay:
1. Why didn’t we just switch Conor Mooney on to Reynolds rather than moving Barry back and unsettling the entire spine of the team?
2. Where was Neville for 58-59 minutes of the game?
3. Why do some of our lads (and Clara’s and indeed Offaly’s) not seem to be aware of their limitations and do what they are capable of only i.e. win the ball, beat 1-2 opponents and then pass the bloody ball to someone who might score!?
Shamrocks V Clara
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doobane man
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doobane man
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Lone Shark
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If Clara had Mark Daly they would probably have won - but that's pretty moot since he's a Lucan player now. The extra attacking prong that Deehan would provide would be useful, but Shaper has a habit of stepping up when Deehan's not there - he did it for a lot of last year, and again yesterday.
I didn't realise Coughlan was actually playing half back - he was dropping back a lot more when Mooney was put back on Shaper, but certainly for all the first half anyway he was playing an out and out midfield role - I can't say he stood out as a county player in either role though.
If Shamrock's shooting is that bad as a rule they have serious problems. However I'd say it was a one off, and I'd expect them to score a lot more freely in the replay - and probably win.
My report below.
Clara 1-8 Shamrocks 0-11
The odd sequence goes on. Clara have now played four games in the Offaly senior championship this year, and are still there with every chance despite the fact that they’ve yet to register a win. Much like Ireland’s run in the World Cup in 1990, it says something about the team – now all we need to do is figure out whether it’s good or bad.
On paper coming into this game all the signs pointed to a Shamrocks win. This particular observer read those signs, but looked at the contrasting record of these two clubs in vital championship fixtures over the last few years, and felt that this might be the day when Vinny Claffey’s charges found their stride. As it turned out, the signs were right, and based on this clash, it’s hard to see anything but a Shamrocks win the next day out. The Rahan team were very unlucky to be behind at the break, they dominated possession in the second period and missed several very scoreable chances, and the equalising point by Alan Cronin with two minutes of normal time remaining was nothing short of outstanding, and is the kind of heroic act that you don’t want to be depending on.
Cronin had started the scoring with barely a minute on the clock, but even though it took Shamrocks all of ten minutes to fashion a reply, they set the tone for the game by winning a lot of ball around midfield and half back, and playing it in intelligently into the forwards. Having struggle to break the duck, a simple tap-over free from Monaghan levelled the match, and scores quickly followed from Mark Yeates and Stephen Dunne. Terence O'Brien had been moved from his usual half back slot to full forward, and he pulled one back from out on the right, as the sides engaged in a bout of score trading. His point was cancelled out by Leonard Mooney, who also balanced out a Moran free, and another Reynolds score was cancelled out by Stephen Dunne, a replica of his earlier point breaking through the middle and handpassing over from close range.
Dunne’s runs were causing the Clara rearguard a lot of problems – Marius Stones was his direct marker at the time, having been moved out in response to Shamrocks withdrawing Mark Yeates from the forwards to the midfield sector. Stones went to centre back, leaving Scott Brady to handle a lot of ball around the middle. This policy was short lived, and could have done Clara a lot more damage than it did as the game had it’s first big swing moment on 28 minutes. Dunne burst through onto a pass into open space again, and was met by a wild feet-first lunge by the advancing Kevin Meehan. In an act of considerably leniency, the card issued was of the yellow variety, and he was left on the pitch. If he had been dismissed he could certainly have had no complaints, as the tackle was dangerous and a clear goal chance was looming. Shamrocks were doubly punished when Brian Monaghan missed the subsequent 14m free.
A great score from John Reynolds off his right foot preceded the second contentious moment of the match, with lady luck once again smiling on Clara.
A long ball into the heart of the Shamrocks defence was bouncing over the heads of three players, Reynolds and Padraig Moran for Clara, and Colin Dunne for Shamrocks. Amidst a tight foot race between the three, Dunne’s jersey was clearly pulled back, and Reynolds was able to get to the ball with a yard to spare and advance on Kelly’s goal. He finished brilliantly across the goal, but can certainly be thankful that Squart Mahon missed a very obvious infringement – although which player was the culprit was difficult to tell. Shaper continued his one man terror campaign on the Shamrocks back line cutting inside the endline and winning a free which was easily converted by Moran before a Monaghan free stopped the rot for Shamrocks and rounded out the half.
