Offaly v Dublin challenge
-
black and red exile
- All Star
- Posts: 587
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:59 pm
- Location: kilcullen
Offaly v Dublin challenge
Just to let everyone know that there is a challenge match in Gracefield on this friday night at eight o clock for the benifit of the family of John Knight who tragically passsed away just under two years ago. Admission is five euro in what should be an entertaining evening of football.
-
Lone Shark
- All Star
- Posts: 5378
- Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
- Club: Ferbane
- Location: Roscommon
- Contact:
Offaly 1-11 Dublin 0-12
While it would be great fun to look at a result like this and look at it as the sign of good times to come, it would also be thoroughly misleading. Though this was for a good cause, and it was to the credit of both teams that they took the time out to take part in it at an odd time of the year, it was also a challenge game, and one where Offaly started with a mere three players who featured in their championship exit in Carlow, while Dublin went further again and didn’t have a single player who played in their season closer against Tyrone. Even at that, Pillar Caffrey had swapped around a large proportion of his team at half time, by which stage his team were leading by 0-8 to 0-3, so the side that Offaly finished so strongly (It was 12-6 Dublin with ten or so to go) against could be described as Dublin’s third string – at best.
Even at that, for a side that was choc-a-bloc with players that we expect to feature both in the under 21 campaign in the spring, and on the fringes of the senior panel in the summer, several areas of the field, most notably the full forward line, were black spots, and more players have damaged their reputation than enhanced it on the back of this display.
Team below, player by player ratings follow.
Offaly Team: Kevin Meehan; Kevin Lynam, James Rafferty, Chop Grennan; Barry Mooney, Neville Coughlan, Tommy Coughlan (0-2); Padraig Bracken, Declan Kelly; Colm Quinn (0-4, 0-3 frees), Damien Hunt, David Lowry (0-1, free); James Coughlan, Rory Guinan, Thomas Deehan (0-1).
Gary Mahon (0-1) for Damien Hunt, Richie Dalton (0-1) for Rory Guinan, Tom O’Connor (0-1) for Thomas Deehan, Padraig Kelly for Kevin Meehan, Karol Slattery (1-0) for Declan Kelly, Sean Ryan for Jimmy Coughlan.
Meehan: Nothing we didn’t already know. Didn’t make any mistakes, wasn’t called on to make any saves, and has a woefully short kickout. The importance of the kickout has been discussed at length on this forum, but it certainly is a black mark against him. Won’t dislodge Kelly.
Lynam: Some good work from general play, but his marker hit three good scores from play. Was up against a fine player granted, but still looked a bit out of his depth.
Rafferty: Marking Ian Robertson suited him down to the ground. He defended the square well, and laid the ball of to a team mate at all times. Hard to see drier ground and a nippier direct opponent suiting him though. Didn’t do himself any harm, all that said.
Chop: Best player of the FB line. Swept up a lot of ball, burst out at pace, conceded nothing to Dotsy O’Callaghan. Very good all round.
Mooney: Quiet, but effective. Didn’t do anything wrong, and hard to blame him for not being up for such a low key fixture.
Neville: Held things together. Won every 50/50 ball and a good share of 30/70 ones, burst out at pace and looked like what he was – a top quality player playing amongst unproven maybes.
Tommy Coughlan: Played solidly throughout, and popped up for a couple of scores. Was very quiet relative to his brother beside him, but that’s hardly a surprise. Star continues on the ascendant, though still a long way off county senior status.
Bracken: He’s very big, and he can play a bit – but he didn’t really catch enough clean ball to say he’s the answer to our fielding problems. Was the better of the two midfielders by a mile though.
Declan Kelly: Didn’t happen for him at all. He never got to the pitch of the game, and was dominated by his opposite number. Will do well to feature for the under twenty one team on this display.
