Offaly - Waterford. Another display to be proud of

[Bord na Mona man]

I must say it was another fine day to be an Offaly follower. The players played out of their skins in a scorcher of a game.

For 7 or 8 years now I have yearned for Offaly hurling teams to go out and play with fire, pride and commitment,
Offaly's last two games have been a joy to behold. At last we are playing the sort of high tempo, do or die hurling that the big counties have been playing in the 00s.

There is still a way back, but Offaly look to be on the right track.
Well done to Joe Dooley again, for putting the heart and spirit back into Offaly hurling.

The day itself started of badly and got worse and worse for a while.
Firstly the news that David Kenny's cousin was killed in car accident in Doon this morning. the question of whether he would play and if he did, would he really be in the right frame of mind to do so. Kenny has been our star this year and perhaps the most likely All Star nominee. He did play in the end but I have no doubt it was a tough call.

Then the news Diarmuid Horan couldn't line out at wing back. Another pillar that the team is built on crumbles.

Worse still, the stadium announcement "the referee for today's game is Michael Haverty of Galway".
Christ, anyone but him! Shovel another 3 or 4 points onto Waterford's balance sheet once Haverty does his customary hatchet job in Offaly - He didn't disappoint. I am sick of him and dread him refereeing Offaly matches.

The ball is in, and after 16 seconds Waterford are on the board.
Five minutes later they are 1-4 to 2 wides ahead. Waterford slicing the Offaly defence apart with precise balls and the Offaly full back line looks in tatters. This was a big step up from Limerick last week. This was real championship.

However the next few minutes hurling were superb from Offaly.
Offaly hurling as we have always remembered her. Closing down every Waterford player in possession, blocking them down, forcing the mistakes. Making mugs of some of the big names.
The points start going over and Offaly started to believe.

Ken McGrath at full back looked to be in bother. He was dragging out of Joe Bergin and giving him a fair skelping. He picked up an early yellow and looked to be on the verge of checking himself out of the game. Another foul earned him and black card (too much to expect a second yellow).
Another ball drops in the square and Declan Prendergast batters the back of Shane Dooley's helmet, luckily for him the ref never spotted it, nor did his umpire feel the need to report it.
The signs were that Waterford were seriously rattled and starting to yield.

Waterford's 2nd goal was a body blow to Offaly who were leading by 2 points by this stage. Still, going in at half time in arrears, Offaly had put in a half to be proud of.

The second half and Offaly keep the throttle at full. Waterford have a slight breeze, but Offaly press on. Crucially though, every time Offaly nosed in front Waterford managed to respond with a point.
An example being David Franks super solo run from corner back and point was immediately cancelled out by a Waterford pointed free. The Herculean score and the tap over free are both exactly equal on the scoreboard.

Up front Offaly were winning less and less ball. The Waterford full back line had been on top for most of the game and then their half back line started gobbling up everything. Viable Offaly targets for puckouts got less. More mistakes were made when fatigue set in. Waterford started to pull away. 6 points is the final tally. Perhaps not a fair reflection of the game, but in a way I'm glad it wasn't only a point or two in it. The regrets over key incidents, or the performance of the poxy ref would have been worse.

Offaly still couldn’t stop Eoin Kelly. As talented as he is dislikeable, he tormented Offaly all day. The 18 other Waterford players who featured managed 5 points between them. Big Bad Dan barely got a puck of the ball all day. After the first 10 minutes John Mullane was blocked so often he probably thought was playing Cubed hurling.

For the first time in years, there are genuine signs of an Offaly hurling revival.
Waterford have a few years of big match experience behind them. It was always a big ask for relatively new Offaly side to try and outfox them at such an early stage of their development. Waterford are a big step up from Limerick last week. Limerick have been the 7th best team in Ireland for the last few years and were overhyped recently, Waterford have been hovering between 2nd and 3rd best in the country.

Lets hope Offaly keep building and improving. Next Thursday night's U21 final is anotehr test. Record a 2nd consecutive win over Kilkenny and perhaps the headlock Kilkenny have Offaly in starts to loosen.

[SearingDrive]

I am in agrement with BNM man and the other contributors after a display which put the pride back in our famous and unique jersey. Offaly got nothing from the referee, a fair shoulder on John Mullane resultd in yet another easy free to Waterford near the end, one of many in the game I must say. Offaly played magnificently yesterday to come from 7 points down and go ahead by a point. Unfortunately we gave away 2 bad goals, particularly the second one, when we were a point up. These were the difference in the end, but our players had a great second half, only tiring a bit near the end. We never threatened to score a goal, and need to stop letting the opposition score points when we go ahead, as happened yesterday. If we could have a few likely goalscorers, then we can take on anyone. Thanks to the team and management for making us all proud Offaly men and women yesterday.
Now let's show the Cats that we don't fear them on Thursday night, and send them back with their tails between their legs.

[OY_94]

I agree a great performance, to come back and lead after such a poor start suggests a great determination and spirit in these young lads.

Not that i think it was the difference between winning and losing but it has to be said the referee was nothing short of a disgrace. How he gave a foul against Joe Bergin for just doubling on a ball is a complete mystery. He also fell for a lot of john Mullanes acting skills. Mullane has gained a lot of cuteness over the years but he was playing for fouls all evening. This coupled with some of the fancy boy antics of some of the Waterford lads leads me to believe that this waterford team will do very well if it ever manages to win an all ireland.

Hopefully the lads can regroup and give the u21 a good rattle thursday night.
Best of luck to them.

[black and red exile]

The lads certainly went down with a bang, unlike the wasters in tullamore.A battling performance until the very end despite gifting Waterford 2 very soft goals. I think every Offaly man, woman and child were so proud of the guys, showing that old never say die fighting spirit that has been sadly lacking for a few years now but has certainly returned in the last 2 games against the Treaty and the Deise. I won't go into a rant about the referee, the world and its mother know he had a stinker. In the last 10 to 15 mins we seemed to run out of steam and some lads looked out on their feet but despite hitting some bad wides from frees and play not one of them dropped their heads. Thanks to the players and management for giving us a lasting memory for this summer and the last 2 displays will surely give us great confidence going into 2009 but it is vital we win the U21 final on Wednesday night.

[faithful till I die]

I think every Offaly man, woman and child were so proud of the guys, showing that old never say die fighting spirit that has been sadly lacking for a few years now but has certainly returned

I think it speaks volumes that despite a loss it was the small number of Offaly fans present at the game cheering their team off the field even after a defeat.
It was a great performance & with a bit of luck we could have won it. I think we badly missed Horan especially in the second half where his quality delivery in to the forward line would have made a difference. In addition I think he could have assumed respnsibility for the long range frees which Carroll struggled with. Still great heart & great hope for the future. Lets hope these lads get their just rewards & skin the cats on Thursday.