I dont see another thread for this so here goes.....
what a game (for 35 mins anyway)......
after the mis-match of the football, the excitement and anticipation was electric in the air before this match..... i really believe the strength of support in portlaoise had our lads backs up, they went at them hammer and thongs....
Yes it was heart wrenching how easy it was for kilkenny to knock over point sfrom almost anywahere, but we showed other counties how to play against kilkenny,... hit them hard!! they do not like it........ ive never before heard a team being booed going in at half time, but kilkenny were getting a lashing from their fans....
every score offaly got was hard fought, under pressure, ... while kilkenny looked at ease, yet still only led by 1 point at half time.....
now i cannot go through individual performance since i dont know the guys well enough, but Mullins in goal was great..... it was imperitive we stop kilkenny scoring goals, and we did for a long time...
Offaly can hold their head high after that game, its a young team and hopefully, with the right back-up behind them, they can progress as a team...
Kilkenny 1-27 Offaly 1-13
Two years ago we were over 30 points behind kilkenny and there seemed no hope for Offaly Hurling,
Today we are only Half an hour behind them and the future doesnt look too bad at all. Some outstanding individual performances from d likes of Kenny, Brady and The HERO "Ger Oakley", the man was immense, throwing himself in everywhere, granted he cant hurl but ya cant fault the lad for guts and balls.
We might have struggled to get our scores but we caused kilkenny a lot of problems and they lost their discipline a bit inm the first half.
it was encouraging that we were still in touch goin into the second half (lets forget about the second) and that the game wasnt over after ten mins like previous encounters. We still lack a bit of guile and punch up front, but give these guys another year or two and who knows!!!
Allez les faithful!
Today we are only Half an hour behind them and the future doesnt look too bad at all. Some outstanding individual performances from d likes of Kenny, Brady and The HERO "Ger Oakley", the man was immense, throwing himself in everywhere, granted he cant hurl but ya cant fault the lad for guts and balls.
We might have struggled to get our scores but we caused kilkenny a lot of problems and they lost their discipline a bit inm the first half.
it was encouraging that we were still in touch goin into the second half (lets forget about the second) and that the game wasnt over after ten mins like previous encounters. We still lack a bit of guile and punch up front, but give these guys another year or two and who knows!!!
Allez les faithful!
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DD
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It was a great effort considering that they have better players than us in every position on the pitch. When Cordial intercepted the crossfield ball and brought it back to a goal it looked like it was still all to play for. I suppose what Kilkenny did in the remaining 20 minutes was just bringing us back to reality.
Apart from Cleary no one in the backline was given the runaround, Oakley in particular was outstanding, Murphy battled well for the hour, Gary Hannify won plenty of ball but lacked support, Molloy gave his all and Murray took his scores (& a great penalty) well. Ironically enough the two players that we would have expected a lot from up front (Rory & Bergin) were never in it.
McIntyre's tactics of withdrawing a forward into midfield for the puckouts worked well for the 1st half and allowed us to compete and win plenty of ball.
All in all there was a lot of encouragement to be taken in the defeat, we might yet cause an upset in the qualifiers.
On the downside it was disappointing to see so many "faithful" supporters heading for the gate and Mullins hadn't even pucked the ball out after the Kilkenny goal... the players deserved better support than that..
Apart from Cleary no one in the backline was given the runaround, Oakley in particular was outstanding, Murphy battled well for the hour, Gary Hannify won plenty of ball but lacked support, Molloy gave his all and Murray took his scores (& a great penalty) well. Ironically enough the two players that we would have expected a lot from up front (Rory & Bergin) were never in it.
McIntyre's tactics of withdrawing a forward into midfield for the puckouts worked well for the 1st half and allowed us to compete and win plenty of ball.
All in all there was a lot of encouragement to be taken in the defeat, we might yet cause an upset in the qualifiers.
On the downside it was disappointing to see so many "faithful" supporters heading for the gate and Mullins hadn't even pucked the ball out after the Kilkenny goal... the players deserved better support than that..
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Rynaghs Biffo
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It feels strange to say that I can take more advantages out of the hurlers loss than the footballers win!!!
