Birr vs. that KK crowd

[Bord na Mona man]

Actually, it's Leinster vs. Ulster this year, but Birr have rarely had it easy vs Ulster club sides.

[the bare biffo]

Well done Birr !!!

As a mere fan it is worth far more to see a winning performance like yesterday than to have your opinions proved right.
Leave the punditry to the experts.
Up till about 10 mins into the second half I thought Ballyhale looked as though they could pull away, they really should have had more scores on the board by that stage. But the blood and guts performance in the last 20 was great to watch.
And the timing of the substitutions seemed to work perfectly.
Delighted to see all 4 Whelehans playing influential roles in the win.

My fear now is that we get a repeat of the U21's this year. A great win in Kilkenny only to leave the title to a Dublin team, then this win really will mean nothing.

But for now, well done to Birr and fuck the begrudgers.

[Offalys Future]

Well done Birr !!!

As a mere fan it is worth far more to see a winning performance like yesterday than to have your opinions proved right.
Leave the punditry to the experts.
But for now, well done to Birr and fuck the begrudgers.

Believe me its far better on a Monday morning heading to Paddy powers to collect €120 in winnings!
You should try it, try analyse both teams, find negatives and positives and then make your call, if you know anything that is?
And a bit of advice dont believe everything you read in the newspapers!

As for your last comment i dont think anyone is begrudging Birr their win on this forum

[Loughers]

That was one of the sweetest Birr victories. Up there with Clarecastle in 1997. I heard that the Ballyhale manager was less than magnanimous in the Birr dsressing room after. He said Birr were lucky, Ballyhale were missing their best players and that they will beat Birr next year, if we get out of Offaly. P*ick. As far as I know, Leinster plays Ulster in the semi.

[Bord na Mona man]

I heard that the Ballyhale manager was less than magnanimous in the Birr dsressing room after. He said Birr were lucky, Ballyhale were missing their best players and that they will beat Birr next year, if we get out of Offaly. P*ick.

That sounds like Maurice Aylward all right.
God help us if an Offaly manager did that. The lectures po-faced Kilkenny folk would be giving us about how hurling people should conduct themselves...

[Efan]

Congrats to Birr. Cracking performance with an intensity in their game that I have not seen for at least 3 years. Birr owned the ball for long periods and with a bit more bite in the inside line could have easily tagged on another 4-6 points. Birrs wins in the Club Championship have generally been a combination of tight defence, intensity in the tackle and cuteness when required.

I refuse to buy into the assertion that this is in some way bad for the Offaly senior squad. At the moment a time we are struggling against KK at Senior Inter County level with defeats based as much on fear as ability. Wins like that one yesterday have to give an injection in confidence to anybody who was there or watched it on tv. Birr have not progressed in Leinster the last 2 seasons and this has hardly given the inter county squad a shot in the arm.

I hope now that it will be shoulder to the grind in the run into the Ballyboden game and that Sid in the twilight of his career will get a chance to climb the steps in Tullamore and begin to cap a career that none of us well ever see the like of again in Offaly hurling.

[the bare biffo]

Believe me its far better on a Monday morning heading to Paddy powers to collect €120 in winnings!
You should try it, try analyse both teams, find negatives and positives and then make your call, if you know anything that is?
And a bit of advice dont believe everything you read in the newspapers!

As for your last comment i dont think anyone is begrudging Birr their win on this forum

OK, I've been doing my best to ignore anything you post for some time now, but today I descend.

Question. In my post, did I refer, defer or infer in any way to you.
Answer. No.

I have no interest in anything you wish to post except when you direct it at me.

So would you kindly piss off and annoy someone else with your feigned confrontational drivel.

[Offalys Future]

hit a nerve did i?!
Dont write on the forum if you aint going to back up what you say like a good lad.

[TheManFromFerbane]

http://www.lyricsdepot.com/war/why-cant ... iends.html

[Offalys Future]

I aint from either the CIA or the Mafia!

[TheManFromFerbane]

I aint from either the CIA or the Mafia!

Well of course you would say that!

[Dingle]

That was one of the sweetest Birr victories. Up there with Clarecastle in 1997. I heard that the Ballyhale manager was less than magnanimous in the Birr dsressing room after. He said Birr were lucky, Ballyhale were missing their best players and that they will beat Birr next year, if we get out of Offaly. P*ick. As far as I know, Leinster plays Ulster in the semi.

Thats hilarious. Most KK people have this false modesty vibe breed into them when they talk to you. But once in their own company they let rip. Nice to see the mask slipped on this occasion.
B irr made v hard work out of this Mullin's let in a howler and fumbled at lot. The decision not to start Hayden on Reid could haave cost them the game. The Birr fullforward line were woefull. Any news on Stephen Browne?

[Offalys Future]

Lets get back to the topic.

First i want to clear a few things up

1. The notion that Ballyhale Shamrocks are a great side.
Athenry when they were dominating Galway and winning All-Irelands were a great side. As was Birr. As are Crossmaglen and Nemo Rangers are great sides.
Ballyhale have won club All-Ireland last year and 2 county titles back to back and suddenly they are a great side.
Media nowadays have such a stranglehold over people that its very few are capable of making their own point or opinion these days.
The media blew up Ballyhale last year and the main reason was that their two best hurlers received hurler of the year and young hurler of the year. A first in GAA history (i think). And it was a great achievemnet for them and for Ballyhale to win the Leinster and Club All-Ireland.
This year they were without their star players and managed to win a poor Kilkenny championship. While the media made a big deal of this achievement few looked at the standard of hurling which was very poor like it is in most counties at present.
TJ Reid - the notion that he is a great hurler i just dont get. You judge the best players when they play against the best hurlers. Once Hayden went on Reid he never hit one ball for 30 minutes. (maybe 1) Dylan Hayden is by no means a great hurler. Brian Cody is known to pick only the best players for his teams, he obviously doesnt think much of TJ Reid either.