Colm Quinn: Unsurprisingly, he made the frees from inside 35m and missed all those from outside that range, and handled a lot of ball in the middle. A little inclined to over carry, and take the ball into trouble, which would be penalised much more heavily against better opponents, but his distribution is still top quality.
Damien Hunt: Was integral to everything good that was going on for the fifteen minutes he was on the pitch before retiring with an ankle injury. Handled the ball a lot and generally used it well. With so many of the other forwards doing themselves no favours, it probably was enough of a cameo to move him up the rankings.
David Lowry: Didn’t run the game by any stretch of the imagination, but played a quietly effective all round half forward display. Won’t feature for the seniors but should be a good under twenty one this summer – showed his main attribute when nailing one long range free.
Jimmy Coughlan: Was beaten to almost every ball, and overall seemed to be struggling to get to the pace of the game. Definitely off form, remains to be seen if he can find it again.
Rory Guinan: Was good to win ball, if not score. His pace could have been better employed further out the field, as he’s not really a full forward. Wasn’t really on the pitch long enough to really rate.
Thomas Deehan: We knew he needed games, and this proved it. Second to every ball, though he showed his talent by converting the one chance he had. Wouldn’t get near possession in championship football playing like this though – and as for the reverse back heel to no-one in particular…..
Gary Mahon: Scored one good point, but generally was quiet, and like many of the forwards, was beaten to possession with regularity.
Richie Dalton: Was definitely out of his depth. It was nice to see him getting on the scoresheet in the second half, but in truth he neither looked like a county player nor a forward. May feature for the county under twenty one team as a half back, this was no indication one way or another.
Tom O’Connor: Struggled to get possession, like all the forwards. Looked positive when he did get on the ball though.
Padraig Kelly: One dodgy moment when a handpass out was blocked, but generally was fine with the little he had to do. It was mainly about the contrast in kickouts though.
Karol Slattery: Like Neville, was clearly a cut above this standard when he came on. Cut through the defence with ease the few times he got on the ball. Still our best player in my book.
Sean Ryan: Not on long enough to rate really – don’t recall him even getting on the ball.
While it would be great fun to look at a result like this and look at it as the sign of good times to come, it would also be thoroughly misleading. Though this was for a good cause, and it was to the credit of both teams that they took the time out to take part in it at an odd time of the year, it was also a challenge game, and one where Offaly started with a mere three players who featured in their championship exit in Carlow, while Dublin went further again and didn’t have a single player who played in their season closer against Tyrone. Even at that, Pillar Caffrey had swapped around a large proportion of his team at half time, by which stage his team were leading by 0-8 to 0-3, so the side that Offaly finished so strongly (It was 12-6 Dublin with ten or so to go) against could be described as Dublin’s third string – at best.
Even at that, for a side that was choc-a-bloc with players that we expect to feature both in the under 21 campaign in the spring, and on the fringes of the senior panel in the summer, several areas of the field, most notably the full forward line, were black spots, and more players have damaged their reputation than enhanced it on the back of this display.
Team below, player by player ratings follow.
Offaly Team: Kevin Meehan; Kevin Lynam, James Rafferty, Chop Grennan; Barry Mooney, Neville Coughlan, Tommy Coughlan (0-2); Padraig Bracken, Declan Kelly; Colm Quinn (0-4, 0-3 frees), Damien Hunt, David Lowry (0-1, free); James Coughlan, Rory Guinan, Thomas Deehan (0-1).
Gary Mahon (0-1) for Damien Hunt, Richie Dalton (0-1) for Rory Guinan, Tom O’Connor (0-1) for Thomas Deehan, Padraig Kelly for Kevin Meehan, Karol Slattery (1-0) for Declan Kelly, Sean Ryan for Jimmy Coughlan.
Meehan: Nothing we didn’t already know. Didn’t make any mistakes, wasn’t called on to make any saves, and has a woefully short kickout. The importance of the kickout has been discussed at length on this forum, but it certainly is a black mark against him. Won’t dislodge Kelly.