If a two point lead for Clara at half time was flattering as Reynolds’ work excepted, they had been the second best team in most sectors of the pitch, a ten point deficit in the second half would not have been unfair. Shamrocks completely stepped up the pace in the second half, and will certainly have most cause to regret not having secured their semi final slot at the first attempt. A 30m free from Brian Monaghan dropped into Kevin Meehan’s hands on 34 minutes was the first of many squandered opportunities in the half, and when a Padraig Moran free put Clara 1-7 to 0-7 to the good on 37 minutes, you felt the three scores were just going to be too hard made up for the profligate Shamrocks forwards. Their backs were even chipping in – on 42 minutes a quick transfer of ball across the goals between Leonard Mooney and Stephen Dunne fed Thomas Coughlan, who burst through to seven yards out before blasting the ball high and wide from just outside the corner of the small parallelogram. The rot was stopped with a good Yeates score on 44 mins, and though scoring from play was proving as difficult as picking up mercury with a fork, good running at the Clara backs yielded a couple of frees from Monaghan which tied up the game and on 53 minutes, gave them the lead for the first time. Clara had been much less wasteful the whole way through the game, and you always felt that conjuring up the chance was going to be more of an issue than converting it. However when it came, it was a very difficult opportunity – Scott Brady won a break around the middle, played a handpass and took the return, and burst down the sideline – a reckless tackle led to the free being conceded, and Alan Cronin duly put over a fantastic free from out on the sideline and about 10m short of the 45m line.
The drama was still not finished however. Much of Shamrocks second half dominance was built on the good work of the increasingly prominent Ronan Mooney. He had become the dominant midfield player, and with the game into injury time, he pulled down another fine catch and drove at the Clara defence. He was pulled down from behind by Mark Meehan, who was duly shown his second yellow card of the game and shown the line. Padraig Kelly came up to take the free, just outside the 45m line. Just when you felt the county player was about to be the hero, he appeared to play a short free in towards the goals towards Leonard Mooney. However despite Shamrocks being first to the ball, no player managed to get a clean shot off, and several partial blockdowns were enough to snuff out the threat, and allow the final whistle to be sounded. As the whistle blew, Shamrocks players surrounded the ref, seemingly irate at some infringement, but with neither this reporter nor the ref having seen it, further comment on that matter is pointless.
Teams:
Clara: Kevin Meehan; Sean Nolan, Willie Reynolds, Marius Stones; Enda Dunne, Scott Brady, Alan Cronin (0-2, 0-1 free); Mark Meehan, Kieran O’Meara; Tony Dalton, Joe Quinn, Eamonn Maher; Padraig Moran(0-3, all frees), Terence O’Brien (0-1), John Reynolds (1-2).
Subs: Colm Kelly for Terence O’Brien, Darren Kelly for Willie Reynolds (inj.).
Shamrocks: Padraig Kelly; Colin Dunne, Shane Guinan, Conor Mooney; Michael Stanbrook, Barry Mooney, Thomas Coughlan; Neville Coughlan, Ronan Mooney; Leonard Mooney (0-2), Stephen Dunne (0-2), Anthony Condron; Jonathan Dunican, Brian Monaghan(0-5, all frees), Mark Yeates (0-2).
Sub: Niall Bryant for Jonathan Dunican
Referee: Michael Mahon
I didn't realise Coughlan was actually playing half back - he was dropping back a lot more when Mooney was put back on Shaper, but certainly for all the first half anyway he was playing an out and out midfield role - I can't say he stood out as a county player in either role though.
If Shamrock's shooting is that bad as a rule they have serious problems. However I'd say it was a one off, and I'd expect them to score a lot more freely in the replay - and probably win.
My report below.
Clara 1-8 Shamrocks 0-11
The odd sequence goes on. Clara have now played four games in the Offaly senior championship this year, and are still there with every chance despite the fact that they’ve yet to register a win. Much like Ireland’s run in the World Cup in 1990, it says something about the team – now all we need to do is figure out whether it’s good or bad.
On paper coming into this game all the signs pointed to a Shamrocks win. This particular observer read those signs, but looked at the contrasting record of these two clubs in vital championship fixtures over the last few years, and felt that this might be the day when Vinny Claffey’s charges found their stride. As it turned out, the signs were right, and based on this clash, it’s hard to see anything but a Shamrocks win the next day out. The Rahan team were very unlucky to be behind at the break, they dominated possession in the second period and missed several very scoreable chances, and the equalising point by Alan Cronin with two minutes of normal time remaining was nothing short of outstanding, and is the kind of heroic act that you don’t want to be depending on.
Cronin had started the scoring with barely a minute on the clock, but even though it took Shamrocks all of ten minutes to fashion a reply, they set the tone for the game by winning a lot of ball around midfield and half back, and playing it in intelligently into the forwards. Having struggle to break the duck, a simple tap-over free from Monaghan levelled the match, and scores quickly followed from Mark Yeates and Stephen Dunne. Terence O'Brien had been moved from his usual half back slot to full forward, and he pulled one back from out on the right, as the sides engaged in a bout of score trading. His point was cancelled out by Leonard Mooney, who also balanced out a Moran free, and another Reynolds score was cancelled out by Stephen Dunne, a replica of his earlier point breaking through the middle and handpassing over from close range.
