Offaly v Dublin - NHL Division 1 - 14/03/2010

[GreatDayForTheParish]

On a slightly related point.
While we criticise the forwards for lack of ball winning and failing to stall the source of opposition attacks, a certain amount of blame must be laid on the backs too.

Too many times poor quality clearances are made by Offaly players under pressure. The problem being that the first Offaly player who gets his hand on the sliotar is expected to be the player who attempts the clearance. So a player who has busted himself to win it, must invariably strike under pressure, often on his weaker side and with no chance to actually pick a decent area of the field to hit it too. Hence we get the 'invisible wall' effect in Offaly games.

In other hurling counties with more developed tactics, the ball winner usually looks to lay it off to a supporting colleague in space who can actually see the field of play and strike uninhibited. In Offaly the sliotar is treated like a live grenade about to go off that must be whooshed away as quickly as possible.
If you tee up a defender properly with the ball and he should drive it beyond the opposition half back line. Make him hit it over his shoulder whilst performing contortionist gymnastics...

Do coaches in Offaly preach the "get rid of it" mantra too much instead of working on developing the short game skills and a better positional sense?
Perhaps players could work on the physical aspects of the game too. In other hurling counties players deliberately go into collision so they create space for the colleague they intend to pass to.

This has often bothered me too. Discussion here often focuses on players and positions with little air ever been given to tactics. However this is an area where Offaly seem to be among the worst in Ireland. As ponted out about BnaM, Offaly's defensive play can be sorely limited. Watch instead how Kilkenny, Cork or Galway handpass to ball to colleagues in defense to deliever better clearances. As another example (among many) remember all the ball Conor Mahon won against the Cork half back line last year only to be swallowed up in a sea of red with no teammate to lay off to?

I often worry that Offaly's preparation for opposing teams is comprised solely of speeches full of the ''We have to hate them and beat them cos we're form here and they're from there'' bull instead of focused plans on how to actually beat the opposing team.

[GreatDayForTheParish]

I'm sorry, I have it totally wrong. I seem to have forgotten how well the costant roation system has served us over the last 3-4 years!!Look if Dooley can't see at this stage where lads best positions are and what his best 15 are then I don't know what he's been at for the last 2 and 1/2 years?? He'll spend the rest of the league experimenting and I can assure you he'll be no wiser come championship what he wants to do.

Did you look at the rotation policy in the forwards from the Limerick game in 2008 until the league this year? There was none.

I'd love to play on a team you manage, I could play shite day in day out but since experimenting is 'the cowards way' I'd be as safe as houses.

[backofthenet]

Id like to propose a different team if I may

1.B.mullins
2.D.Franks
3.D.kenny
4.J Rigney
5.G. Oakley
6.R. Hanniffy
7.D.morkan
8.B. Murphy
9.D.hayden
10.D. Horan
11.J.bergin
12.C.mahon
13.D.molloy
14.G.healion
15.S.dooley

The reasons for the changes are i think our back line would be more solid, i think the half back line is strong enough to stop the supply into the dublin full forward line, I wouldnt put Verney on the full back line, whether he is on dotsie ocallaghan or mccrabbe there would be way too many easy free's given away. I think Franks would do well on McCrabbe, tight tidy corner back who wont make stupid mistakes or give away stupid frees.

I would worry about Joe Bergin against Hiney, but I would give him a go at centre forward, if its not working id stick conor mahon in there to at least compete physically. I would rather Derek Molloy or Shane Dooley at full forward, Brady can be turned and scored against if they get the right ball and Dooley is our best forward at the moment i would like to see him in the centre to get most of the ball if possible.

Dublin are definately a team we can beat, We need to be full of belief and PLAY FOR THE 70 MINUTES for once!!

[leinsterman]

That's not a bid side, but a few thing's are brendan murphy is out, oakley ahead of paul cleary, oakey has gave his all for offaly the last few year's don't think he is up to
this level anymore don't get me wrong about ger he gives 100% every time he on the
field but just watching him against cork in the league and galway in the walsh cup he was very slow and off the pace. as for paul cleary had a good second half against cork
and was very good against the cat's as they put two or three different men on him
he can drive a ball 70 or 80 yard's as well, jame's rigney's not a corner back got the round around in the cork game his a half back or midfield. rory hanniffy yes would be
a good centreback, but we can't afford him there we need him futher up the field.
alot of people go for horan as a half forward but looking at him there minor under21
and with his club i think young horan doe's his best hurling on the half back line,
and should be left there, love to see him get back to the form he was two year's ago
there, played great against laois and kilkenny and limerick that year untill he got hurt i think if we had him that day in thurle's we would have beating waterford.

