offaly vs ucd result
offaly vs ucd result
first game first win for pat roes team ok perfromance. p kelly had a nightmare caught badly for two goals over his head surely k meehan deserves a chance. full back line did ok joe quinn looks like a good footballer and could solve the full back problem. rest of the backs were ok e byrne looks handy. midfield james gorman didnt look up to it. kieran hogan started second half and played well did all the simple things and kept the ball moving into the forwards. deserves to start next day. scottbrady started half forward and played well scored 1-2 as far as i can remember which is impressive enough to warrant trying him again in the half forward line, niall mcnamee kicked over a couple of pints and played well, pj ward i thought i was poor and dont think he has much to offer this offaly forward line got blocked down on a number of occassions.r connor didnt really feature at all and was taken off at half time. overall pat roe can be happy enough with the first game of the year
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Bord na Mona man
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Offaly 2-11 UCD 2-06
A good second half from Offaly yesterday saw off the students in Tullamore yesterday. Given that DIT beat Longford and that UCD were Dublin champions, shows that win over college teams are far from a gimmie at this time of year. Offaly will be pleased with the manner of victory given the 3 point half time deficit in what began as a low scoring game.
The first half saw a sluggish display from Offaly who had most of the possession and territory, but surprisingly were a goal down with the score of 1-4 to 0-4. Over elaboration in possession, wides and giving away the ball were the main reasons for Offaly’s poor first half score return. UCD used whatever ball they had much more efficiently and right before half time nipped in front with an unlikely goal.
Offaly fans would have been keeping an eye on how PJ Ward began his new life as an Offaly player. He took an excellent catch to set up the first point. Took a couple of early shots that didn’t go over, as well as getting through on goal and flashing a shot that narrowly stayed out from a tight angle. As the game wore on, he seemed more content to lay off the ball and it was his pass that put Scott Brady through for the first Offaly goal. Ward’s fielding of high balls could give the sort of dimension that Offaly have lacked in the full forwards. It’s hard to tell at this time of year, but he may be a little short on pace and quickness of turn. He was taken off towards the end, but no doubt will be given more matches to prove himself.
His task of winning a place looks a tough one. The telepathy that we saw last summer between Deehan and McNamee is something unique. Few other counties have two forwards who when paired together produce such an explosive cocktail. Any manager would be cautious about changing the dynamics of such a forward combination.
The other noteworthy was that of Scott Brady at wing forward. Although named at centre back, he lined up at right half forward, with Sean Casey putting in a no-nonsense at number 6. Brady on the half forward line could prove a very astute switch. He fielded well, put in the tackles, and carried the ball forward with purpose and to cap it all, took his goal well. He almost forced another couple of openings in front of goal. No doubt Pat Roe and co. were influenced by his attacking display in driving Clara forward against Rhode in the county final. However the reason to reserve judgement would be that both yesterday and the county final were played in wet and heavy conditions. In championship, on a fast Croke Park pitch, with faster wingbacks haring up the field will be a different proposition.
As well as lacking some fielding prowess in the middle of the pitch, Offaly have of late lacked someone who can physically worry their opponents. Perhaps Brady could be deployed to add some more muscle to the midfield mill under kick outs?
The backs were effective and never overly stretched by a UCD attack that contained mostly small and light players, though the speed of Cathal O’Dwyer was a threat and Shane Lennon’s intelligent play. Padraic Kelly was taken by surprise for the first UCD goal. It was a speculative lob that looked like an effort for a point, but dropped in. It would have been a tricky shot to reach, but he was left standing flatfooted. For the optics, a despairing, though unsuccessful attempt at a save would have looked better. The second goal was a rasper from a tight angle that went over him and under the crossbar. The kind of shots that are, in my experience very difficult to save.
