Div 3 South predictions & general comment

A forum to air your views on Offaly GAA matters and beyond.
Fairplayalways
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Fairplayalways »

David Dempsey moved back to the backs which was on the cards..Joe Maher done well on Sunday last I thought..anyway its the league and trying out different things...interesting team again this week..

BiffoInThurso
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by BiffoInThurso »

Good win today.

thought the performance last week was pretty good, tackling was of a high enough quality but when run at we seem to develop more holes than a teabag, parting like the red sea. When we get hands in we have displayed a good habit of foraging turnovers and that is down to the coaching that is taking place. As with last week, we got a huge turn out of our bench, with 6 points coming from the boots of horan, niall mac and cian farrell. Its great to finally have some real depth to be able to call on when needs be. Farrell in particular kicked one spectacular score and looks to have nailled on his place come championship. At this point in time, in a positive sense, its hard to know what offaly's strongest team would be. Few other lads to come back from injury and i also thought karl stewart showed up when he came on, holding onto a ball and fending off lads when offaly needed it most.

Thought peter cunningham was off today. Some nice kick passes and a high fetch come to mind but i think carroll outshone him in midfield. he had a run at full forward last year and im not sure if he looked any livelier there. hes clearly very talented, would a shot at 11 suit him more|? also thought anton had a frustrating day out, even though he was as busy as ever, just felt a lot of things just didnt come off from him. claimed a mark and took the 'free' from it when it never really looked like a position he would be comfortable shooting from.

Think jordan hayes is a bit wasted at wing back, would like to see him on a lot more ball as he is very athletic and could easily burn his lad out with his runs. Played well today and i suppose the problem with having so many lads playing well is that some have to be shoe horned in some way. Thought david dempsey was a bit quiter today than last week but certainly has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet.

Maloney was a rock at 6 and is making the role his own. Some blame may have to be attributed his way for the way in which at times teams just walk up the middle of our team en route to our goal but all in all he played well and marshalled the defence around him well. Defensively i have thought offaly looked excellent this league campaign.

Nothing of real note about the full back line. The limerick goal was soft enough and i cant say they looked massively threatening with frees keeping them in it at parts. Dunican kick outs solid, well able to find his men and fond of a wander up field which we can all appreciate even if it does leave our hearts in out mouths at times.

Subs as mentioned previously were excellent. Apart from the aforementioned it was good to see the management have confidence in running the bench out at a time when the game was still in the melting pot.

Only points of improvement id put forward would to be a bit more willing to engage lads once they enter our defensive third, too many times lads seemed to waltz past us but i have to say that when we do get contact we are well able to bottle lads up and force turnovers. would just like to see opposition players be a little less welcomed when it comes to running at us. A bit more ruthlessness in front of goals would be nice too. Have butchered a lot of goal chances this season but i suppose youd be more worried if we werent creating the chances. having some one like cian j at the end of those moves would probably see our finishing improve significantly.

As i type this, there have been more scores in the donegal monaghan game by the first water break than there were in the first half of the offaly game! not for nothing i suppose but just highlights the difference in scoring efficacy as you move up the leagues.

uibh fhaili abu.

kingscounty
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by kingscounty »

Well done lads another very good win,

Fairplayalways
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Fairplayalways »

great summary of game above, unfortunately I did not get to see it and only heard bits of it on MR3 while on the road...a win is a win...0-16 is a decent score along with our 1-14 last week...subs bench used and good talent on it too...every other year in redent times managment seemed paralysed with fear when it came to subs..maybe they felt we didnt have the quality..I dont know..but this years mentality is alot more postive and attack minded...excellent win over a very decent Limerick team...well done all..

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Bord na Mona man »

I only got the Twitter updates. It looked like the frees kept Limerick in touch when Offaly had a slight advantage in the 2nd half. Limerick got 5 points from frees and Offaly got zero. Did Offaly commit fouls in fear of Limerick getting in for a goal?

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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Lone Shark »

BiffoInThurso wrote: Sat May 22, 2021 5:22 pm Good win today.

thought the performance last week was pretty good, tackling was of a high enough quality but when run at we seem to develop more holes than a teabag, parting like the red sea. When we get hands in we have displayed a good habit of foraging turnovers and that is down to the coaching that is taking place. As with last week, we got a huge turn out of our bench, with 6 points coming from the boots of horan, niall mac and cian farrell. Its great to finally have some real depth to be able to call on when needs be. Farrell in particular kicked one spectacular score and looks to have nailled on his place come championship. At this point in time, in a positive sense, its hard to know what offaly's strongest team would be. Few other lads to come back from injury and i also thought karl stewart showed up when he came on, holding onto a ball and fending off lads when offaly needed it most.

Thought peter cunningham was off today. Some nice kick passes and a high fetch come to mind but i think carroll outshone him in midfield. he had a run at full forward last year and im not sure if he looked any livelier there. hes clearly very talented, would a shot at 11 suit him more|? also thought anton had a frustrating day out, even though he was as busy as ever, just felt a lot of things just didnt come off from him. claimed a mark and took the 'free' from it when it never really looked like a position he would be comfortable shooting from.

