www.uibhfhaili.com

It could have been a lot worse of a draw.
We'll do a lot better than the 2008 fixture anyway!

The fact that it's at home in Tullamore will give us a chance anyway. Agree we will do a lot better than two years ago but not sure we can win it.

Hopefully we can bow out with grace and pride on Saturday against the Jekyl and Hyde of Gaelic football. This game could very well depend on what side of the bed the Down players get out of. A Down football nut mate of mine told me that the Down football public are growing very frustrated with the sheer inconsistancy of this group of players, on Saturday last against Div 4 Longford they mixed the very good with the very bad and because of their lacksadaisy attitude in the second half found themselves in a big battle and had to dig themselves out of a hole to get over the finishing line. They will be expected to come to Tullamore to come away with an easy victory and if their attitude is not right then this will certainly work in Offaly's favour.Remember last year in Aughrim when they fell to a another div 4 side in Wicklow, this proves that if our lads can hang on to their coatails up to half time and behond then the old doubts could very well come back into Down minds and they could very well bottle it with the finishing line approaching.
This game provides a massive opportunity for our footballers to put some much needed pride back into Offaly football, at the very least Offaly should make Down sweat like hell to get out of O'Connor PK with their win, it's unlikely we can cause a shock here but as I already stated if our attitude is 100 per cent and Down come with their Mr Hyde mindset then who knows.

black and red exile wrote:it's unlikely we can cause a shock here but as I already stated if our attitude is 100 per cent and Down come with their Mr Hyde mindset then who knows.

Down are no great shakes and we could cause an upset, get plenty of ball in to Nialler & co and we are a match for any of them, we have to be possitive, I just hope that Cribben picks our best team (does he really know this yet?. I don't think so.

lads ye must be joking if ye think we have a chance against down!!!
we havent beaten a half decent side in a couple of years
plus the present bunch of eegits (one or 2 excluded) wearing the jersey dont have the stomach for a real battle

Have some Faith,
The Lads are doing their best,
we will give down a big game on saturday,i think we have a chance of winning,down are no great shakes,longford could of beat them in the last round(down got a goal from a peno that never was)

with back to back wins and "before you say it" you can only beat the team infront""
... conferdens must be back in the team.

Lads, this is the round of games to win as the 4 winners play the beaten provincial losers such as Roscommon?, Limerick or Louth?. You could draw Roscommon and suddenly you are in an All Ireland quarter final. Dream on.

Was up in Casement to see Down lose to Tyrone. Inconsistent is definitely the word. Not only from game to game, but from possession to possession even.

What started so brightly for them that Saturday evening turned into an absolute disaster. The amount of possession given away through poor (to be kind) shooting and confusing decisions was shocking. The wheels starting coming off late in the first half where they gave away their advantage on the scoreboard. Even though Tyrone did all in their power to keep Down in the game in an ugly second half, they still managed to fall short.

For the first 15 minutes, Down took Tyrone to school. We can't allow them to get a good start like that. If they played just half the game as well as they did the first 15 I don't see how Tyrone could have managed them.

They are a good team. The midfield was very strong until they ran out of gas. At least one if not both of their giants were replaced by the end.

Offaly must be ready for the speed of the game right off the bat. Perhaps it is not sustainable, but nonetheless the early going showed tremendous quickness, teamwork, anticipation and incredible man to man ball winning ability.

If we don't let them get too far out ahead, we can make a good game of it. If we take the 'its only the qualifiers' attitude in the chance we fall behind - it could be a cricket score. We're in the middle of a good run so lets ROLL ON!!!!!

arbarg, there is no need to to be insulting the players, they are trying their best and don't need so called supporters or should I say thicks like you calling them names. Why not get along Saturday and get behind them like the rest of us or would you by any chance be another one of those famous barstool pundits?

I hate to say it but The Sunday Game had it spot on when they said that Offaly were only postponing the inevitable (after the Clare match). The whole qualifier system is geared towards giving the stronger counties more games and avoiding the possibility of the likes of Kerry being knocked out in the first round and being dumped out. We have seen some smaller teams embrace the system (Fermanagh, Wicklow, Sligo) and have good runs but other teams not good enough to win their provincial championships have scraped into quarter finals and been absolutely annihalated ( Roscommon, Dublin). Lets face it we are kidding ourselves if we think we think it will do football in Offaly any good to be murdered by a serious outfit on the big stage. I would like to see an honest, intelligent effort against Down and if we win so be it but if we lose let's hope it is not by much and then run off the club championship promptly.

PS If the latest hurling phase was supposed to be at neutral venues how come Antrim are playing Dublin in Croke Park?

dubbiff wrote:I would like to see an honest, intelligent effort against Down and if we win so be it but if we lose let's hope it is not by much and then run off the club championship promptly.

PS If the latest hurling phase was supposed to be at neutral venues how come Antrim are playing Dublin in Croke Park?

2 fair points. I'm hearing plenty of complaints about the club championships not being played and its mid summer. Remember each teams have 3 games left before the knockouts even begin. Theres many club players that feel their seasons and efforts are a waste as they wait for the inevitable exit of our county footballers. I strongly held this view in the past but perhaps now that I no longer play or are involved with teams its not something that bothers me but I see the club players point.

Secondly the GAA seem to make the qualifier rules (lets face it like everything else) as they plod along. Why are phase 3 qualifier hurling games in neutral venues? Whats do they deem is different between phase 3 and phase 2? Why do say that teams that have already met can't meet in Phase 3, yet Leix and Carlow met in leinster and then met in qualifiers a couple of weeks later?

dubbiff wrote:PS If the latest hurling phase was supposed to be at neutral venues how come Antrim are playing Dublin in Croke Park?

Parnell Park is Dublin's home ground.

dubbiff wrote: PS If the latest hurling phase was supposed to be at neutral venues how come Antrim are playing Dublin in Croke Park?

Just to take you up on this point, theoretically Croke Park is a neutral venue. Parnell Park is Dublin's home ground. Obviously it's not neutral realistically but it's similar to a county final where Tullamore are involved, supposedly.

Obviously it's not neutral realistically but it's similar to a county final where Tullamore are involved, supposedly.

LS you're hardly suggesting Tullamore have an advantage by playing in O'Connor Park in county finals? I mean other than the fact that it might draw a larger support Tullamore never train in the pitch and probably play less matches in there than any other club team in Offaly. For example the last time the senior hurlers played or trained in there was the Leinster Club final and the last time the senior footballers were in there was a championship match in July 2009.

bazza wrote:

Obviously it's not neutral realistically but it's similar to a county final where Tullamore are involved, supposedly.

LS you're hardly suggesting Tullamore have an advantage by playing in O'Connor Park in county finals? I mean other than the fact that it might draw a larger support Tullamore never train in the pitch and probably play less matches in there than any other club team in Offaly. For example the last time the senior hurlers played or trained in there was the Leinster Club final and the last time the senior footballers were in there was a championship match in July 2009.

I would strongly disagree with your assertion that Tullamore play less games there than any other club team in Offaly, as would the footballers of Clonmore, Bracknagh, Ballyfore, Kinnitty and plenty of other places.

However I wasn't trying to suggest there was an advantage, or if there is, it's nothing meaningful. It's merely the factthat the county ground is in a certain town, just as Croke Park happens to be located in Dublin.