Nigel Grennan was penalised a couple of times early on, but as always was never shaken off by his marker. Eoghan Byrne had a lively display and looked good in possession. Aidan Keenaghan picked up a knock early in an unlucky collision and was replaced by Ger Rafferty. Karol Slattery had a good tussle with Paul Kelly of UCD but came out on top. Joe Quinn is the kind of committed and versatile player that should be a permanent fixture in any Offaly panel. He’ll have to battle a few others for the full back slot, but he can play effectively in other central positions also. The odd time he can lose possession and make the wrong position with his ball usage. Unfortunately supporters tend to get on the backs of these players far quicker than the ones who aren’t looking for the ball.
McManus did the usual good work that supporters now expect. Linking and supporting well. With Offaly now possessing some reliable score takers, there is less requirement for McManus to plough up the field in search of scores. His first instinct on receiving possession now seems to be to try and create openings ahead of him. When he did have his obligatory (as required by contract) drive at goal, it crashed off the cross bar and back into play.
James Gorman started at midfield and hadn’t got going by half time, when he was replaced by Kieran Hogan from Tullamore. Hogan got on the ball a lot and will be happy with his outing. Perhaps Gorman was unlucky to be playing the half where Offaly weren’t playing well.
John Reynolds didn’t relish the centre forward role. Heavy traffic looks like his biggest dislike and he probably needs to operate in more open areas of the pitch, if he’s going to feature for Offaly.
As usual Niall McNamee give a display of point kicking as well as winning or breaking balls that he shouldn’t be getting a sniff of. Rory Connor didn’t see much ball before being replaced by Thomas Deehan, who looked busy when brought on for the second half. Again Deehan’s wides-to-points ratio is a little on the high side. But an ambitious corner forward is preferable to a cautious one. Sean Ryan put in another busy display. As always a lot of grass was covered. He hit a couple of wides after good build up work. Stuck in a sweet goal in a crowded goal mouth. Ironically his bullet pace can sometimes prove his undoing, as he often tends to be shooting at the posts going full tilt. However there certainly good raw material to be worked with.
A good opening win, though it was a UCD side short of some of the players that won the Dublin county title. DIT’s win over Longford gives Offaly another home game and a good chance of advancing towards the narrow end of the O’Byrne Cup draw.
Offaly:
Padraic Kelly
Eoghan Byrne
Joe Quinn
Nigel Grennan
Aidan Keenaghan
Sean Casey
Karol Slattery
Ciaran McManus
James Gorman
Sean Ryan
John Reynolds
Scott Brady
Niall McNamee
PJ Ward
Rory Connor
Subs:
Ger Rafferty (blood sub - I hope!!!) for Keenaghan
Neville Coughlan (half time) for Reynolds
Kieran Hogan (half time) for Gorman
Thomas Deehan (half time) for Connor
Pascal Kellaghan for Ward
Ken Casey for Deehan
A good second half from Offaly yesterday saw off the students in Tullamore yesterday. Given that DIT beat Longford and that UCD were Dublin champions, shows that win over college teams are far from a gimmie at this time of year. Offaly will be pleased with the manner of victory given the 3 point half time deficit in what began as a low scoring game.
The first half saw a sluggish display from Offaly who had most of the possession and territory, but surprisingly were a goal down with the score of 1-4 to 0-4. Over elaboration in possession, wides and giving away the ball were the main reasons for Offaly’s poor first half score return. UCD used whatever ball they had much more efficiently and right before half time nipped in front with an unlikely goal.
Offaly fans would have been keeping an eye on how PJ Ward began his new life as an Offaly player. He took an excellent catch to set up the first point. Took a couple of early shots that didn’t go over, as well as getting through on goal and flashing a shot that narrowly stayed out from a tight angle. As the game wore on, he seemed more content to lay off the ball and it was his pass that put Scott Brady through for the first Offaly goal. Ward’s fielding of high balls could give the sort of dimension that Offaly have lacked in the full forwards. It’s hard to tell at this time of year, but he may be a little short on pace and quickness of turn. He was taken off towards the end, but no doubt will be given more matches to prove himself.
His task of winning a place looks a tough one. The telepathy that we saw last summer between Deehan and McNamee is something unique. Few other counties have two forwards who when paired together produce such an explosive cocktail. Any manager would be cautious about changing the dynamics of such a forward combination.