Think jordan hayes is a bit wasted at wing back, would like to see him on a lot more ball as he is very athletic and could easily burn his lad out with his runs. Played well today and i suppose the problem with having so many lads playing well is that some have to be shoe horned in some way. Thought david dempsey was a bit quiter today than last week but certainly has made himself one of the first names on the team sheet.

Maloney was a rock at 6 and is making the role his own. Some blame may have to be attributed his way for the way in which at times teams just walk up the middle of our team en route to our goal but all in all he played well and marshalled the defence around him well. Defensively i have thought offaly looked excellent this league campaign.

Nothing of real note about the full back line. The limerick goal was soft enough and i cant say they looked massively threatening with frees keeping them in it at parts. Dunican kick outs solid, well able to find his men and fond of a wander up field which we can all appreciate even if it does leave our hearts in out mouths at times.

Subs as mentioned previously were excellent. Apart from the aforementioned it was good to see the management have confidence in running the bench out at a time when the game was still in the melting pot.

Only points of improvement id put forward would to be a bit more willing to engage lads once they enter our defensive third, too many times lads seemed to waltz past us but i have to say that when we do get contact we are well able to bottle lads up and force turnovers. would just like to see opposition players be a little less welcomed when it comes to running at us. A bit more ruthlessness in front of goals would be nice too. Have butchered a lot of goal chances this season but i suppose youd be more worried if we werent creating the chances. having some one like cian j at the end of those moves would probably see our finishing improve significantly.

As i type this, there have been more scores in the donegal monaghan game by the first water break than there were in the first half of the offaly game! not for nothing i suppose but just highlights the difference in scoring efficacy as you move up the leagues.

uibh fhaili abu.
Was lucky enough to be in attendance today, and I have to say that I'm impressed with the patience and mental strength Offaly showed. They created three, maybe four first half goal chances, and took none, and when Limerick got a scrubbishy goal that I would consider more unlucky than soft, they might have dropped their heads and said luck wasn't on their side. They didn't, they kept their heads, and as you said, the impetus from the subs bench was massive.

I completely agree on the points about Jordan Hayes, about Cunningham struggling to get into the game today (notwithstanding one incredible high catch), and Anton - though I thought Anton was decent overall, he just needs to stop shooting from 30 metres or more. I keep saying this, his percentages in shooting from distance are appalling, while he gets positive outcomes when he runs at defenders and drives towards goal. I cannot believe this still hasn't been coached into him more. But in terms of work rate, tackle count, and sheer pest factor for the opposition, I'd pick him every day.

I do disagree on Moloney, and I say this having hyped him up on here during the week - but his tackling was awful today, he gave away needless frees in areas that weren't dangerous, and to a Limerick team where they only had one forward (Neville) who looked capable of scoring from open play. Character-wise, he's a great guy and I'd still pick him at 6 for the Tipperary game, but I'd have taken him off today, it was clearly an off day for him.

Equally, I actually thought the full back line did quite well. Plenty of turnover ball won, yes some frees conceded but not too many (lots of the scorable frees were from someone other than Rigney/Darby/Hogan/Lalor) and they also got good hands in that just were unlucky in that the spilled ball went to another Limerick player. Moreover, that full forward line did huge damage against Tipperary - if they didn't look dangerous today, then Offaly deserve credit for that, the full back line in particular.

In conclusion, I'd say that it's great to have two wins out of two, even though that's two games in a row where we were more dominant than the final score suggested. It means that they still need to be on their toes next week, instead of being able to relax a bit, but that might be no bad thing. Given the ludicrous form Derry are in (another journalist told me that they were training hard, and collectively, the whole way through the lockdown, but that of course may be just Chinese whispers) it seems like finishing top and avoiding them might be no bad idea. I was at the Cavan vs Fermanagh game and I certainly wouldn't fear either of those, particularly given that Cavan lost James Smith to injury today.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

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Lone Shark
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

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Bord na Mona man wrote: Sun May 23, 2021 1:01 am I only got the Twitter updates. It looked like the frees kept Limerick in touch when Offaly had a slight advantage in the 2nd half. Limerick got 5 points from frees and Offaly got zero. Did Offaly commit fouls in fear of Limerick getting in for a goal?
In general, and this is to Offaly's credit, the tackling from the home side was much, much better than that of Limerick. We got in a lot more hits, were a lot more tenacious, and that spilled over. Limerick didn't have the same intensity about them at all - they played a lot of keep ball in possession, so that was a factor (I'd say possession was 60/40 Limerick, even though they usually didn't look dangerous with the ball) but also the fact that Danny Neville hit form after half time, and I think he won three of the scorable frees.

Some of the fouls were a bit frustrating but overall, if I was part of the management team, I wouldn't want to change too much. I'd prefer to be part of the team that committed five or six fouls in advanced positions than the team that conceded roughly 30 scoring chances and never laid a hand on an opponent, notwithstanding the penalty of course.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

BiffoInThurso
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by BiffoInThurso »

yeah maybe the wrong choice of words to describe their goal, it was very much a series of fortunate events on their behalf that led to the ball being in the back of the net, if the scuffed shot that led to the finish was caught in any way cleanly it'd probably have had too much juice and skidded across the goal face, c'est la vie!