Dunne’s runs were causing the Clara rearguard a lot of problems – Marius Stones was his direct marker at the time, having been moved out in response to Shamrocks withdrawing Mark Yeates from the forwards to the midfield sector. Stones went to centre back, leaving Scott Brady to handle a lot of ball around the middle. This policy was short lived, and could have done Clara a lot more damage than it did as the game had it’s first big swing moment on 28 minutes. Dunne burst through onto a pass into open space again, and was met by a wild feet-first lunge by the advancing Kevin Meehan. In an act of considerably leniency, the card issued was of the yellow variety, and he was left on the pitch. If he had been dismissed he could certainly have had no complaints, as the tackle was dangerous and a clear goal chance was looming. Shamrocks were doubly punished when Brian Monaghan missed the subsequent 14m free.
A great score from John Reynolds off his right foot preceded the second contentious moment of the match, with lady luck once again smiling on Clara.
A long ball into the heart of the Shamrocks defence was bouncing over the heads of three players, Reynolds and Padraig Moran for Clara, and Colin Dunne for Shamrocks. Amidst a tight foot race between the three, Dunne’s jersey was clearly pulled back, and Reynolds was able to get to the ball with a yard to spare and advance on Kelly’s goal. He finished brilliantly across the goal, but can certainly be thankful that Squart Mahon missed a very obvious infringement – although which player was the culprit was difficult to tell. Shaper continued his one man terror campaign on the Shamrocks back line cutting inside the endline and winning a free which was easily converted by Moran before a Monaghan free stopped the rot for Shamrocks and rounded out the half.
If a two point lead for Clara at half time was flattering as Reynolds’ work excepted, they had been the second best team in most sectors of the pitch, a ten point deficit in the second half would not have been unfair. Shamrocks completely stepped up the pace in the second half, and will certainly have most cause to regret not having secured their semi final slot at the first attempt. A 30m free from Brian Monaghan dropped into Kevin Meehan’s hands on 34 minutes was the first of many squandered opportunities in the half, and when a Padraig Moran free put Clara 1-7 to 0-7 to the good on 37 minutes, you felt the three scores were just going to be too hard made up for the profligate Shamrocks forwards. Their backs were even chipping in – on 42 minutes a quick transfer of ball across the goals between Leonard Mooney and Stephen Dunne fed Thomas Coughlan, who burst through to seven yards out before blasting the ball high and wide from just outside the corner of the small parallelogram. The rot was stopped with a good Yeates score on 44 mins, and though scoring from play was proving as difficult as picking up mercury with a fork, good running at the Clara backs yielded a couple of frees from Monaghan which tied up the game and on 53 minutes, gave them the lead for the first time. Clara had been much less wasteful the whole way through the game, and you always felt that conjuring up the chance was going to be more of an issue than converting it. However when it came, it was a very difficult opportunity – Scott Brady won a break around the middle, played a handpass and took the return, and burst down the sideline – a reckless tackle led to the free being conceded, and Alan Cronin duly put over a fantastic free from out on the sideline and about 10m short of the 45m line.
The drama was still not finished however. Much of Shamrocks second half dominance was built on the good work of the increasingly prominent Ronan Mooney. He had become the dominant midfield player, and with the game into injury time, he pulled down another fine catch and drove at the Clara defence. He was pulled down from behind by Mark Meehan, who was duly shown his second yellow card of the game and shown the line. Padraig Kelly came up to take the free, just outside the 45m line. Just when you felt the county player was about to be the hero, he appeared to play a short free in towards the goals towards Leonard Mooney. However despite Shamrocks being first to the ball, no player managed to get a clean shot off, and several partial blockdowns were enough to snuff out the threat, and allow the final whistle to be sounded. As the whistle blew, Shamrocks players surrounded the ref, seemingly irate at some infringement, but with neither this reporter nor the ref having seen it, further comment on that matter is pointless.
Teams:
Clara: Kevin Meehan; Sean Nolan, Willie Reynolds, Marius Stones; Enda Dunne, Scott Brady, Alan Cronin (0-2, 0-1 free); Mark Meehan, Kieran O’Meara; Tony Dalton, Joe Quinn, Eamonn Maher; Padraig Moran(0-3, all frees), Terence O’Brien (0-1), John Reynolds (1-2).
