1964 wrote:celebrations well and truly finished nothing won yet. dont know why they were wearing the white jerseys on sat
That's gas, it never even entered my head at the match that Tullamore were wearing their second colours.
I can only assume that after the comeback against Banagher they are viewing the white jerseys as some kind of good luck charm... along the lines of Sligo changing their jersey a few years ago after going on a run in the football qualifiers. It's not an altogether bad idea to be wearing bright coloured jerseys at this time of year anyway if a team has a set they're familiar with. In the event of an evening getting dark and gloomy as a game goes on, it could only be a help.
Maybe there's a more logical reason for it but we'll credit Kevin Martin with a psychological manouevre...
Over The Black Spot wrote:
Maybe there's a more logical reason for it but we'll credit Kevin Martin with a psychological manouevre...
Maybe Kevin Martin got advice from Supernatural Sue.
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Singing the Blues to avoid drop
05 October 2009
BAD luck... squandered chances… a leaky defence?
None of these frequently prescribed defects are to blame for Ipswich Town's catastrophic start to the football season according to clairvoyant Sue Knock.
The well-known Ipswich medium points the finger at ancient druids for inspiring poor performances on the pitch and thinks the answer to the team's problems lies with the fans - and a song made famous by German disco band Boney M.
Supernatural Sue, is in the business of offering psychic solutions, believes only by appeasing the primeval pagans can the Tractor Boys get their season back on track.
the reality of the situation 1964 is that birr lost that match themselfs .the team fought with each other on and off the pitch ,the switches that were made has left every one in disbelieve ( it was like as if they wanted to lose with what was going on ) .birr never hurled at all in that game , hurled like they couldnt give a shite ,if they did hurled they would have won .and bad and all as birr were every one at that game knows only for groome ( the ref ) they still wouldnt have won .yesus he mounted birr .
having said that good to have a change in final as k/k winning the other semi brought that home .big insentive for either team if they hold the head who ever wins as a good draw for leinster ( love to see k/k a crack at this as they have a team that could give it a good rattle ).
what planet are you on baz.birr hurled as good as they were let .and they only started fighting when things didnt go their way .tullamore played the better hurling all way thruogh the game and birr were simply beat by the better team on the day .if it was anyone else bar tullamore you would be raving about them .tullamore are in the final on merit ,
Bit harsh on Tullamore there Baz. The thing is that while Birr mightn’t have been at their best, Tullamore still had to give the performance of a lifetime to beat them. Like when Birr reeled in the six-point lead to level, Tullamore had to dig deep to get those two points for the lead. There were still four minutes to play, plus stoppage time at that stage, and the Tullamore defence never budged. Birr got plenty of ball down in the closing stages and could have stole it, right down to the very last seconds when that free was dropped into the danger zone and Egan emerged with the ball.
If Birr were fighting last Sunday then they were fighting the week before as well and Kinnitty never, ever looked like beating them. That must say something about Tullamore’s resolve.
And how many teams came off the field having run Birr close, only to have regrets afterwards? Coolderry in ’06 (draw AND replay), K/K last year and the year before all spring to mind.
I’ve been sceptical about Tullamore during the year while they weren’t producing the goods but they proved last Saturday that they had the resolve to see the job through to the end.
baz wrote:the reality of the situation 1964 is that birr lost that match themselfs .the team fought with each other on and off the pitch ,the switches that were made has left every one in disbelieve ( it was like as if they wanted to lose with what was going on ) .birr never hurled at all in that game , hurled like they couldnt give a shite ,if they did hurled they would have won .and bad and all as birr were every one at that game knows only for groome ( the ref ) they still wouldnt have won .yesus he mounted birr .
having said that good to have a change in final as k/k winning the other semi brought that home .big insentive for either team if they hold the head who ever wins as a good draw for leinster ( love to see k/k a crack at this as they have a team that could give it a good rattle ).
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Just wanna wish Tullamore all the best in the Senior hurling final!
Great to have 2 different teams in the final this year, so at least we will have a new champion either way.