Anton needs to run at his man every time, he is fleet footed and has a turn of pace that draws fouls. I think he has a bit of a reputation nationally as being easy wound up which im not sure is the case anymore, certainly to the degree that it once was. Offaly should be encouraging him to run hard at goal and force the fouls, he looks a bit smaller than most lads hes marking which would probably sway any ref's decision when it comes to awarding 50/50 challenges on him.

Be interested in hearing others thoughts on that weakness we have when we are run at? Or is it only a figment of my imagination? Definetly noticable in this weeks and last weeks games.

The defence, and the full back line in particular have been immense. Maughan seems to have instilled a real tigerishness in the team and it is evident in the tackling as well as the overall performance of the team.

Tipperary only beating wicklow by 3 points suggests they may not have fully hit their straps this year though there is no doubt we have struggled against them in recent years. They are very much there for the taking. In the same vein that offaly teams of the past would have found ways to draw or lose todays game, i think a positive result next week would really be a huge statement for this group of players. Declan Hogan will be a loss however against a still potentially dangerous tipp full forward line. Timely return of Joe O Connor would be a boost for our options too, he was immense last year for rynaghs in their intermediate championship win.

On the other side of the coin, the northern teams look a class above at this level, derry in particular are running up cricket scores. You feel that after a few barren years they have recalibrated and made the most out of the dog fights that take place in the lower divisions. They will bring huge physicallity and tactical nous. The northern teams seem to be leading the charge on this new attack minded way of playing with huge scores being put up in their games in this league. It would be very interesting to see how we would fare at that level.

Have to make sure we earn the oppurtunity first!

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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Sur lookit »

"I do disagree on Moloney, and I say this having hyped him up on here during the week - but his tackling was awful today, he gave away needless frees in areas that weren't dangerous, and to a Limerick team where they only had one forward (Neville) who looked capable of scoring from open play. Character-wise, he's a great guy and I'd still pick him at 6 for the Tipperary game, but I'd have taken him off today, it was clearly an off day for him".

Fair play LS, He has a role in the team but he gave away a terrible ball, and tackling poor again. I think that whilst the rest of the team in general have upped the tempo, he is not at the pitch of it just yet.
As mentioned, we were a lot better defensively in that Limerick got very little opportunity to run at us and we got turnovers when we did engage.

Peter C, Maloney, and Ruairi Mc first half (bit better in second) and Anton as senior men in the team are not performing. It would be a worry going into championship as I feel that if they could get to the level that they can, we not only should take care of Louth, but would really fancy a crack at Kildare again.
Why we allowed Limerick all the kick outs short after half time amazes me? We won a lot of the long kick outs, both ours and theirs. Especially with the use of a stiff breeze, we should have pinned them back, and we could have kicked on.

But, having said that, it's a definite improvement from last year all around and we created many goal chances over the last 2 games, impact of subs ...immense..and a lot to be positive about.

BiffoInThurso
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by BiffoInThurso »

Michael quinlivan and bill maher out for Saturday. Tipp manager says they are only going to be training one night this week, think they are finding the going tough.

They are there for the taking.

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Bord na Mona man
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Bord na Mona man »

Yes, let's not blow Tipperary up too much. Personnel wise, they've been weakened since last year, so there is some optimism to be drawn from that.

In last year's Munster Championship, Cork on a good day beat Kerry on a bad day and Tipperary on a good day beat Cork on a bad day.
In the league, Tipp still had to beat Leitrim on the last day (by 2 points) to be fully sure they didn't end up in div 4.

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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

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BiffoInThurso wrote: Mon May 24, 2021 9:02 pm Michael quinlivan and bill maher out for Saturday. Tipp manager says they are only going to be training one night this week, think they are finding the going tough.

They are there for the taking.
Offaly have lost to Tipperary over the past few league games. I would still be cautious about the game. Offaly despite winning 2 games, have not been convincing, goal chances not taken.
To beat Tipperary, Offaly will have to be clinical with their opportunities.

Sur lookit
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Sur lookit »

Last year we had every chance to put Tipp away in Thurles. Poor shooting, not enough direct ball in, and non existant tackling were factors. I think we gave away a soft goal or penalty to them also?

If we are to close the gap on them, and other teams I would think that we need to push up a bit more on their kick outs.

I think we have more options, lads keen to tie down positions on the team, and more tactical savvy in using these options.

Whilst I wouldnt be over confident, I think if we have a real cut at Tipp we should have enough to turn them over.

Best of luck to all

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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by Kevin »

So uplifting to be in the promotion hunt as opposed to being in a relegation firefight. Even if its an abbreviated season to this point.

Hoping we can make the most of the opportunity tomorrow.

GOOD LUCK LADS!!!
Kevin Clancey. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.

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bracknaghboy
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Re: Div 3 South predictions & general comment

Post by bracknaghboy »

What a disgrace that on a fine day like today 2,000 of us can't be in O'Conner Park well spread out.
Does anyone even believe this COVID shite anymore?

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