KK just scored with ease, simply strikes over the shoulder, as we had to work hard to scrap every attempt, and salvage each free. KK just simply showed their class yesterday. I may be worng but I think 5 of the 6 forwards scored and both midfielders and Tommy Walsh pitching in.
But we rattled them in the first, there was a belief there that we haven't often seen in past Offaly teams. Very dogged performances all round. We can take this game and build on it for the heavy matches in the back door.
Some great individual performances, such as :-
Breeder was on fire! limiting Kilkenny to one goal is hard to come by. Even his puck outs seems to have improved. Two months ago, we wouldn't imagine him standing between the sticks, but he seems up for it this year, great game.
Conor Hernon battled well and never gave up. Used the ball effectively and delivered some fine clearances.
Paul Cleary I thought was quite poor. Seems very slow and Comerford ran riot (got man of the match too). Had three decent attempts from long range frees which last year he would of put over. Just didn't seem to be his day. Pulled a wild stroke on Comerford too, hard to tell if he ment it.
Franks was strong and determined. Let his man past him a few times tho.
Kevin Brady, as did the rest of the half line played well. Kevin fielded some great ball and got in front of his man too. Unlukcy not to get on the score list also.
David Kenny was my man of the match. I don't think you could get a tougher championship debut than mark Henry Shefflin and be surrounded by 5 other skillfull forwards. Dave really got stuck into them and showed no fear, like all the other under 21s.
Wolferine was his usual self, threw his weight around, feilded some great ball.
Barry Teehan, I'd love to know his reason for coming off? Did he pick up a knock? He was playing solid up to that point.
Benny was on form in the first half, picked up two great scores. Seem to fade a bit in the second half.
Rory, I don't know if this is his right position, I'd prefer him in a more central role, at 11 maybe. Had a solid game but didn't excel as he usually would. Disapointed to see him taken off.
Gary Hannify was OK, would prefer to see him catching more possession rather than swinging the hurl, although there was an awful lot of one handed hurling going on yesterday.
Derek Molloy got stuck in, was unlucky on a few occasions to grab a few scores.
Joe Bergin, where was he?
Brian Carroll never really seemed to get into the game and settle down. I wonder why he was draughted back to the the half back line when he's most put to use in the full forward line.
Damian Murray did what he had to do, fair play to him. Efficient with his free taking and penalty taking too. Hopefully he can carry this form.
KK just scored with ease, simply strikes over the shoulder, as we had to work hard to scrap every attempt, and salvage each free. KK just simply showed their class yesterday. I may be worng but I think 5 of the 6 forwards scored and both midfielders and Tommy Walsh pitching in.
But we rattled them in the first, there was a belief there that we haven't often seen in past Offaly teams. Very dogged performances all round. We can take this game and build on it for the heavy matches in the back door.
Some great individual performances, such as :-
Breeder was on fire! limiting Kilkenny to one goal is hard to come by. Even his puck outs seems to have improved. Two months ago, we wouldn't imagine him standing between the sticks, but he seems up for it this year, great game.
Conor Hernon battled well and never gave up. Used the ball effectively and delivered some fine clearances.
Paul Cleary I thought was quite poor. Seems very slow and Comerford ran riot (got man of the match too). Had three decent attempts from long range frees which last year he would of put over. Just didn't seem to be his day. Pulled a wild stroke on Comerford too, hard to tell if he ment it.
Franks was strong and determined. Let his man past him a few times tho.
Kevin Brady, as did the rest of the half line played well. Kevin fielded some great ball and got in front of his man too. Unlukcy not to get on the score list also.
David Kenny was my man of the match. I don't think you could get a tougher championship debut than mark Henry Shefflin and be surrounded by 5 other skillfull forwards. Dave really got stuck into them and showed no fear, like all the other under 21s.
Wolferine was his usual self, threw his weight around, feilded some great ball.
Barry Teehan, I'd love to know his reason for coming off? Did he pick up a knock? He was playing solid up to that point.
Benny was on form in the first half, picked up two great scores. Seem to fade a bit in the second half.
Rory, I don't know if this is his right position, I'd prefer him in a more central role, at 11 maybe. Had a solid game but didn't excel as he usually would. Disapointed to see him taken off.
Gary Hannify was OK, would prefer to see him catching more possession rather than swinging the hurl, although there was an awful lot of one handed hurling going on yesterday.