Lynam: Some good work from general play, but his marker hit three good scores from play. Was up against a fine player granted, but still looked a bit out of his depth.
Rafferty: Marking Ian Robertson suited him down to the ground. He defended the square well, and laid the ball of to a team mate at all times. Hard to see drier ground and a nippier direct opponent suiting him though. Didn’t do himself any harm, all that said.
Chop: Best player of the FB line. Swept up a lot of ball, burst out at pace, conceded nothing to Dotsy O’Callaghan. Very good all round.
Mooney: Quiet, but effective. Didn’t do anything wrong, and hard to blame him for not being up for such a low key fixture.
Neville: Held things together. Won every 50/50 ball and a good share of 30/70 ones, burst out at pace and looked like what he was – a top quality player playing amongst unproven maybes.
Tommy Coughlan: Played solidly throughout, and popped up for a couple of scores. Was very quiet relative to his brother beside him, but that’s hardly a surprise. Star continues on the ascendant, though still a long way off county senior status.
Bracken: He’s very big, and he can play a bit – but he didn’t really catch enough clean ball to say he’s the answer to our fielding problems. Was the better of the two midfielders by a mile though.
Declan Kelly: Didn’t happen for him at all. He never got to the pitch of the game, and was dominated by his opposite number. Will do well to feature for the under twenty one team on this display.
Colm Quinn: Unsurprisingly, he made the frees from inside 35m and missed all those from outside that range, and handled a lot of ball in the middle. A little inclined to over carry, and take the ball into trouble, which would be penalised much more heavily against better opponents, but his distribution is still top quality.
Damien Hunt: Was integral to everything good that was going on for the fifteen minutes he was on the pitch before retiring with an ankle injury. Handled the ball a lot and generally used it well. With so many of the other forwards doing themselves no favours, it probably was enough of a cameo to move him up the rankings.
David Lowry: Didn’t run the game by any stretch of the imagination, but played a quietly effective all round half forward display. Won’t feature for the seniors but should be a good under twenty one this summer – showed his main attribute when nailing one long range free.
Jimmy Coughlan: Was beaten to almost every ball, and overall seemed to be struggling to get to the pace of the game. Definitely off form, remains to be seen if he can find it again.
Rory Guinan: Was good to win ball, if not score. His pace could have been better employed further out the field, as he’s not really a full forward. Wasn’t really on the pitch long enough to really rate.
Thomas Deehan: We knew he needed games, and this proved it. Second to every ball, though he showed his talent by converting the one chance he had. Wouldn’t get near possession in championship football playing like this though – and as for the reverse back heel to no-one in particular…..
Gary Mahon: Scored one good point, but generally was quiet, and like many of the forwards, was beaten to possession with regularity.
Richie Dalton: Was definitely out of his depth. It was nice to see him getting on the scoresheet in the second half, but in truth he neither looked like a county player nor a forward. May feature for the county under twenty one team as a half back, this was no indication one way or another.
Tom O’Connor: Struggled to get possession, like all the forwards. Looked positive when he did get on the ball though.
Padraig Kelly: One dodgy moment when a handpass out was blocked, but generally was fine with the little he had to do. It was mainly about the contrast in kickouts though.
Karol Slattery: Like Neville, was clearly a cut above this standard when he came on. Cut through the defence with ease the few times he got on the ball. Still our best player in my book.
Sean Ryan: Not on long enough to rate really – don’t recall him even getting on the ball.
-
black and red exile
- All Star
- Posts: 587
- Joined: Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:59 pm
- Location: kilcullen
-
TheManFromFerbane
- All Star
- Posts: 744
- Joined: Mon Jan 10, 2005 11:40 pm
- Club: Ferbane
- Location: Kildare
Talk about a difference in opinion!! Here's Ruth O'Briens report on the game from this weeks indo.
