u21 result

[swiftpost]

Disapointing result.
Taking the positives from the game, I think Dempsey and Wynne will make the grade at senior level,along with molloy,Horan etc.
There are a few others who might offer a lot to offaly but seem a bit light Morkam and coughlan.
There were a few u21 playing that were subs on the county seniors that I dont think will make the grade.
D'ont think management got their substitutions right at all but fair play to Kilkenny they continue to lead the way.

[durra1]

Frustrated Horan hits out at senior management

Disappointed Offaly U21 hurling boss Padraig Horan has slated senior management in the aftermath of the Leinster U21 final defeat to Kilkenny.

The St Rynagh’s clubman was frustrated by the manner in which the provincial final was deferred from July 16 to 24 at the behest of senior management, rifling:

"What disappointed me was that no-one even consulted us to know whether we were in favour of changing the game or not. Senior management seemed to step in and demand that the game be put back.

"I felt we were trying to get ready for a Leinster U21 final, which I thought was the most important thing for Offaly hurling, but we found out it wasn’t. We found out we were only in the way.

"That was the obvious thing. Once there was a sniff of any success at senior level, the U21 was a complete obstacle and had to be got out of the way."

[corner back]

What a clown.

He should have the dignity and cop on to take his beating. His team were hurled up a stick by a far from unbeatable Kilkenny team, lucky to be within 12 points and he reckons one week would have made a difference. No game plan, team looked nervous and lacked confidence, lads who hurled well for the senior team manager underperformed on the night, obvious alterations (e.g. Horan to wing back) not made... This is a failure of management.

Senior team had good opportunity to make an all-ireland semi. Senior should always take precedence.

[baz]

At the end of the day what did he say was wrong ,he was bloody right on alot of accounts .Was very disapointed in the way he managed the team that night regarding half backline and mid field area ,there was only a point in it 5 mins into second half .When the seniors played u21 in birr a while back ,saw that night the crap that went on from senior management .How can anyone say seniors should take president over u21 who were in a final .The seniors were going no further than they did .Any team that has a chance of winning a trophy should have more importance .Remember dooley is trying to build a team with lads that have won nothing at under age ,in fairness thats hard to do .In order to have some sort of success at senior level ,it has to come from underage first .While initialy happy with waterford game regarding players attitude and the way we played ,some of those young lads went missing and mangement were very poor ,horan was wright regarding that match whether you like it or not .But still they are not to blame for u21 being as bad as they were THATS HORANS RESPONSIBLILITY ,even if i do see where hes coming from .Noticeably same lads nowhere to be seen against kk .someone said on another post possitives were horan & bergin ,jesus that lad must of had some amount of beer in him or else is thinking of some other match ,they were two biggest let downs on that pitch .bergin done nothing against waterford either and Wynne has to come in for hernon (on senior panel ),cant remember a game over the last 2 years he hasnt got a roasting

[St. Catch]

The key difference over the last number of years has been that Kilkenny players at all levels get the ball into the hand at the first attempt. Whether fielding it or rising it off the ground. Offaly players just aren't as good at this skill which is now the most important aspect of hurling.

We don't catch many balls at the first attempt, even when unchallenged.

I concur absolutely, BNM man. The one constant I have noticed between this game and any of our senior clashes with the Moggies this decade is how adept they are at catching high balls. Nowadays in particular, our lads rarely compete manually for the high ball, opting to pull on it and usually missing because it's already in a black and amber paw
(In the 2nd half of the u21 match I recall an Offaly player batting a high ball into trouble, even though he was completely unmarked. Daft!)

The upshot of it all is that we end up starved of possession, particularly when a game is still up for grabs. We then have to work like Trojans to get the ball back. This energy might be better expended attempting to field the ball and then setting up another glorious Offaly attack