Offaly Senior Hurling Club Championship 2011

[thegander]

as the story goes, shamrocks didnt perfrom, and drumcullen had lads crowding around derek molloy for the hour, not giving him an inch? well a rahan man told me that! i would have expected shamrocks to surprise people this year, but this is a huge setback for them. i would expect them to remain senior anyway with the likes of molloy, conway and coughlin good enough to make any club team in the county, and most in the country when fit. it would be hard to say the same about any drumcullen(apart from gath who might not even at that) and lusmagh lads(kelly is a keeper, its difficult for any keeper to break onto any team)

Well considering you werent at the game dont think u should be commenting on who wud get on 'any club team in the country' regarding 3 Shamrocks lads. . Molloy is like new born calf- his legs are all wobbly and for a big man he hits the deck a huge amount under very little pressure. His behaviour fri night was disgusting - cribbing and crying to the ref (typical county hurler looking for soft frees in a club game)... Full back was decent on the night for sure but Nev Coughlan disappeared in the 2nd half... Apart from C Gath the Sash have few decent hurlers- please see J Cashin, S Ryan, W Spain and N O'Leary .. Shamrocks training hard since Dec - kinda wasted now aint it !!!!!!!

[townman]

Birr 2-15 - Shinrone 0-13 good win for the first game lets hope we can hurl for the whole championship this year

[Long John]

I think POTH summed up the Shamrocks Drumcullen game fairly well. I think because it went down to the wire it was exciting but in terms of quality I think both teams are very poor. Shamrocks really threw it away because they should of been 10 points clear at half time. At that point they seemed to be very comfortable and doing all the hurling but they didnt put enough on the scoreboard to reward the amount of possession they held. Some very poor wides and easy frees missed.

Drumcullen won the game in the space of 2 or 3 minutes. A crazy goal given away and two points in quick succession and you could see their heads drop terribly.

In terms of county prospects, Neville Coughlan for me was the best man on the field by a long long way. Playing at corner back he cleaned up everything that came in. He completely outhurled conor Gath in first half before Gath moved to centre forward. Joe Dooley has alot worse hurlers on the panel than Coughlan from what I saw. JImmy Conway was very good at full back. A terrible mix up for the goal from a puck out but is a lad that would benefit hugely from hurling with county panel. Derek Molloy had a poor enough game. Got on the ball alot and worked hard but hit some bad wides and option taking was poor.

For Drumcullen its strange because they won the game but I couldnt pick out anybody who hurled to a great standard. They all tried very very hard but in terms of county potential I couldnt pick any. Conor Gath is generally mentioned but I thought he was totally outhurled by Coughlan in first half but when moved to centre forward he picked off a couple of points.

Well considering you werent at the game dont think u should be commenting on who wud get on 'any club team in the country' regarding 3 Shamrocks lads. . Molloy is like new born calf- his legs are all wobbly and for a big man he hits the deck a huge amount under very little pressure. His behaviour fri night was disgusting - cribbing and crying to the ref (typical county hurler looking for soft frees in a club game)... Full back was decent on the night for sure but Nev Coughlan disappeared in the 2nd half... Apart from C Gath the Sash have few decent hurlers- please see J Cashin, S Ryan, W Spain and N O'Leary .. Shamrocks training hard since Dec - kinda wasted now aint it !!!!!!!

Gander fairly biased perception by you. I thought Molloy was poor enough but when he hit the ground it was to do with a very wayward pull by Stephen Ryan. He caught Molloys arm and was a lucky man to stay on the field. If you want to talk about disgusting, how about the comments of Ray Gath to Shamrocks players at end of game. A real low life. Something your club should sort out.
Conor Gath flicking the Shamrocks centre back in the private area with the handle of the hurl right in front of the stand as well. Those acts were really disgusting so I think you should get your facts straight.

[Long John]

Any reports from Clareen Rynaghs game. The scoreline would suggest it was a cracker between two highly fancied teams?

[beirut]

Why did Derek Molloy get yellow carded? Diving was it?

[club hurler]

Any reports from Clareen Rynaghs game. The scoreline would suggest it was a cracker between two highly fancied teams?