A late comeback saw Offaly claim the inaugural John Knight Memorial Cup in Gracefield on Friday night last. Kevin Kilmurray’s side grabbed a late goal and points to overcome the Leinster champions, albeit a very under strength Dublin outfit.
Paul Caffrey’s side looked likely to coast to victory, but Karol Slattery’s goal, three minutes from time, levelled proceedings and two further points from Colm Quinn and Tomas O’Connor sealed the win for the Faithful County.
Dublin looked to be cruising for long periods but a number of second half substitutions upset their rhythm and Offaly were on hand to capitalise.
Indeed the game gave both managers a chance to look at emerging talent. Few names were recognisable on the Dublin side, however full forward Kevin Leahy will be one to watch in the future. He scored a number of memorable points and should he continue in such form he will be useful outlet for Caffrey.
Kevin Kilmurray too took the opportunity to give emerging talent a run out with minor stars James Rafferty and Richard Dalton getting a look in but it was the old reliables of Colm Quinn and Slattery that impressed.
Shamrocks’ Thomas Coughlan was another who got a chance to make an impact on the management team but failed to really impress, along with brother Neville, who had an untypically bad game, and James Coughlan and Thomas Deehan.
In the opening stages Dublin’s attacks looked a lot more flowing than Offaly’s – who laboured forward with very poor passing for long periods. Dublin managed to go 0-3 ahead before Offaly registered a single point when Leahy opened the scoring with five minutes on the clock and half forward Bernard Brogan did likewise four minutes later before Leahy impressively kicked his 45 metre effort over Kevin Meehan’s crossbar.
Clara’s Thomas Deehan got Offaly off the mark on 18 minutes when Neville Coughlan picked him out with a pass and he kicked over from the right side and when Quinn converted a free after James Coughlan was impeded, Offaly were only trailing by three with 25 minutes played.
The standard of football was relatively poor for the duration, particularly in the first half but it was Dublin who went in at the break with a 0-8 to 0-3 advantage.
Leahy scored two before the break as did Brogan while Declan Lally assuredly scored their eighth point right on the stroke of half time.
Offaly saw a goal chance go a begging on 28 minutes when Niall Smith’s shot was saved well by Copeland but the home side managed a third point when David Lowry’s ‘45’ located Thomas Coughlan and he struck over to leave the score at 0-8 to 0-3 at half time.
Offaly looked a little more composed for the second period and pointed just after the throw in when Thomas Coughlan kicked over and could have had a goal two minutes later but Thomas Deehan kicked wide of the target.
They were left
However it was Dublin who looked to be cruising when they went 0-10 to 0-4 to the good when Leahy converted a free and Ger Brennan scored the point of the evening on 45 minutes after a pass from Declan Lally.
James Coughlan kept the faithful in touch when he pointed on 48 minutes yet Dublin looked in control, when Leahy added their eleventh point from a difficult angle on the 53 minute mark.
Dublin only managed one further point for the duration, that coming from Robertson with 14 minutes to play and the Leinster Champions were to rue missed chances as the clock ran down.
Both Quinn and Lowry scored from frees to leave the score at 0-11 to 0-7 with ten minutes left on the clock and it was the introduction of Slattery on 61 minutes that was the turning point of the game.
Before he made his impact Quinn scored a lovely point from the left hand side then Slattery’s quick free, where he played a one/two with Lowry before hitting the net saw Offaly on level terms (1-9 to 0-12).
Dublin missed chances to go back ahead but it was Offaly’s mixture of youth and experience that sealed the win.
Firstly Quinn delivered a point from a free when Gary Mahon was impeded and when Walsh Island’s Tomas O’Connor pointed from the right victory was sealed.
Scorers: Offaly – Colm Quinn 0-4 (3f), Karol Slattery 1-0, Thomas Coughlan 0-2, James Coughlan 0-1, David Lowry 0-1, Niall Smith 0-1, Thomas Deehan 0-1, Tomas O’Connor 0-1.
