Plain of the Herbs wrote:Looks good on paper. Two sets of twins on a county team must be fairly rare.
1 Conor Clancy (St Rynagh’s)
2 Niall Wynne (St Rynagh’s)
3 Dan Kelleher (Brosna Gaels)
4 Michael Cleary (Shinrone)
5 David King (Coolderry)
6 Pat Camon (St Rynagh’s)
7 Sean Gardiner (Lusmagh)
8 Sean Dolan (St Rynagh’s)
9 Aodhan Kealey (Kinnitty)
10 Sean Cleary (Shinrone)
11 Tom Carroll (Seir Kieran)
12 Peter Geraghty (Kilcormac/Killoughey)
13 Stephen Quirke (St Rynagh’s)
14 Thomas Geraghty (Kilcormac/Killoughey)
15 Adrian Hynes (Seir Kieran)
Subs -
16 Kevin O’Connor (Kinnitty)
17 David Magner (Ballinamere)
18 Aidan Treacy (St Rynagh’s)
19 Shane Mc Kelvey (Shinrone)
20 Con Mahon (Kilcormac/Killoughey)
21 Andrew Browne (Kinnitty)
22 Colm Mulrooney (Birr)
23 Paddy Murphy (Ballinamere)
24 Declan Parlon (Coolderry)
Hoping to make this match this evening. I would have a few concerns about that team if we line up that way. Tom Carroll Is going to be a great Hurler but i don't think he make a good Centre forward. His job this evening will be to fight like a feral dog for every scrap.
I'm hoping we have a game plan and we stick to it. A journey starts with one small step and the first 10 mins this evening could tell a lot tonight.
suckindiesel wrote:my view is that in teams of under 20 to under 15, if I can describe the ages groups as such, laois are well ahead of offaly. I think ye are not in a good place.
this laois team has some good players, a few surefire starters, are carrying niggles and left on the bench. if you asked me a month ago, I thought this could be close, a 3pointer either way. then laois went down to wexford and beat them in a challenge a fortnight ago, and speaking to one of the wexford selectors, he hinted they thought they had a good team and were shocked laois beat them, he felt laois on the basis of that challenge performance would handily take care of offaly.
not sure the laois team will line up as announced. I recognise some of the offaly team. I am surprised that banagher have 5 starters, as I did not see 5 quality under 21s playing for them in the 2012 OY county final. your midfield is unlikely to last the hour.
whoever wins will be cannon fodder for KK in the semi.
the tide has turned and with laois now most definitely gaining the upperhand at underage level and the monkey of beating OY off our backs, I think with home advantage a win in the 6 to 8 point margin is the likely outcome. I will have a few euros on that outcome at 15/2 with powers and top up with half time fulltime at 2/1.
ps in stating the obvious that LS are now well ahead of OY throughout the underage ranks, I am not giving you the needle, as I freely admit your senior team would still account for LS without too much hassle.
I did predict before the minor 1/4 final a comfortable win for LS, a we have a sporting chance in the minor semi final. that game illustrated a future for Laois hurling, as well as big problems on the horizon in OY unless something is done quickly.
hard to see offaly beat this laois side who don't forget got to last years final again kilkenny.
suckindiesel wrote:my view is that in teams of under 20 to under 15, if I can describe the ages groups as such, laois are well ahead of offaly. I think ye are not in a good place.
this laois team has some good players, a few surefire starters, are carrying niggles and left on the bench. if you asked me a month ago, I thought this could be close, a 3pointer either way. then laois went down to wexford and beat them in a challenge a fortnight ago, and speaking to one of the wexford selectors, he hinted they thought they had a good team and were shocked laois beat them, he felt laois on the basis of that challenge performance would handily take care of offaly.
not sure the laois team will line up as announced. I recognise some of the offaly team. I am surprised that banagher have 5 starters, as I did not see 5 quality under 21s playing for them in the 2012 OY county final. your midfield is unlikely to last the hour.
whoever wins will be cannon fodder for KK in the semi.
the tide has turned and with laois now most definitely gaining the upperhand at underage level and the monkey of beating OY off our backs, I think with home advantage a win in the 6 to 8 point margin is the likely outcome. I will have a few euros on that outcome at 15/2 with powers and top up with half time fulltime at 2/1.
ps in stating the obvious that LS are now well ahead of OY throughout the underage ranks, I am not giving you the needle, as I freely admit your senior team would still account for LS without too much hassle.
I did predict before the minor 1/4 final a comfortable win for LS, a we have a sporting chance in the minor semi final. that game illustrated a future for Laois hurling, as well as big problems on the horizon in OY unless something is done quickly.
looks like its leix whos in a bad place tonite Disel, good win best team won ref a joke
still think bad times on the horizon as you say when we can only beat leix by 1 point
Firstly Leix are ahead of us at underage. U21 is the final pillar to be knocked.
This result shows that at U21 level the graphs of the 2 counties are about to cross like it already has at minor.