Ya was at the game, not sure it was a cracker but it was a very good game and probably one of the better ones that will be played in the group stages this year. I think Rynaghs deserved to win this one, however, if Clareen were more accurate from placed balls they could of snuck it. Adrian Hynes was on the frees and looked nervous especially after the first went astray (but did score a cracker from open play). I was very surprised Joe Bergin didn’t go on to them in the second half. On the other side Banagher seemed to get the vast majority of their scores from play with Ciarán Flannary in particularly good form scoring 1-4 or 1-5, he really gave Enna Murphy a roasting. Gazza Kelly also chipped with some nice scores and did well in midfield.

If Rynaghs are to push for silverware this year they have to fix one major problem thats been troubling the last few years and that’s in goals. Clareen’s first goal probably should of been saved but the last one definitely should of been. I know he's a young lad and i think it was he's first senior game but I don’t think he has the presence and level-headedness needed for the position(he was roaring he's head off every time Clareen hit a ball wide). There’s no way they’ll win anything if there goalie is letting in howlers like that every other game.

Clareen will surely come back from this though and will make it out of the group, they could do with Barry Bergin coming back from oz. They really could do with he's experience as there such a young side. James Mullrooney starting at wing back was a surprise but I can’t see him stay there for the year.

Was at the Lusmagh-Belmont game also. Belmont shaded it but Lusmagh could of very easily drew or even won it. Belmont were 8 up with 15 to go but Lusmagh got it back to 1 point with time up, they tried very hard for an equaliser in injury time but Belmont secured victory with the last puck of the game. Colin Egan and Kieran McManus were the best for Belmont, catching an incredible amount of ball. David Kenny started corner forward and did very little really, can’t believe there playing him up there again. Great to see Paul Birmingham back for Lusmagh, he’ll be a big boost for them considering they lost a few more of their better hurlers to immigration again this year. Aiden Hanrahan also went off late in the game with what looked to be a serious enough shoulder injury. It’s going to be tough for them to pick it up for the Rynaghs match with the way that game finished but if there able to pick it up for anyone it’ll be there nearest neighbours.

[alltheway]

Gander fairly biased perception by you. I thought Molloy was poor enough but when he hit the ground it was to do with a very wayward pull by Stephen Ryan. He caught Molloys arm and was a lucky man to stay on the field. If you want to talk about disgusting, how about the comments of Ray Gath to Shamrocks players at end of game. A real low life. Something your club should sort out.
Conor Gath flicking the Shamrocks centre back in the private area with the handle of the hurl right in front of the stand as well. Those acts were really disgusting so I think you should get your facts straight.[/quote]

What kind of comments were said? That can be a very strong accusation that didn't represent the overall good spirit of the game if you didn't actually hear what was allegedly said? I felt the game was played in true gritty championship style, and both teams got in each others faces, but no mean or ill strokes. The said Ray Gath also got a tip in the rocks aswell. Overall though I don't think anything said or done in the game was that bad, and unless you are either Gath yourself, or one of the players its hard to elaborate to much on it. I just feel that there is an over analysis on this site about aspets other than hurling and too much is read into it, I would rather more debates, insight and opinions from the games themselves.
Other than that I must say it was an enjoyable weekends hurling, hard to know what the next few games throw up to see who will be in the latter stages of the championship. One would have to say Coolderry would still have to be favorites after their game against Kinnitty. They beat them by 9 in an unspectacular manner without getting ut of second gear. And with Joe Brady and Damien Murray in the starting side they will be fairly formidable when motoring fully. I was disappointed with Kinnitty as I expected them to rally further. However it is early in the year yet. Have to say Rynaghs looked fairly good the other day, the likes of Tanner lead the line well and although Diarmuid Horan wasnt fully dominating, it bodes well for them that they had other players that grabbed the game and tested Clareen. Flannery represents a good focal point up their and he gets into the thick of it the whole time, and often gets opponents riled up, pure cuteness I say. Shinrone, with belief could of created a great start against a Birr team who arent a force, compared with what they would have been anyway. Still, due respects there, they aren't wrote off here anyway. I am looking forward to the rest of this championship, as it should be open, exciting, with a number of teams now able to turn the tables on any given day. It would be foolish to discount any team in the group stages, even Shamrocks could turn the tables on Shinrone or Kinnitty for example on their day. all still to play for.