The other noteworthy was that of Scott Brady at wing forward. Although named at centre back, he lined up at right half forward, with Sean Casey putting in a no-nonsense at number 6. Brady on the half forward line could prove a very astute switch. He fielded well, put in the tackles, and carried the ball forward with purpose and to cap it all, took his goal well. He almost forced another couple of openings in front of goal. No doubt Pat Roe and co. were influenced by his attacking display in driving Clara forward against Rhode in the county final. However the reason to reserve judgement would be that both yesterday and the county final were played in wet and heavy conditions. In championship, on a fast Croke Park pitch, with faster wingbacks haring up the field will be a different proposition.
As well as lacking some fielding prowess in the middle of the pitch, Offaly have of late lacked someone who can physically worry their opponents. Perhaps Brady could be deployed to add some more muscle to the midfield mill under kick outs?
The backs were effective and never overly stretched by a UCD attack that contained mostly small and light players, though the speed of Cathal O’Dwyer was a threat and Shane Lennon’s intelligent play. Padraic Kelly was taken by surprise for the first UCD goal. It was a speculative lob that looked like an effort for a point, but dropped in. It would have been a tricky shot to reach, but he was left standing flatfooted. For the optics, a despairing, though unsuccessful attempt at a save would have looked better. The second goal was a rasper from a tight angle that went over him and under the crossbar. The kind of shots that are, in my experience very difficult to save.
Nigel Grennan was penalised a couple of times early on, but as always was never shaken off by his marker. Eoghan Byrne had a lively display and looked good in possession. Aidan Keenaghan picked up a knock early in an unlucky collision and was replaced by Ger Rafferty. Karol Slattery had a good tussle with Paul Kelly of UCD but came out on top. Joe Quinn is the kind of committed and versatile player that should be a permanent fixture in any Offaly panel. He’ll have to battle a few others for the full back slot, but he can play effectively in other central positions also. The odd time he can lose possession and make the wrong position with his ball usage. Unfortunately supporters tend to get on the backs of these players far quicker than the ones who aren’t looking for the ball.
McManus did the usual good work that supporters now expect. Linking and supporting well. With Offaly now possessing some reliable score takers, there is less requirement for McManus to plough up the field in search of scores. His first instinct on receiving possession now seems to be to try and create openings ahead of him. When he did have his obligatory (as required by contract) drive at goal, it crashed off the cross bar and back into play.
James Gorman started at midfield and hadn’t got going by half time, when he was replaced by Kieran Hogan from Tullamore. Hogan got on the ball a lot and will be happy with his outing. Perhaps Gorman was unlucky to be playing the half where Offaly weren’t playing well.
John Reynolds didn’t relish the centre forward role. Heavy traffic looks like his biggest dislike and he probably needs to operate in more open areas of the pitch, if he’s going to feature for Offaly.
As usual Niall McNamee give a display of point kicking as well as winning or breaking balls that he shouldn’t be getting a sniff of. Rory Connor didn’t see much ball before being replaced by Thomas Deehan, who looked busy when brought on for the second half. Again Deehan’s wides-to-points ratio is a little on the high side. But an ambitious corner forward is preferable to a cautious one. Sean Ryan put in another busy display. As always a lot of grass was covered. He hit a couple of wides after good build up work. Stuck in a sweet goal in a crowded goal mouth. Ironically his bullet pace can sometimes prove his undoing, as he often tends to be shooting at the posts going full tilt. However there certainly good raw material to be worked with.
A good opening win, though it was a UCD side short of some of the players that won the Dublin county title. DIT’s win over Longford gives Offaly another home game and a good chance of advancing towards the narrow end of the O’Byrne Cup draw.