Derek Molloy got stuck in, was unlucky on a few occasions to grab a few scores.
Joe Bergin, where was he?
Brian Carroll never really seemed to get into the game and settle down. I wonder why he was draughted back to the the half back line when he's most put to use in the full forward line.
Damian Murray did what he had to do, fair play to him. Efficient with his free taking and penalty taking too. Hopefully he can carry this form.
I was watching this on Setanta from afar, so maybe I just missed it, but were Rory H & Joe B moved around at all?
These were two boys we were counting on big time who never got into the game, and given the fact that we don't exactly have a ton of stars on the sideline, surely Mc could have tried bringing Rory out to midfield instead of bringing on Cordial and moving Bergin out to the half forward line?
As I said, these moves might have been made and I just missed it on the telly, but surely we needed to give these lads every chance to find a way into the game...
That said, there were a lot of positives to take from the game. David Kenny had a great game, and Ger Oakley had maybe his best game in an Offaly shirt, his touch and striking were more solid than I've seen before. Hopefully Paul Cleary will learn a lot from yesterday's game. The backs in general were struggling with KK's tactic of breaking balls and picking up the pieces, we weren't able to make an impression in the air.
If Rory & Joe can assert themselves in the qualifiers, we could have an eventful summer ahead of us.
These were two boys we were counting on big time who never got into the game, and given the fact that we don't exactly have a ton of stars on the sideline, surely Mc could have tried bringing Rory out to midfield instead of bringing on Cordial and moving Bergin out to the half forward line?
As I said, these moves might have been made and I just missed it on the telly, but surely we needed to give these lads every chance to find a way into the game...
That said, there were a lot of positives to take from the game. David Kenny had a great game, and Ger Oakley had maybe his best game in an Offaly shirt, his touch and striking were more solid than I've seen before. Hopefully Paul Cleary will learn a lot from yesterday's game. The backs in general were struggling with KK's tactic of breaking balls and picking up the pieces, we weren't able to make an impression in the air.
If Rory & Joe can assert themselves in the qualifiers, we could have an eventful summer ahead of us.
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Rynaghs Biffo
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Both of them ended up on the sideline with approx. 15-20 minutes remaining!!flairgun wrote:I was watching this on Setanta from afar, so maybe I just missed it, but were Rory H & Joe B moved around at all?
Joe was pushed out onto the wing and didn't much more than what he was at in the corner. Very disapointing. I was looking forward to his battle with Hickey, which Bergin was physically the bigger man!
As for Rory, he roamed around midfield a bit, he looked like a player that wanted to play there and wasn't comfortable on the wing.
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Rynaghs Biffo
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Major difference, myself and Bord na Mona Man noticed. People thought that Offaly came out late, but its just the KK came out early. KK had a very professional look about them. Surely at this level, our boys should be preparing themselves properly!peter wrote:did anyone else notice the difference in kilkenny warming up and offaly warming up?
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DD
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To say the least it did look far less intense than the Cat's routine, jasus even some of our lads hadn't got boots on when they came out the first time. When they came out the second time around they looked like they were just out for a bit of a puck around.Rynaghs Biffo wrote:Major difference, myself and Bord na Mona Man noticed. People thought that Offaly came out late, but its just the KK came out early. KK had a very professional look about them. Surely at this level, our boys should be preparing themselves properly!peter wrote:did anyone else notice the difference in kilkenny warming up and offaly warming up?
I can understand that it might have been deliberate to conserve energy but we were 3 pts down in as many minutes so that was that plan out the window.
KK
In fairness a lot of the talk after the Wexford game last year was the tough warm up Offaly did in the heat, that it was too much etc.peter wrote:did anyone else notice the difference in kilkenny warming up and offaly warming up?
There was some cause for encouragement yesterday, especially in the first half, but there's something not right when we come away feeling relieved that we "only" lost by fourteen points. Maybe those of us who grew up with the golden era didn't realise how good we had it.
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Plain of the Herbs
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Usually in hurling success is quantitative, where the result is everything. Yesterday, for Offaly, it was qualitative. Yesterday, our county team stood up and made Kilkenny work hard for every score they got. It was so heartening to see them hurl at such an intensity, particularly the newcomers in defence, and there will be many tired and sore bodies in the county today. While a fourteen point gap doesn’t reflect Offaly’s effort, it probably does reflect Kilkenny’s greater powerplay, teamwork and scoring potential.
