Offaly Senior Hurling Club Championship 2011

[Sharp Eye]

The Shannonside Derby will be a very difficult challenge for Lusmagh. Lusmagh were defeated in their first match while St Rynaghs with a new keeper in Kelly, Maloney in defence, return of Gary Kelly to midfield and Duffy in the forwards look very formidable. I heard that Rynaghs have a few intermediates ready for promotion to senior as well.

[club hurler]

Belmont v Tullamore: Belmont
I think belmont can have a good year this year, they have a better spread of players around the field now and with tullamore starting slow all of the last 3 years i think belmont will nick a win by about 3-4

Kilcormac v Clareen: Kilcormac
Clareen will be looking to bounce back after the last day but i feel they might have slightly regressed from last year and kilcormac seem to be motoring away like they usually do in the group stages and i think they'l win this by 4-6

Birr v Drumcullen: Birr
Great start to the year by Drumcullen but this one is only going one way, birr to win by 10+ after an even enough first half

Kinnity v Shinrone: Shinrone
The hardest game to call this weekend and iI feel and a draw would certainly be a possibility. Both teams will be very egger to win after both losing out last time but just have a sneaking suspicion that shinrone will have a good year and start off here with a win by 1-3

Coolderry v Shamrocks: Coolderry
Terrible start to the year by shamrocks even though they played a lot of the hurling against drumcullen the result is all that matters and theres only one result on the cards for this game and its coolderry by 10+

Lusmagh v St. Rynagh's: St. Rynaghs
You'd have to fancy rynaghs for this one after the first round of games. Not only the results but the way rynaghs played shows there going to be a though proposition this year. Lusmagh only played for the last 15 mins in their first game and if they do that again they'l be well beaten, however, this is a local derby which can be unpredictable. It went down to the wire last year with rynaghs winning by a point and it would have been a draw but lusmagh dropped a very scoreable free into the square in the hope of a winning goal that they needed. I dont see any upsets this time round and i expect rynaghs to win by less than 5

[old yellar]

Sharp eye, is that Declan Kelly in goal? Which Maloney is in defence and which Duffy, Conor or Kevin in the forwards?

[Greenwhiteandgold]

Ya Declan kelly.. Danny Maloney and Conor Duffy...

[old yellar]

I didn't realise Daniel was hurling senior. Fairplay to him.. The must have a youngish team so?

[thegander]

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.

Poor Derek 'fell down' more than once my friend... I aint even from the sash but I am from a neighbouring club and am disgusted at the protection county players get from referees .. I mean how are we supposed to toughen these lads up to handle county hurling if they are babysat at club level. Molloy is a decent hurler, very decent in fact but he was also the biggest man on the pitch and he spent most of his time on the ground which isnt good enuf. Stand up and be a man!!!!
As for R Gath yes he has always been a mouth piece but I presume since you are an all star that you yourself have heard manay verbals going on in every game!! This is what is wrong with Offaly hurling - it is no longer a man's game we only have ourselves to blame! As for the centre back if he got that stroke then it was a cheap shot but maybe I do have my facts straight as I was in the stand and saw no such stroke nor indeed the centre back lying injured at any stage! Grow up long John !

[the weasel]

anyone know the odds for this weekends hurling? i cant find it on paddypower this week, maybe their not doing this round.

[townman]

Belmont v Tullamore- should be a close enough game Belmont will have there tails up after there win again lusmagh belmont bye 3 pts.

K/K v Seir kierans- pa joe has kk off to a good start think they will get there second win here kk bye 5 pts.

Birr v Drumcullen- we got off to a good start again shinrone can't see Drumcullen having the hurlers to halt us on friday birr bye 9 pts.

Coolderry v shamrocks- coolderry showed in the first round again kinnitty they are the team to beat in 2011, shamrocks could be in trouble after losing to Drumcullen
in round 1 this could turn into a turkey shoot coolderry bye 10+.

Kinnitty v Shinrone - this should be the game of the weekend with both teams losing there first game they don't want to lose another one, with james rigney getting fitter each
week Shinrone were unlucky enough again Birr in the first game this is hard to call could be a draw, i think Shinrone might shade this one bye 1 pt.

Lusmagh v Rynaghs - if Rynaghs could get the right team on the field ie goalkeeper problem sorted out they could go along way in 2011 they will have way to much for lusmagh
who could be fighting with shamrocks to stay up this year Rynaghs bye 8 pts.