Dublin – Kevin Leahy 0-6 (1 ’45,’ 2f), Bernard Brogan 0-3, Declan Lally 0-1, Ger Brennan 0-1, Ian Robertson 0-1.
Offaly: Kevin Meehan; Kevin Lynam, James Rafferty, Nigel Grennan; Barry Mooney, Neville Coughlan, Thomas Coughlan; Pauric Bracken, Declan Kelly; Colm Quinn, Damien Hunt, David Lowry; James Coughlan, Rory Guinan, Thomas Deehan. Subs used: Gary Mahon, Niall Smith, Padraic Kelly, Tomas O’Connor, Sean Ryan, Karol Slattery, Richard Dalton.
Dublin: Paul Copeland; Niall O’Shea, Sean Brehony, Danny McCann; Graham Norton, Ger Brennan, Derek Murray; John Coughlan, Eamon Fennell; Ger O’Meara, Bernard Brogan, Declan Lally; David O’Callaghan, Ian Robertson, Kevin Leahy. Subs used: Stephen Tynan, Mick Lyons, Donnacha O’Reilly, Kevin Bonner, Eoin Moran, Stephen Earley, Michael Savage.
Referee: John Bannon.
A late comeback saw Offaly claim the inaugural John Knight Memorial Cup in Gracefield on Friday night last. Kevin Kilmurray’s side grabbed a late goal and points to overcome the Leinster champions, albeit a very under strength Dublin outfit.
Paul Caffrey’s side looked likely to coast to victory, but Karol Slattery’s goal, three minutes from time, levelled proceedings and two further points from Colm Quinn and Tomas O’Connor sealed the win for the Faithful County.
Dublin looked to be cruising for long periods but a number of second half substitutions upset their rhythm and Offaly were on hand to capitalise.
Indeed the game gave both managers a chance to look at emerging talent. Few names were recognisable on the Dublin side, however full forward Kevin Leahy will be one to watch in the future. He scored a number of memorable points and should he continue in such form he will be useful outlet for Caffrey.
Kevin Kilmurray too took the opportunity to give emerging talent a run out with minor stars James Rafferty and Richard Dalton getting a look in but it was the old reliables of Colm Quinn and Slattery that impressed.
Shamrocks’ Thomas Coughlan was another who got a chance to make an impact on the management team but failed to really impress, along with brother Neville, who had an untypically bad game, and James Coughlan and Thomas Deehan.
In the opening stages Dublin’s attacks looked a lot more flowing than Offaly’s – who laboured forward with very poor passing for long periods. Dublin managed to go 0-3 ahead before Offaly registered a single point when Leahy opened the scoring with five minutes on the clock and half forward Bernard Brogan did likewise four minutes later before Leahy impressively kicked his 45 metre effort over Kevin Meehan’s crossbar.
Clara’s Thomas Deehan got Offaly off the mark on 18 minutes when Neville Coughlan picked him out with a pass and he kicked over from the right side and when Quinn converted a free after James Coughlan was impeded, Offaly were only trailing by three with 25 minutes played.
The standard of football was relatively poor for the duration, particularly in the first half but it was Dublin who went in at the break with a 0-8 to 0-3 advantage.
Leahy scored two before the break as did Brogan while Declan Lally assuredly scored their eighth point right on the stroke of half time.
Offaly saw a goal chance go a begging on 28 minutes when Niall Smith’s shot was saved well by Copeland but the home side managed a third point when David Lowry’s ‘45’ located Thomas Coughlan and he struck over to leave the score at 0-8 to 0-3 at half time.
Offaly looked a little more composed for the second period and pointed just after the throw in when Thomas Coughlan kicked over and could have had a goal two minutes later but Thomas Deehan kicked wide of the target.
They were left
However it was Dublin who looked to be cruising when they went 0-10 to 0-4 to the good when Leahy converted a free and Ger Brennan scored the point of the evening on 45 minutes after a pass from Declan Lally.