What helps Offaly U21s is that our senior inter-county panel and our adult club teams are better, which gives our 18, 19 and 20 year olds a development advantage. Eventually Leix adult teams will start to improve with better talent coming through.
I remember the same craic a few years back when many's the 'Offaly Hurling Man' was still denying that Dublin were moving ahead of us because our senior team still had the ability to edge them out. Nice one lads.
All that said, fair play to the Offaly team that won tonight. Let's all enjoy it, just in case there aren't many more like it!
what is ahead of us BNMM like offaly i don't see them winning anything underage, maybe we have
gone so poor is the reason laois are at our level its not that they are winning anything.
Dublin have won a few leinster under 21's and are going for 3 in-a-row in minor this year in leinster
but as kilkenny have showed in senior the last 3 years again Dublin they to are not at the races.
i still think if we can still get a few from underage every year it will still keep us ahead of laois Carlow
Westmeath, in the coming years plus are club championship teams are as good as any in the county
so do cheer up we did win tonight after all.
Plain of the Herbs wrote:Jaysus, you'd be a great fella in a dressing room.
Positivity, me whole.
townman wrote:hard to see offaly beat this laois side who don't forget got to last years final again kilkenny.
it was a joke at Suckingdisel plain, what did they lose last years final by, Disel was saying it was just a matter of laois turning up tonight for the win if you read his post
First of all, congratulations to the team and management. There were heroes, there were (almost) villans, but Offaly got there in the end.
Offaly really don’t ‘do’ momentum, do they? Build up an early lead, then they watch Laois erode that lead. Go four points ahead following an inspirational score that had its origins deep in the Offaly defence, then Laois go level with four points of their own. If Offaly were snooker players they wouldn’t pot more than four balls in succession.
And I can’t think of a single handpass made by Offaly.
Offaly wouldn’t have won only for Conor Clancy. Simples. Four saves when the odds were stacked heavily in favour of the Laois attackers. All at crucial stages too. At the other end, the wides piled up during the first half. Agonising stuff, as Offaly played some good hurling in that half. Stephen Quirke and Thomas Geraghty looked dangerous betimes. Tom Carroll got through a good amount of work. Seán Cleary continues to improve and made some fine fetches in midfield.
Danny Kelleher did well at full-back, and did very well in the second half when Laois put Charlie Dwyer in full-forward.
Offaly went out of it for much of the second half, and many Offaly scores were as a result of turnovers, rather than being created through combination play. The crucial goal, when it came, was initiated by Seán Dolan who persisted and forced a turnover. Stephen Quirke soloed in along the end line. There was a strange silence and then the umpire reached for the green flag. I was out the gate alongside an elderly Laois man who told me he had been seated beside Pádraig Horan and had reminded Horan “ye got a goal through the net tonight to go with the one ye got years ago”. Was it through the net? I’ve no idea (I was on the terrace). Someone in the stand might have had a better vantage point.
That Offaly only used one sub is a concern, and is a sign of little faith in management beyond the 15 on the pitch. And events did require that changes be made. Laois began to boss the scrums, played better combination play with some good passes and off-the-ball running, and plucked good balls from the air. Offaly relied on winning breaking ball on the deck.
The referee was generally decent throughout but ruined it all when he gave Laois a ‘free to make a draw of it’ late in the game. Stephen Quirke faced a pressure shot moments earlier and we all felt his pressure (and nailed the free) so you can imagine the pressure Maher felt, given that there was no time left. I do feel sorry for the chap, he struck the ball well all evening and he must feel devastated. That’s the pressure that makes a top snooker player miss a crucial black off its spot.
Offaly’s first win at this grade in five years. There have been years when the draw gave Offaly a bye to the semi-final with which came an away venue against a team who had won a quarter-final. That advantage (however slight) is now with Offaly going into a semi-final against Kilkenny in three weeks time. Tonight’s win, however unflattering, is a massive boost to a county where the mood is at rock bottom.
Pat Donegan. Signed out of respect for players and all involved with Offaly.
Plain of the Herbs wrote:First of all, congratulations to the team and management. There were heroes, there were (almost) villans, but Offaly got there in the end.
Offaly really don’t ‘do’ momentum, do they? Build up an early lead, then they watch Laois erode that lead. Go four points ahead following an inspirational score that had its origins deep in the Offaly defence, then Laois go level with four points of their own. If Offaly were snooker players they wouldn’t pot more than four balls in succession.
And I can’t think of a single handpass made by Offaly.
Offaly wouldn’t have won only for Conor Clancy. Simples. Four saves when the odds were stacked heavily in favour of the Laois attackers. All at crucial stages too. At the other end, the wides piled up during the first half. Agonising stuff, as Offaly played some good hurling in that half. Stephen Quirke and Thomas Geraghty looked dangerous betimes. Tom Carroll got through a good amount of work. Seán Cleary continues to improve and made some fine fetches in midfield.
Danny Kelleher did well at full-back, and did very well in the second half when Laois put Charlie Dwyer in full-forward.