That’s the level of intensity that is required, in every match, for seventy minutes, if this team is to go anywhere. Of course the intense heat didn’t help though, and even with global warming and all that, Irish Summer Sundays won’t always be that hot. The Offaly crowd responded to the effort that was put in, getting behind their team. The actions of the team on the field lift the crowd, not the other way around and so it was yesterday in O’Moore Park. The Offaly public will always respond to a genuine effort by the hurlers.
It’s interesting to hear Kilkenny bemoaning the referee, when there’s no better county in the country for hurling close to the edge as far as the rules are concerned. They’ll know all about robust when they have to face Waterford. Or Clare. Or Cork.
The Offaly defence was superb. David Kenny had an outstanding game on Henry Shefflin. He contested well in the centre, and it was only when moving away from the centre that Shefflin took his scores from play. Ger Oakley made two fine early catches, then resorted to slashing earning a yellow card, before going on to have a fine game. Conor Hernon had a good game in the corner, minded his man well and cleared well when in possession. Paul Cleary found it tough early on marking Martin Comerford but he settled and contested much better as the game wore on. David Franks and Kevin Brady hurled well. Behind them, Brian Mullins recovered his 2003 form saving well when required and consistently hitting the target with his puckout. The importance of keeping Kilkenny goalless for 58 minutes cannot be understated. Even at that, the goal was unlucky. Mullins had the expected one-handed flick covered but the forward missed the flick and the ball bounced the wrong side of him. That increased a seven point gap to ten at that stage.
Brendan Murphy worked hard throughout. I thought Barry Teehan was unlucky to be withdrawn. It took Michael Cordial some time to get to the pace of the game after his introduction.
On the other hand, we had another fadeout from the forwards, hitting the usual quota of three second half points. While Gary won a decent amount of puckout ball, he was Mullins’ only target for much of the second half until, no doubt worn out, he was moved to full forward. As a result, the goalkeeper must have felt he was hitting the ball off a wall, such was the speed it was returned to him during the last twenty minutes. Joseph Bergin couldn’t get into the game, either at full or wing forward. Rory Hanniffy faded out too before being withdrawn. Derek Molloy never gave up trying. Maybe the Offaly sideline could have rotated the forwards giving the half-line a breather at full forward betimes. They struggled to make any kind of space for the forwards and a lot of scores came from the midfield sector.
Moving Brian Carroll outfield didn’t work, in my opinion. It would have worked if the ball had been delivered low to Shefflin. What happened was that Kenny and Carroll seemed to leave Shefflin to each other under the dropping ball and he collected uncontested a few times. Carroll wasn’t collecting any breaking ball (there wasn’t much anyway, with Kilkenny catching cleanly so much) and a few loose ground strokes in the middle were driven to the free man.
Kilkenny are a superb outfit. Their first touch is sublime, their ability to grab a ball in the air is excellent and they are physically strong to boot. They certainly have set the bar that any county hoping to challenge for honours must meet. It will be interesting to see how they progress in defence of their All-Ireland title.
Yesterday’s performance should encourage Offaly as they face into the round robin qualifiers. The three-week break is very welcome now, as it would be very difficult to face a qualifier tie this coming weekend. They will also get a chance to take a look at their prospective opponents in the two forthcoming Munster semi finals. However, Dublin will also be encouraged following their near miss against Wexford and will target the Offaly game for a win in the now annual Offaly-Dublin clash.
Still, if Offaly can reproduce the intensity they showed yesterday and can make space for their forwards to strike, they would give themselves a fighting chance of winning two round-robin matches. Moral victories are to be welcomed when you’re at rock bottom but there comes a time to make it count where it matters most – on the scoreboard.
That’s the level of intensity that is required, in every match, for seventy minutes, if this team is to go anywhere. Of course the intense heat didn’t help though, and even with global warming and all that, Irish Summer Sundays won’t always be that hot. The Offaly crowd responded to the effort that was put in, getting behind their team. The actions of the team on the field lift the crowd, not the other way around and so it was yesterday in O’Moore Park. The Offaly public will always respond to a genuine effort by the hurlers.