I know a lot of lads hurling for Tullamore and I know all about the effort they have put in over the last couple of years and sacrifices they made to get to a Final. As well as that all the hard work goin on behind the scenes deserves something to show ( I suppose the same would have to be said of KK as well in fairness) .
So best of luck lads, If ye show the same hunger and desire ye have n the last two games ye will be hard stopped
Just keeping the threads tidy arbag. As a neutral I'd like to wish both teams best of luck but I have to say I'd like to see Tullamore win. It's a great story from them and strangely enough they could be in both finals this year only for their slow start to the group in the football. I wonder does all this vindicate Kevin Martin in his disagreement with Phil O'Reilly?? Could their be a shift in power in Tullamore GAA from football to hurling I wonder?
TheManFromFerbane wrote:Could their be a shift in power in Tullamore GAA from football to hurling I wonder?
I doubt it myself. It would be fantastic since Tullamore would have a sufficient pick to thrive at both without a huge number of dual players, however we are still talking about a club who (I think) couldn't even field in the under 21 hurling championship, while at the same time has an excellent core of teenagers in the club, winning U16 and minor last year. I'd say it's odds on that Tullamore win at least one football county championship between 2010 and 2015, and very much odds against that they win a hurling one.
I think this was just a year where everything fell right for them, as it did for Kilcormac/Killoughey. One of the two clubs is going to cash in and kick on, however I think the loser of this will find it difficult to recover from since it'll feel like the chance of a lifetime gone begging.
Kevin Egan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
The senior hurling championship got underway last May, the week after Offaly beat Wexford in the League final in Thurles. Shamrocks and Shinrone got the championship underway on the Thursday evening in a low-key affair at Kilcormac, Shamrocks winning. The following evening Birr and Coolderry, the likely finalists, got their campaigns underway with wins over Belmont and Lusmagh respectively.
The championship showed some signs of life with double header at Lusmagh on the Saturday evening. Clareen and Tullamore played out an exciting draw when they shared four goals in the last ten minutes, 2 each, ending in a 3-11 each draw. In the second part of the double header, Kilcormac led St. Rynagh’s 8 -4 after twenty minutes but ’Rynagh’s roared into life and dominated the remainder for an impressive 0-22 to 0-13 win. Unsurprisingly no-one suggests a K/K v Tullamore final afterwards!
With Offaly minor hurlers playing (and losing to) Westmeath on the Saturday, round 2 takes place on the Sunday. St. Rynagh’s are unable to build on their win over K/K as Kinnitty show good signs of a title challenge as they win 2-11 to 0-11. At the same time Tullamore and Lusmagh draw at Moystown. Shamrocks and K/K draw at Tullamore, 1-11 each, the sides hitting 31 wides between them, while Shinrone show Ballyskenagh no mercy, knocking up 1-30.
Shane Lowry wins the Irish Open as we head for Kinnitty for a double header. Belmont make everyone sit up and take notice with a good win over Clareen and then the heavens opened! Birr and Coolderry get stuck into each other – literally, as Barry Whelahan and Joe Brady see red. Birr grind their neighbours down and win much more convincingly than the four point margin suggests as Coolderry blame their troubles the rain.
The three month break for the inter-county scene follows, and the third round is further delayed for a few weeks as confusion over the inter-county relegation saga is sorted and Offaly secure their status with a big win over Antrim. Round 3 is fixed for midweek.
Clareen, with Eanna Murphy and Barry Bergin at full back and centre back, make things interesting with an eleven point win over Coolderry, 3-15 to 0-13. K/K though show signs of improvement with a convincing win over Kinnitty with James Rigney suffering a bad injury late in the game. With matches against Birr and Coolderrry still to come Tullamore’s last chance of a group win comes against Belmont but goals by Alan and Mark Egan give Belmont the win to keep them in the hunt of a quarter final spot. There are easy wins for Birr over Lusmagh and Shamrocks over Ballyskenagh, while St. Rynagh’s stagger to a two-point win over Shinrone.