2. The notion that this was a great win for Birr.
No it wasnt, many people had Birr as favourites as i did. They were playing against 15 club hurlers nothing more. Birr had 6 intercounty hurlers on the team and most of the rest have intercounty experience. They arent been trained peoperly or prepared properly. Birr should have walked yesterdays game by 7 or 8 points but they didnt.
When Birr were winning their Leinster and Club All-Irelands they never once carried on like they did after a Leinster semi final like they did yesterday. Is this how low things are that they think its an achievement beating 15 club hurlers. They showed very little respect to Ballyhale and to Henry Shefflin in their post match comments.

3. The notion that Birr hurling until March and 10 players not been on the county panel not affect Offaly.
While i have been crtical of Joe Dooleys selection as manager, it now seems for once that the players are going to be prepared correctly over the next 4 months something that hasnt happened for a long time in Offaly.
10 Players not training properly and arsing around with Birr and a club competition that they havent a hope of winning is a diaster for Offaly if it happens.

4.The notion that winning in Nowlan Park is a great thing.
Birr didnt beat Kilkenny yesterday, they beat 15 club hurlers no intercounty players that started last years all-ireland from Kilkenny were present.
It was a game i had predicted them to win and should have won easily.
Nowlan park is a hurling field like any other and its the media that make big things of this.

Lastly i certainly am not begrudging Birr their win, they were the better team and fair play to them for the result. But you have to look at things a little closely here and then you might see the bigger picture.

[Plain of the Herbs]

A superb performance by Birr yesterday who did what they had to do to win and made it count on the scoreboard. Like Bogman, I spent the game talking to the television, particularly the last fifteen minutes.

Birr did what they do best, the tips, the flicks, the hooks and the blocks. However, while that stops the opposition scoring it doesn’t, in itself, yield scores. In the second half the Birr forwards made far more space for themselves and they took the scores that gave them a vice-like grip on the game. And what a second half! Eight Birr points, three Ballyhale points and all bar the last coming from play!

The Birr full back were superb throughout. Somwas Cleary, while Hayden grew into the game as it went on. I didn’t have him down as a man marker, but there’s another string to his bow! Barry Whelahan worked his socks off and the two Hanniffys also grew into the game as it went on, being utterly dominant towards the end.

Aidan Cummins had the measure of Brian Whelahan (why wouldn’t he, he was holding onto him all day) but Brian did much better on the occasions when he dropped deeper and swept up and distributed some ball.

Simon Whelahan surprised me with his workrate. His reverse flick to Dylan Hayden was a memorable cameo, which deserved a score. Unfortunately the shot went narrowly wide. Keith Hehir did well when he got on the ball and is a useful addition at full forward. He needs to get out in front more and will be a threat if he can do this. Still, it is a big step up for a fella hurling his first full match at senior level. Brian Watkins will improve as well.

The individual highlight of the match for me was that first half point by T.J. Reid when, having caught the ball twice, feigned to strike, rebalanced the ball on the hurl before striking the ball over the bar without catching! A most sublime piece of individual skill.

Of course there were things that didn’t go to plan and there are areas which need to be improved on but that’s not for today’s analysis.

Hats of, too, to a brave Ballyhale side for the part they played in a classic. They are the unluckiest club in the country the way they were shorn of their two leaders. There’s at least another All-Ireland in them at full strength. Birr needed to get in front as the game entered the melting pot in order to create the doubts in their minds and that they did.

The Leinster final in Tullamore in a fortnight. A pity for Birr that St. Brendan’s Park is not available but they won’t complain about Tullamore. Ballyboden are a decent outfit who will give Birr some trouble. Like all Dublin sides, they will relish Offaly opposition. Another nailbiting hour is in store.

Looking towards the longer term, the prospects of a fifth club title are a shade brighter today. If Birr did make the final they may face Portumna. The Galwaymen are tournament favourites now but I think Birr would have their measure.

Here’s the dream. All Ireland club final – Birr v Loughmore Castleiney – clash of colours so its county colours – green white and gold lining up against blue and gold! Only dreaming of course!

[black and red exile]

What a fantastic win for Birr and congrads especially to Loughers on this site. It was like watching the Birr of old, the harrying, blocking and support play especially in the second half was a joy to watch and yes it was a massive shot in the arm for hurling in our county after the nightmare hidings our teams, in all codes, have got from Kilkenny teams over the last number of years. Offalys Future was right in saying that Birr had no full forward line yesterday and I would imagine if Stephen Brown had been on the field for the full hour he would have been moved to the edge of the square to cause some problems and curb the influence of the towering Eamonn Walsh. Although Keith heir got 2 points from play he got very little change from the dominant Walsh. I don't know about anybody else but as an Offaly man I felt ten feet tall walking out of Nowlan Park yesterday and yes we all know that if Birr were to succeed on Sunday week that it would be a handicap for our new team management for the upcoming league but for now lets just enjoy the one bit of good feeling that we have this week and everyone get behind the mighty Birr for hopefully 3 more big games that will come to a conclusion on ST PADDY,S DAY.