It’s interesting to hear Kilkenny bemoaning the referee, when there’s no better county in the country for hurling close to the edge as far as the rules are concerned. They’ll know all about robust when they have to face Waterford. Or Clare. Or Cork.
The Offaly defence was superb. David Kenny had an outstanding game on Henry Shefflin. He contested well in the centre, and it was only when moving away from the centre that Shefflin took his scores from play. Ger Oakley made two fine early catches, then resorted to slashing earning a yellow card, before going on to have a fine game. Conor Hernon had a good game in the corner, minded his man well and cleared well when in possession. Paul Cleary found it tough early on marking Martin Comerford but he settled and contested much better as the game wore on. David Franks and Kevin Brady hurled well. Behind them, Brian Mullins recovered his 2003 form saving well when required and consistently hitting the target with his puckout. The importance of keeping Kilkenny goalless for 58 minutes cannot be understated. Even at that, the goal was unlucky. Mullins had the expected one-handed flick covered but the forward missed the flick and the ball bounced the wrong side of him. That increased a seven point gap to ten at that stage.
Brendan Murphy worked hard throughout. I thought Barry Teehan was unlucky to be withdrawn. It took Michael Cordial some time to get to the pace of the game after his introduction.
On the other hand, we had another fadeout from the forwards, hitting the usual quota of three second half points. While Gary won a decent amount of puckout ball, he was Mullins’ only target for much of the second half until, no doubt worn out, he was moved to full forward. As a result, the goalkeeper must have felt he was hitting the ball off a wall, such was the speed it was returned to him during the last twenty minutes. Joseph Bergin couldn’t get into the game, either at full or wing forward. Rory Hanniffy faded out too before being withdrawn. Derek Molloy never gave up trying. Maybe the Offaly sideline could have rotated the forwards giving the half-line a breather at full forward betimes. They struggled to make any kind of space for the forwards and a lot of scores came from the midfield sector.
Moving Brian Carroll outfield didn’t work, in my opinion. It would have worked if the ball had been delivered low to Shefflin. What happened was that Kenny and Carroll seemed to leave Shefflin to each other under the dropping ball and he collected uncontested a few times. Carroll wasn’t collecting any breaking ball (there wasn’t much anyway, with Kilkenny catching cleanly so much) and a few loose ground strokes in the middle were driven to the free man.
Kilkenny are a superb outfit. Their first touch is sublime, their ability to grab a ball in the air is excellent and they are physically strong to boot. They certainly have set the bar that any county hoping to challenge for honours must meet. It will be interesting to see how they progress in defence of their All-Ireland title.
Yesterday’s performance should encourage Offaly as they face into the round robin qualifiers. The three-week break is very welcome now, as it would be very difficult to face a qualifier tie this coming weekend. They will also get a chance to take a look at their prospective opponents in the two forthcoming Munster semi finals. However, Dublin will also be encouraged following their near miss against Wexford and will target the Offaly game for a win in the now annual Offaly-Dublin clash.
Still, if Offaly can reproduce the intensity they showed yesterday and can make space for their forwards to strike, they would give themselves a fighting chance of winning two round-robin matches. Moral victories are to be welcomed when you’re at rock bottom but there comes a time to make it count where it matters most – on the scoreboard.
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Plain of the Herbs
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Rynaghs Biffo
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Not sounding like a perv, but I recall a young fella rising a ball sweetly and striking over the shoulder on the turn and over the bar.Plain of the Herbs wrote:Anyone else notice the Kilkenny No. 14 in the mini-sevens at half time?
Coopers helmet, socks up, beautiful stroke. A ringer for D.J. Carey.
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Plain of the Herbs
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Your crystal ball needs polishing.
Offalys future wrote:My own opinion of the game on Sunday is that Offaly havent a hope in hell.
I would go further to say that Sunday will be the biggest beating that Offaly have ever received from Kilkenny.
Its great that people send their best wishes on this form, but best wishes wont be worth anything come throw in time Sunday.
Remember
Fail To Prepare
Prepare To Fail
This is the worst prepared Offaly Hurling Panel in the last twenty years.