[weary traveller]

Belmont v Tullamore- Important game for Tullamore here because if they lose, they will either need to beat St Rynaghs or Clareen to take fourth spot in this group and qualify for the quarter finals. It might be a bit early to be to be predicting final positions but Belmont and Lusmagh would be most peoples picks to finish 5th and 6th. its now the case that if Belmont beat Tullamore on Friday night, they will have 4points and have a very strong chance of qualifying. As for the game, Tullamore quickly need to find some scoring forwards other than Dooley as he is not going to be able to score enough every day to win the game for them. The back line did well for them against K/K but the ball just kept coming back down on top of them. Belmont will have gained some confidence from the Lusmagh game, but the way they let Lusmagh back into the game near the end will be a cause for worry. A repeat of this could be the loss of the game for them! They should hurl Kenny back centre back and if they do I can see them winning. Belmont by 2

K/K v Seir Kierans- Two u21 final meetings and 2 senior QF meetings, one going to a replay and extra time has created a small be of a rivalry between these two teams. Apart from K/Ks win in the u21, there has being nothing between these two teams over the last few years and this one should go down to the wire again. Clareen will have been disappointed to not come away with a win against St Rynaghs last time out and will be itching to get one over K/K who knocked them out of the championship the last two years. With both Kevin Murray and Tom Carroll returning to the team at the weekend and Joe Bergin back on the frees they should be stronger again and give an a good account for themselves. Barry Bergin still a huge loss. Even though it was a first round group game, K/K would have been delighted to get a win over Tullamore who they had failed to beat the previous 2 attempts. Tullamore were poor the last day and K/K still have a lot of work to do but Padjo seems to have them motoring well and the return of Currams will boost their scoring potential. K/K by 3

Birr v Drumcullen- Good win for Birr over Shinrone the last day, and they should add to it here to continue motoring on towards a top 2 finish in this group. It will be a difficult evenings work Drumcullen, they will have gained some confidence in beating Shamrocks and will be looking to put in a strong show but Conor Gath should be easily tied up and Birrs class should shine through in the end. I have a feeling Drumcullen will keep it interesting for 40 minutes but Birrs extra scoring power will power them through this one and win handy enough by the end... Birr by 8+

Coolderry v Shamrocks- Strong performance from Coolderry 2 weeks ago, brushing aside the challenge of Kinnity with ease shows us that they will be hard bet come September/October. Shamrocks have got off to the worse possible start losing to Drumcullen and it could be a long year for them fighting relegation. Coolderry's forwards all look like scoring with such ease, with Carroll, Ryan, Parlon, Connolly and Murray all in good form, that this game could turn be well over before half time. Coolderry by as much as they want

Kinnitty v Shinrone - This is the toughest of the games to call, as both teams will be looking to get their year back on track after both of them losing their first games. Shinrone were more impressive in losing though and they ran Birr close maybe with a bit more experience they could came out of the game with a win. Kinnity put in a strong performance against the champions in the first half but completely fell apart and were over run in the second. With Rigney getting more game time and getting fitter, he could have a much stronger influence on this game, especiallly if he plays at centre back where he can sweep up behind the half back line and use his great reading of the game to his advantage. Should be an entertaining game with nothing between the sides in the end. Draw

Lusmagh v St. Rynaghs - The shannonside derby will be a great pick me up for Lusmagh after the disappointing performance in the first round and they will be looking to put in a big performance against their biggest rivals. It should be a tough physical game with a lot of heart shown by both sides but Rynaghs proved the last day that they have the ingredients to go a long way in the championship this year as long as they iron out a few problems (i.e the goalie, who seems to be more interested in winding up the opposition who put the ball wide than keep the ball out of net) Rynaghs should continue on on the right track with another win here. Rynaghs by 6

[Lone Shark]

Excellent preview, good stuff.

I think in terms of relevance, the two big games are Belmont vs Tullamore and Shinrone vs Kinnitty. The loser of the first game will find it very tough to get back in contention in the group since points won't be easy to come by in any of the other fixtures. Of course neither side will roll over and die against teams like Clareen and Rynaghs, but having points in the bag plus the crucial head to head result could be all important.