Subs: Colm Kelly for Terence O’Brien, Darren Kelly for Willie Reynolds (inj.).
Shamrocks: Padraig Kelly; Colin Dunne, Shane Guinan, Conor Mooney; Michael Stanbrook, Barry Mooney, Thomas Coughlan; Neville Coughlan, Ronan Mooney; Leonard Mooney (0-2), Stephen Dunne (0-2), Anthony Condron; Jonathan Dunican, Brian Monaghan(0-5, all frees), Mark Yeates (0-2).
Sub: Niall Bryant for Jonathan Dunican
Referee: Michael Mahon
Last edited by Lone Shark on Mon Aug 08, 2005 11:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Lone Shark
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Dammit, I suspected as much. I was scribbling frantically at the time (sold out of programmes ten minutes before throw in !!!! 
) and missed the point from out on the right - I saw the two lads moving away from where the play was and asked the gang in front of me who got it - there was humming and hawing before they said "Reynolds" - I should have checked it - apologies.
Tis edited above anyway - sorry about that Terence, if you're reading.
) and missed the point from out on the right - I saw the two lads moving away from where the play was and asked the gang in front of me who got it - there was humming and hawing before they said "Reynolds" - I should have checked it - apologies.Tis edited above anyway - sorry about that Terence, if you're reading.
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Mighty Pair O' Hands
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Lone Shark
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Hoor of a ground to get at, but the surface was top notch all right. Short grass, but thick and well covered all the same.Mighty Pair O' Hands wrote:As an aside, was I the only one who thought the Bally pitch looked top class on Saturday night - must be plenty of fertiliser used!
Though in the same vein, nobody could have had any complaints with Geashill either. You could tell from the length of the grass that hurling doesn't feature too often, but for football it was perfect, and it still is one of the most attractive settings for a game of ball on a nice day in the county.
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Mighty Pair O' Hands
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Lone Shark
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Shannonbridge, Mucklagh, Tubber, Durrow, and Ballycumber would probably be the best of the west - but Ferbane, Doon, and Clara would all be fine too. Not too many I'd be critical of - bar Rynagh's football pitch in Cloghan.
I wouldn't know all the hurling pitches well enough to comment - other than to say that Banagher, Moystown, and Clareen all look good to this untrained eye.
I too would like to add my voice to the "What is the deal with so many games going to that field in Capincur?" campaign.
I wouldn't know all the hurling pitches well enough to comment - other than to say that Banagher, Moystown, and Clareen all look good to this untrained eye.
I too would like to add my voice to the "What is the deal with so many games going to that field in Capincur?" campaign.
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ballymanabroad
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I don't know about that pitch in Clara. The soil is shocking and it is pockmarked as an adolescent's face. I suppose my aversion to it has something to do with all the winters I trained there with Ard Scoil.
In Ferbane the grass is always too long. Especially around the fringes. And the midgets are shocking on a summer evening.
In Ferbane the grass is always too long. Especially around the fringes. And the midgets are shocking on a summer evening.
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe - Muhammad Ali
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ballymanabroad
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I remember playing in a monsoon on the pitch in Cloghan. It was impossible to rise the ball because there were pools of water on the pitch (put your boot in and see your foot disappear deep) so by unmuttered consent the ref let us slide down to it and pick it up. All the same the match ended in a brawl with a few minutes left. The next thing we knew we were supping hot whiskeys in the Offaly rover (I think it is called that, on the roundabout).
It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe - Muhammad Ali
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Mighty Pair O' Hands
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In Ferbane the grass is always too long. Especially around the fringes. And the midgets are shocking on a summer evening.[/quote]
My dislike of the Ferbane pitch is more to do with Ray O'Loughlin's three hour torture training sessions on it - the worst ones were usually during the Christmas holidays. The front pitch in Ferbane I always preferred because it was a lot shorter - 15 laps on it was a breeze in comparison!
My dislike of the Ferbane pitch is more to do with Ray O'Loughlin's three hour torture training sessions on it - the worst ones were usually during the Christmas holidays. The front pitch in Ferbane I always preferred because it was a lot shorter - 15 laps on it was a breeze in comparison!
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Lone Shark
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Ballymanabroad wrote:I suppose my aversion to it has something to do with all the winters I trained there with Ard Scoil.
Lads, it was all these things that moulded ye into the men ye are today. Such ingratitude is sad to see.Mighty Pair O' Hands wrote:My dislike of the Ferbane pitch is more to do with Ray O'Loughlin's three hour torture training sessions on it - the worst ones were usually during the Christmas holidays. The front pitch in Ferbane I always preferred because it was a lot shorter - 15 laps on it was a breeze in comparison!