Offaly went out of it for much of the second half, and many Offaly scores were as a result of turnovers, rather than being created through combination play. The crucial goal, when it came, was initiated by Seán Dolan who persisted and forced a turnover. Stephen Quirke soloed in along the end line. There was a strange silence and then the umpire reached for the green flag. I was out the gate alongside an elderly Laois man who told me he had been seated beside Pádraig Horan and had reminded Horan “ye got a goal through the net tonight to go with the one ye got years ago”. Was it through the net? I’ve no idea (I was on the terrace). Someone in the stand might have had a better vantage point.
That Offaly only used one sub is a concern, and is a sign of little faith in management beyond the 15 on the pitch. And events did require that changes be made. Laois began to boss the scrums, played better combination play with some good passes and off-the-ball running, and plucked good balls from the air. Offaly relied on winning breaking ball on the deck.
The referee was generally decent throughout but ruined it all when he gave Laois a ‘free to make a draw of it’ late in the game. Stephen Quirke faced a pressure shot moments earlier and we all felt his pressure (and nailed the free) so you can imagine the pressure Maher felt, given that there was no time left. I do feel sorry for the chap, he struck the ball well all evening and he must feel devastated. That’s the pressure that makes a top snooker player miss a crucial black off its spot.
Offaly’s first win at this grade in five years. There have been years when the draw gave Offaly a bye to the semi-final with which came an away venue against a team who had won a quarter-final. That advantage (however slight) is now with Offaly going into a semi-final against Kilkenny in three weeks time. Tonight’s win, however unflattering, is a massive boost to a county where the mood is at rock bottom.
Very fair assessment of tonight's match PotH. Well done to Offaly. In hindsight I'd certainly have preferred if the ref didn't award us that "free to make a draw of it", there was no foul and now a player that was arguably man-of-the-match will bitterly rue that last wide. An Offaly supporter will feel ye should have been ahead by 13, not 3 at half time. Laois supporters will feel we should have pulled away with the glut of goal chances we had. Granted, Clancy did well in the goals but at least one of the one-on-one's were simply side-step and finish to empty net stuff. These were chances more experienced players would have finished, our lads will learn from this.
Re. the second Offaly goal, I was in the stand myself and it looked a legit goal. It was criminal defending to let yer man in along the end-line from so far out and we paid the price for it.
townman, enjoy tonights win, could be a while before ye beat us at this grade again. This years u21's were what I'd regard as the last poor batch we had as minors. 18 and 19 year olds made us competitive tonight but we still had a serious tail out there too which won't be there from next year on. You were fairly quiet around the forums after the minor match! Do yourself a favour and grow up a bit.
6 or 7 weeks ago, a poor laois under 21 team defeated offaly in football, and it was a case of the weaker side prevailing due to the oppositions making more individual errors, in the long run, laois got a dose of reality when they met Kildare in the semi final. this game to my eyes was a carbon copy, laois the better players, yet offaly making the most of opportunities and scraping home.
as games go, as it panned out, it was entertaining, seat of the pants stuff, unlike so many of the gaa games at the moment.
plain of the herbs, suggested a script and his wish came through, offaly got a good start, 1-4 to nil in 7 mins and in the end that counted. laois started with one glaring passenger, lalor, the centre forward, a junior club hurler, overweight and not in the condition for the standard required. his failure to function, as either a targetman or to track his man, cost us dearly, and his mistakes in the first half contributed to 1-5 on the offaly tally. that the laois management left him on the field until halftime was criminal, especially when we had 3 much better forwards on the bench.
we dominated most of the second half, having make the right adjustments, and despite missing a handful of golden opportunities for goals(either parried by your fine goalie, or crashing off the crossbar), we still turned a 3pt half time deficit into a 3 point lead with 10 to go. at that point we were in control, save for comedy defending which yielded your 2nd goal......and it was a 100% goal....ball went through hole in the net.
the conclusion was sickening, the laois lad, Purcell, down with cramp, did not help maher as the delay mounted the pressure, and the miss was a sad farewell to the competition.
ye, may feel as OY fans that the last free was soft, I agree, though in the first half ye got some very handy ones, and we got virtually none. my one gripe is that the ref played just 3 mins of injury time. there was more than that stoppage in the 2nd half, and your goalkeeper was an expert at wasting time with his puck out all game(and nearly every puckout was illegal as he constantly exited the square before striking).
it was a good fair clean game of hurling and not a nasty stroke in the hour, again I noted that in the trenches in the 2nd half OY seemed to be physically outmuscled, it is now a definite trend.
I thought we would win by 6plus, we had 8 glaring goal chances, coverted 2. OY had 3 and converted 2....the laois goalie never made a save all game.
based on what I have seen of late, laois will be competing with KK, DUB and Wex in a serious manner in the coming years at underage level, tonight was a minor blip, and it may have been better to depart that way than to face a hammering in the semi final at the hands of KK, a fate that is certain to befall you.
congrats OY and well done to the 300 odd who travelled to create a bit of atmosphere.
we did win tonight after all.