[alltheway]

Gander fairly biased perception by you. I thought Molloy was poor enough but when he hit the ground it was to do with a very wayward pull by Stephen Ryan. He caught Molloys arm and was a lucky man to stay on the field. If you want to talk about disgusting, how about the comments of Ray Gath to Shamrocks players at end of game. A real low life. Something your club should sort out.
Conor Gath flicking the Shamrocks centre back in the private area with the handle of the hurl right in front of the stand as well. Those acts were really disgusting so I think you should get your facts straight.[/quote]

What kind of comments were said? That can be a very strong accusation that didn't represent the overall good spirit of the game if you didn't actually hear what was allegedly said? I felt the game was played in true gritty championship style, and both teams got in each others faces, but no mean or ill strokes. The said Ray Gath also got a tip in the rocks aswell. Overall though I don't think anything said or done in the game was that bad, and unless you are either Gath yourself, or one of the players its hard to elaborate to much on it. I just feel that there is an over analysis on this site about aspets other than hurling and too much is read into it, I would rather more debates, insight and opinions from the games themselves.
Other than that I must say it was an enjoyable weekends hurling, hard to know what the next few games throw up to see who will be in the latter stages of the championship. One would have to say Coolderry would still have to be favorites after their game against Kinnitty. They beat them by 9 in an unspectacular manner without getting ut of second gear. And with Joe Brady and Damien Murray in the starting side they will be fairly formidable when motoring fully. I was disappointed with Kinnitty as I expected them to rally further. However it is early in the year yet. Have to say Rynaghs looked fairly good the other day, the likes of Tanner lead the line well and although Diarmuid Horan wasnt fully dominating, it bodes well for them that they had other players that grabbed the game and tested Clareen. Flannery represents a good focal point up their and he gets into the thick of it the whole time, and often gets opponents riled up, pure cuteness I say. Shinrone, with belief could of created a great start against a Birr team who arent a force, compared with what they would have been anyway. Still, due respects there, they aren't wrote off here anyway. I am looking forward to the rest of this championship, as it should be open, exciting, with a number of teams now able to turn the tables on any given day. It would be foolish to discount any team in the group stages, even Shamrocks could turn the tables on Shinrone or Kinnitty for example on their day. all still to play for.

[allstar2010]

Jesus its a good job the papers are out today so we can get reports from the matches played last weekend!!

[High School Musical]

I'm leaving now to get the papers, get the papers

[middleman]

in response to the rynaghs goalkeeping situation, I just saw the team there in the paper and Im very surprised that young clancy isnt in goals for them! I know he's young but having seen him playing with the county minors he is a very steady goalkeeper and good shotstopper.

[joe bloggs]

in response to the rynaghs goalkeeping situation, I just saw the team there in the paper and Im very surprised that young clancy isnt in goals for them! I know he's young but having seen him playing with the county minors he is a very steady goalkeeper and good shotstopper.

I was down in Wexford park on Saturday and the lad pulled off a few top class saves. I would imagine he will take that spot in the long term and if he continues, he will also provide serious competition for Dempsey with the Offaly seniors in the near future. A good keeper is worth his weight in gold to a team

[Sharp Eye]

I heard that young Clancy did not get selected on the Rynaghs Senior Panel. As he is also on the Offaly Minor football Panel, he will now probably just concentrate on Senior Club Football this year.
The Third Goal scored by Adrian Hunes from Clareen would not have caused any bother to a reliable goalkeeper like Clancy. Teams with bad goalies dont win Titles.

[middleman]

I heard that young Clancy did not get selected on the Rynaghs Senior Panel. As he is also on the Offaly Minor football Panel, he will now probably just concentrate on Senior Club Football this year.
The Third Goal scored by Adrian Hunes from Clareen would not have caused any bother to a reliable goalkeeper like Clancy. Teams with bad goalies dont win Titles.

Well if that is true about him not getting selected then more fool the rynaghs selectors! Wouldnt surprise me now if clancy turned to football altogether in the next few years after hearing that. another good talent could be lost

[Plain of the Herbs]

Fixtures for Round 2, taken from the County Board’s site, appear to be as follows: -

Friday 6th May (all 7pm)
Belmont v Tullamore at Kinnitty
Kilcormac v Clareen at Rath, and
Birr v Drumcullen at Banagher

Sunday 8th May
Kinnitty v Shinrone at Birr at 12 noon
Coolderry v Rahan at Lusmagh at 12 noon, and
The Shannonside Derby at Moystown at 3pm