Offaly:
Padraic Kelly
Eoghan Byrne
Joe Quinn
Nigel Grennan
Aidan Keenaghan
Sean Casey
Karol Slattery
Ciaran McManus
James Gorman
Sean Ryan
John Reynolds
Scott Brady
Niall McNamee
PJ Ward
Rory Connor
Subs:
Ger Rafferty (blood sub - I hope!!!) for Keenaghan
Neville Coughlan (half time) for Reynolds
Kieran Hogan (half time) for Gorman
Thomas Deehan (half time) for Connor
Pascal Kellaghan for Ward
Ken Casey for Deehan
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TheManFromFerbane
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Bord na Mona man
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Lone Shark
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Due to my new employment status, weekend days off will be like hen's teeth this year, so fair play to all (BnaM Man in particular) for a fine run down on the day's play.
Above all, it's great to see Hogan showing a bit of potential. He's not a lad that really would have stood out to me as a county prospect up to now, but obviously better judges than me have spotted something, so fair play. I wouldn't rule out that Gorman will be a fine midfielder in times to come, but it's a lot to ask of an 18 year to step into a county midfield. Whatever about a lad of that age stepping into corner or wing forward, midfield is another matter. Still, the under 21's will be a good test for him. As for Hogan, more than anywhere in the team there are openings at midfield. Brady in the half forward line is an interesting step, but you'd still expect McManus at 11, McNamee at 9 and the number 8 shirt to be up for claiming right now.
Equally Joe Quinn is a lad I always had time for. Very competent all round footballer, even if he is prone to suddenly dropping the ball for no reason, but as was pointed out above, a player like that often gets more abuse than he deserves, while the guy hiding in the corner having no effect on the game gets off unscathed. We'd all like to see Conor Evans back and in the form of two years ago, but being realistic, even if he does return, there's no guarantee he'll be ready to play championship football by the time Carlow rolls around - no harm have a look at our other options here. Our extremely makeshift backline made a good fist of last year, but the upshot of it now is that we really have only two slots in the line - Grennan and Slattery - firmly claimed, while we have about ten decent contenders for the other four slots - tis no harm starting to sort that mess out.
Finally I do hope we don't go messing with the forward chemistry too much. The McNamee/Deehan pairing looked great last year, and even if other factors were at play, the Portlaoise debacle showed what can happen if you mess with that. That's not trying to be harsh to Jimmy Coughlan, just that the balance was messed up. If Ward offers a different threat then well and good, but I'd like to think we'll revert to form when the big games roll around.
Above all, it's great to see Hogan showing a bit of potential. He's not a lad that really would have stood out to me as a county prospect up to now, but obviously better judges than me have spotted something, so fair play. I wouldn't rule out that Gorman will be a fine midfielder in times to come, but it's a lot to ask of an 18 year to step into a county midfield. Whatever about a lad of that age stepping into corner or wing forward, midfield is another matter. Still, the under 21's will be a good test for him. As for Hogan, more than anywhere in the team there are openings at midfield. Brady in the half forward line is an interesting step, but you'd still expect McManus at 11, McNamee at 9 and the number 8 shirt to be up for claiming right now.
Equally Joe Quinn is a lad I always had time for. Very competent all round footballer, even if he is prone to suddenly dropping the ball for no reason, but as was pointed out above, a player like that often gets more abuse than he deserves, while the guy hiding in the corner having no effect on the game gets off unscathed. We'd all like to see Conor Evans back and in the form of two years ago, but being realistic, even if he does return, there's no guarantee he'll be ready to play championship football by the time Carlow rolls around - no harm have a look at our other options here. Our extremely makeshift backline made a good fist of last year, but the upshot of it now is that we really have only two slots in the line - Grennan and Slattery - firmly claimed, while we have about ten decent contenders for the other four slots - tis no harm starting to sort that mess out.
Finally I do hope we don't go messing with the forward chemistry too much. The McNamee/Deehan pairing looked great last year, and even if other factors were at play, the Portlaoise debacle showed what can happen if you mess with that. That's not trying to be harsh to Jimmy Coughlan, just that the balance was messed up. If Ward offers a different threat then well and good, but I'd like to think we'll revert to form when the big games roll around.