I have sympathy for the players that have put in the effort but absolutely no sympathy for the guys that havent and especially not the players that were out drinking after the Laois game.
Certain people have posted topics about each player looking after their own patch etc.
This is why Offaly is the way it is at present, no team work.
One on one against Kilkenny we will get destroyed.
McIntyre sould know this and should have a game plan to put nto place, but no that wont happen either.
Offalys future wrote:If that is the team they will need to score 1-20 to win the game as laois forwards will run riot.
i am worried but i feel offaly will get over laois.
lads its not right the wetup is a complete joke.
Offalys future wrote:Mullins is a very good keeper on form but without been involved for the last 4 months he shouldnt be let near a county panel.
Offalys future wrote:Kilkenny vs Waterford
Everyone is expecting Waterford to really put it up to Kilkenny tomorrow but i cant see it happening, Waterford were poor against Tipp, played well though in fairness against Cork.
I think Kilkenny will be far too strong too.
I think they will hammer Waterford
Verdict - Kilkenny +8
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Offalys Future
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I must say i am a bit confused.Plain of the Herbs wrote:Your crystal ball needs polishing.
Why you might say, i will tell you why.
Plain of the Herbs obviously doesnt like my posts concerning Offaly Gaa, maybe its because i am getting to the exact problems that are in our county. Or maybe its some other reason. He seems interested in what i have to say all the same as he took time out to review my posts.
Of which now i will answer.
Offalys future wrote:My own opinion of the game on Sunday is that Offaly havent a hope in hell.
I would go further to say that Sunday will be the biggest beating that Offaly have ever received from Kilkenny.
Its great that people send their best wishes on this form, but best wishes wont be worth anything come throw in time Sunday.
Remember
Fail To Prepare
Prepare To Fail
This is the worst prepared Offaly Hurling Panel in the last twenty years.
I have sympathy for the players that have put in the effort but absolutely no sympathy for the guys that havent and especially not the players that were out drinking after the Laois game.
Certain people have posted topics about each player looking after their own patch etc.
This is why Offaly is the way it is at present, no team work.
One on one against Kilkenny we will get destroyed.
McIntyre sould know this and should have a game plan to put nto place, but no that wont happen either.
Offaly got beaten by 14 points on Sunday the 2nd worst beating they have received from Kilkenny since 1978.
It was obvious that there was no gameplan implemented either.
I called this result last week.
Now i will give my view on the whole game later tonight or in the morning but a 14 point beating to me is a hammering.
Again i called this game the week before and i predicted that offaly would win and would score 1-20.Offalys future wrote:If that is the team they will need to score 1-20 to win the game as laois forwards will run riot.
i am worried but i feel offaly will get over laois.
lads its not right the wetup is a complete joke.
Offaly scored 1-26..
Your point is?Offalys future wrote:Mullins is a very good keeper on form but without been involved for the last 4 months he shouldnt be let near a county panel.
I said Brian Mullins is a very good keeper on form, which he proved yesterday what a class shot stopper he is. In my opinion one of the best in the game.
But like alot of times, you take a quote out but you dont leave in the rest of the topic.
My point was that no player should be on a county team with only 3 weeks training and the wrong attitude.
This i blamed management as they werent able to "man manage" him.
Not much to say here, again i called this game the week before the way i saw it, i was wrong and waterford had a great win.Offalys future wrote:Kilkenny vs Waterford
Everyone is expecting Waterford to really put it up to Kilkenny tomorrow but i cant see it happening, Waterford were poor against Tipp, played well though in fairness against Cork.
I think Kilkenny will be far too strong too.
I think they will hammer Waterford
Verdict - Kilkenny +8
I like reading your previews but to me they are like a large fries from mconalds. Once your finished you want more.
You dont get down to the nitty gritty and you dont call the games.
Its easy to write a preview and say if this happens and that happens, and if he gets stuck in and that lad stands up.
But this is where you are caught i feel. Plain Of The Herbs - exceptional writing skills but you lack the knowledge of our players and other counties players and the game of hurling as a whole.
Or maybe thats a bit harsh, maybe you dont, maybe you just dont want to share them on the forum.
Stay tuned as i will be posting my analysis of the game soon.
" In The Presence Of Confidence Doubt Cannot Exist "