Round 4 and the first match at St. Brendan’s Park for almost three years sees a hungry Coolderry, with a new-look half back line, make a statement of intent when they demolish Belmont. K/K’s 33 point win over Ballyskenagh bring them to within 5 points of the all-time record win. Mount Heaton were also the victims that time when Coolderry ‘did a job’ on them with a 11-8 to 1-0 win over seventy years ago. Kinnitty stutter again but hold on for a draw against Shinrone. St. Rynagh’s stay on course for a quarter final slot when they come from behind to beat Shamrocks at Tullamore and Clareen pick up another win, this time over Lusmagh. In midweek, Tullamore’s blanket defence can’t keep out Birr who beat them by eight, 1-15 to 0-10 at Kilcormac. Tullamore field with 13 of the side who would eventually topple Birr in the recent semi-final, Birr are without several regulars.
Round 5, a week later, sorts out the draws for the knockout stages. K/K’s team is taking shape though they still have Colm Cassidy in attack and Brian Leonard in defence at this stage. They beat Shinrone by ten points and look set for a quarter final spot. Coolderry, too, have a facile win over Tullamore, as do Belmont over Lusmagh. On the Sunday Shamrocks destroy Kinnitty with the help of four Derek Molloy goals, the first from a line ball, the other three from close-in frees. They are edged out for a quarter-final slot by K/K on scoring difference by one agonising point. Birr are still depleted but their win over Clareen is never in doubt and St. Rynagh’s confirm their place in the quarter-final with a big win over ’Skenagh.
The knockout round begins on the last weekend of August. Lusmagh come from behind to draw with Shinrone in the first of the preliminary quarter finals but Shinrone make no mistake in the replay a week later with Michael Cordial in good form in a twelve point win. Tullamore beat Ballyskenagh by nine points in the rain but only after Shane Dooley fires two goals before half time to give them the edge.
Clareen make a statement with an eighteen point win over Shamrocks at Tullamore. At the same time in Crinkill, Kinnitty, with Colm Coughlan returned to the fold, are forced to dig deep to come from behind to salvage a draw with Belmont. Kinnitty make no mistake in the replay a fortnight later, producing their best performance since the win over St. Rynagh’s in round 2.
In the first of the quarter finals K/K look set to advance when they lead Clareen by five points as the three quarter stage approaches, but goals by Joseph Bergin, James Mulrooney and Billy Dooley put the vertical stripes in the driving seat late in the game and it takes a late, late Conor Mahon goal to salvage the draw. Meanwhile Coolderry run out fourteen point winners over Shinrone at Carrig in Indian Summer conditions. The next day the Offaly camogie team win the All-Ireland title with a great win over Waterford at Croke Park.
The following weekend St. Rynagh’s head to Tullamore to face the locals, and look set for the semi-finals when they lead by nine at half time. Kevin Martin’s introduction sparks a revival as he scores a goal, sets up another for Shaun Martin and when Shane Dooley crashes home a third the draw looks inevitable, but Francis Kerrigan’s point secures an amazing win for Tullamore 3-12 to 1-17.
K/K are in command for three quarters of their replay against Clareen but two Joseph Bergin goals from frees send the game to extra time where K/K make no mistake. Birr, now restored to full strength, faced Kinnitty at Banagher. Kinnitty’s first half goal is immediately cancelled by three Birr points, ditto Kinnitty’s second goal, and a spurt close to the finish which yielded 2-2 gives Birr a 3-16 to 2-9 win to confirm their hot favouritism for the title.
That brought us to the semi-final stage last weekend. Ye know what happened there, Tullamore shocked Birr and K/K give Coolderry a 2 goal start yet run out convincing winners. A novel final awaits . . . may the best team win!
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Far from it. In the current climate I'll stay at the day job for as long as they keep me. Typed it up last night and had a re-read this morning before clicking 'submit' earlier today.
Georgio1 wrote:Fair play, some review! You must have given up the day job?
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