I didn't see Tullamore vs K/K but there is something badly wrong when of your starting eight midfielders and forwards, only one manages to get on the scoresheet - that's a pretty horrendous statistic. This could be the one year when Tullamore have to find a higher gear before July and I'm not sure if they'll be able to. A lot will depend on how much ball their half back line, usually one of the strongest HB lines in the county, wins against a pretty robust Belmont half forward unit. I'll be hoping and maybe even believing in the possibility of a Belmont win here.

For Shinrone and Kinnitty, it's not that both teams wouldn't be well able to bounce back with wins over the Drums and Rahan, but any team with no points from two games will be very vulnerable. Shinrone are like a team that will really cut loose once they finally get a big win over a top club under their belts and this weekend is a great opportunity. This is where the strong personality of Joachim will be crucial - if he can impart belief to Shinrone in this game, they can win and my gut feeling is that they will.

[ryna13]

This is Rynaghs year. Dinny Cahill seems to be getting the best out of them, and with the other teams so poor and also the standard of hurling in offaly so poor it means that a championship could be easily won.
Birr are on the way out in a quick way, coolderry are pushing on to with average hurlers who got beaten by the westmeath champions and disgraced us in leinster. KK will never win anything,and the blues are a one man team.Get ready for rynaghs dominance.

[old yellar]

Rynaghs year? Every year is rynaghs year up there! Pick a year, any year! It always ends in tears and a Monday morning in martins!!

[townman]

This is Rynaghs year. Dinny Cahill seems to be getting the best out of them, and with the other teams so poor and also the standard of hurling in offaly so poor it means that a championship could be easily won.
Birr are on the way out in a quick way, coolderry are pushing on to with average hurlers who got beaten by the westmeath champions and disgraced us in leinster. KK will never win anything,and the blues are a one man team.Get ready for rynaghs dominance.

the standard hasn't been great this 3 or 4 year's and ST.Rynaghs still didn't win one they could do well this year i still say even a poor Birr side would still hold to much
for Rynaghs

[club hurler]

Rynaghs year? Every year is rynaghs year up there! Pick a year, any year! It always ends in tears and a Monday morning in martins!!

If there was a like function on this site i would have clicked it, spot on.

[Plain of the Herbs]

I agree with Lone Shark regarding the importance of Belmont v Tullamore. How Tullamore rearrange their backline given Dagg’s suspension will be interesting. Will Nigel Mannion go to 6? Or Ger Treacy? Siting Treacy at 6 will mean minimal disruption to the rest of the defence. I wonder is Mark Conlon (who didn’t feature against Kilcormac) still on the scene?

Belmont looked deadly when they were in possession against Lusmagh. Their biggest problem is gaining possession though, and they were starved of ball for much of the second half that evening. Tullamore’s middle eight will be strong and tall and could well deny them the ball. To do well you need your best players in central positions and fully fit, and Belmont need David Kenny fully fit, which just isn’t possible at the moment.

I’ve been saying it for a few years now, and I’m going to keep saying it – one of these days someone will score 5 or 6 or 7 goals on Tullamore. That might well happen here.

Though they played second-fiddle to K/K they still restricted K/K to 15 scores and 9 wides. I’d be hesitant here but it still looks like Tullamore’s strength will see them prevail here.

The vibes from Shinrone indicate that they are happy to have led Birr for 50 minutes (or whatever it was). Anyone else would be sick to have left a glorious chance of taking a scalp behind them. Shinrone have oodles of talent and that they haven’t taken a scalp in donkey’s years has more to do with their lack of ambition than anything else. Is there a more talented forward around than Eddie Bevans?

Obviously James Rigney is crucial to Kinnitty. Colm Coughlan’s placing also requires thought. He had been midfield in the run to the 2008 County final, though injury forced him to hurl corner-forward on the big day. He has been corner-forward since for some reason when he (or Ódhrán Kealey) ought to be midfield. They need Stephen Molloy to make an impression too.

Shinrone could only draw with Kinnitty the year James Rigney was injured. Kinnitty’s greater ambition should see them through here.

I see Rynagh’s are going to do the divil-and-all this year. See post above. Only the rule that you can only play 15 at a time prevent all those Intermediates from lining out. See post above. The umpires will hardly be able to keep up with them. See the dawn of a new era for yourself on Sunday in Moystown – it’ll only cost a Fiver. Shur they always beat Lusmagh, don’t they?