James Coughlan kept the faithful in touch when he pointed on 48 minutes yet Dublin looked in control, when Leahy added their eleventh point from a difficult angle on the 53 minute mark.
Dublin only managed one further point for the duration, that coming from Robertson with 14 minutes to play and the Leinster Champions were to rue missed chances as the clock ran down.
Both Quinn and Lowry scored from frees to leave the score at 0-11 to 0-7 with ten minutes left on the clock and it was the introduction of Slattery on 61 minutes that was the turning point of the game.
Before he made his impact Quinn scored a lovely point from the left hand side then Slattery’s quick free, where he played a one/two with Lowry before hitting the net saw Offaly on level terms (1-9 to 0-12).
Dublin missed chances to go back ahead but it was Offaly’s mixture of youth and experience that sealed the win.
Firstly Quinn delivered a point from a free when Gary Mahon was impeded and when Walsh Island’s Tomas O’Connor pointed from the right victory was sealed.
Scorers: Offaly – Colm Quinn 0-4 (3f), Karol Slattery 1-0, Thomas Coughlan 0-2, James Coughlan 0-1, David Lowry 0-1, Niall Smith 0-1, Thomas Deehan 0-1, Tomas O’Connor 0-1.
Dublin – Kevin Leahy 0-6 (1 ’45,’ 2f), Bernard Brogan 0-3, Declan Lally 0-1, Ger Brennan 0-1, Ian Robertson 0-1.
Offaly: Kevin Meehan; Kevin Lynam, James Rafferty, Nigel Grennan; Barry Mooney, Neville Coughlan, Thomas Coughlan; Pauric Bracken, Declan Kelly; Colm Quinn, Damien Hunt, David Lowry; James Coughlan, Rory Guinan, Thomas Deehan. Subs used: Gary Mahon, Niall Smith, Padraic Kelly, Tomas O’Connor, Sean Ryan, Karol Slattery, Richard Dalton.
Dublin: Paul Copeland; Niall O’Shea, Sean Brehony, Danny McCann; Graham Norton, Ger Brennan, Derek Murray; John Coughlan, Eamon Fennell; Ger O’Meara, Bernard Brogan, Declan Lally; David O’Callaghan, Ian Robertson, Kevin Leahy. Subs used: Stephen Tynan, Mick Lyons, Donnacha O’Reilly, Kevin Bonner, Eoin Moran, Stephen Earley, Michael Savage.
Referee: John Bannon.
Was at match in Gracefield, cant understand why Meehan was taken off if they are serious about looking at replaceing Kelly. Long kick outs are great provided you have someone who can field them and in Offaly's case we haven't. We have to look at accurate, intelligent kickouts to a player who is expecting it(which Meehan gives you), rather than a hoof up the field as Kelly is inclined to do!! It was great to see the young players get a decent run at senior level and while they didnt always do the right thing with the ball they never stopped trying-which is a lot more than you could say about Deehan or James Coughlan. Actually i beg to differ with lone shark, i thought that the game changed when Sean Ryan came on, he immeadiately won a no-hope ball on the stand side, was fouled, and from the resultant free he had the ball punched away from him for a line ball and from that Karl scored the goal.
Winning is a habit and while some pundits might not attach much signifigence to the victory, the look on the faces of the Dublin mentors faces told a whole different story!
Well done Offaly.
Last Word
-
Lone Shark
- All Star
- Posts: 5378
- Joined: Fri Oct 29, 2004 5:21 pm
- Club: Ferbane
- Location: Roscommon
- Contact:
I'd say the truth is that it was a game in late October, and that there were a lot of players unavailable for various reasons.redser wrote:Theres better players not being given a chance. Is this because they havent turned up for trials or just overlooked by Kilmurray?
When he starts leaving lads out of league games I might get a bit more concerned, but for now I'd say the teams are a function of who he has available to him.