[Bord na Mona man]

This has often bothered me too. Discussion here often focuses on players and positions with little air ever been given to tactics. However this is an area where Offaly seem to be among the worst in Ireland. As ponted out about BnaM, Offaly's defensive play can be sorely limited. Watch instead how Kilkenny, Cork or Galway handpass to ball to colleagues in defense to deliever better clearances. As another example (among many) remember all the ball Conor Mahon won against the Cork half back line last year only to be swallowed up in a sea of red with no teammate to lay off to?

Yep, but unfortunately a lot of Offaly hurlers don't handpass the ball very well.
Ideally a player should be able to do it quickly, in multiple directions (like to their left side), accurately, and with good distance.

Where other county teams whip a handpass in a flash (bordering illegality of course), Offaly players tend to need to swing shoulder, arm, hand and lurch in the direction of where they're passing to.

For a few years now, when an Offaly HF catches a puckout or clearance, they invariably try to turn and strike, regardless of how badly surrounded and unlikely their chances are. It looks like a hurler trying to practice his pucks in a telephone box.

Instead of looking for a simpler lay off to player in space and already facing in the right direction.
Is it that the options don't present themselves, or players don't trust themselves to actually get away the pass, or is it another manifestation of the Offaly dogma of moving the ball away as quick as possible?

[GreatDayForTheParish]

Yep, but unfortunately a lot of Offaly hurlers don't handpass the ball very well.
Ideally a player should be able to do it quickly, in multiple directions (like to their left side), accurately, and with good distance.

Where other county teams whip a handpass in a flash (bordering illegality of course), Offaly players tend to need to swing shoulder, arm, hand and lurch in the direction of where they're passing to.

For a few years now, when an Offaly HF catches a puckout or clearance, they invariably try to turn and strike, regardless of how badly surrounded and unlikely their chances are. It looks like a hurler trying to practice his pucks in a telephone box.

Instead of looking for a simpler lay off to player in space and already facing in the right direction.
Is it that the options don't present themselves, or players don't trust themselves to actually get away the pass, or is it another manifestation of the Offaly dogma of moving the ball away as quick as possible

I would argue that Offaly's deficiencies at handpassing the ball are less down to a lack of inherent ability and more to do with the simple fact that it's not practised enough as the management do not enourage it. From personal experience, the handpass is one of those things that most players can become quite proficient in with a bit a practice. It's up to the management to devise a gameplan that encourages it's smart use and to practise this in training. Obviously you will have some players who are just naturally gifted at handpasses (DJ Carey, Joe Canning) but they are the exception rather than the rule.

To finish and to reinforce, a quote from one of the the greatest....OLLIE CANNING (Portumna and Galway): “I don’t believe in the theory of just hitting a ball as far as you can. I believe that you’re better off working the ball 40 or 50 yards up the field, rather than driving it 70 or 80 yards and risking losing possession

[Kevin]

To finish and to reinforce, a quote from one of the the greatest....OLLIE CANNING (Portumna and Galway): “I don’t believe in the theory of just hitting a ball as far as you can. I believe that you’re better off working the ball 40 or 50 yards up the field, rather than driving it 70 or 80 yards and risking losing possession

This should be posted on both sides of the clubhouse door. If we do not currently have the skills for handpassing they must be adequately developed. Giving up possession needlessly is an abdication of responsibility.

Thanks for digging this out GDFTP.

[Kevin]

Just heard...

Offaly 3-19
Dublin 1-18

Up Offaly!!!!!!!!!

Way to go lads!!!!!

[bracknaghboy]

Full credit to them today. It was a fantastic win and should go should give us a great chance of staying in D1. We have to be careful of Limerick now. But based on this this why shouldn't the lads go to Galway next saturday and go out to win?? I just hope that Joe Dooley can learn from this today and keep the team as settled as possible for saturday. Keeping Joe Bergin as close to goal as possible should be priority. Offaly needs to re-establish itself as a top hurling county again and only after 2-3 years in D1 playing against the best can we expect to this current bunch to reach their full potential. D1 hurling's importance cannot be overestimated......that win today is so much better than playing Kildare or Down today in D2!

[Bord na Mona man]

Top notch win today.
Dublin pulled ahead by 3 early in the second half and it looked ominous, Offaly dug in hard and turned it into a 7 point with some superb battling and clever hurling too. Where we have criticised Offaly for falling away from the about the 45th minutes onwards, today Offaly upped the intensity at this point.
Ger Oakley and Joe Brady coming off the bench added a bit of grunt to proceedings and help disrupt Dublin.
Once Dublin weren't able to get the ball to hand easily, they suffered badly. In broken play Offaly showed much more determination in their tackling, ball winning and fighting for loose ball.

Shane Dooley was on fire up front all day. Derek Morkan looks a really classy hurler at wing back. Rory Hanniffy, Conor Mahon and others put in a large amount of work around the middle and it paid off.
I had a feeling that Dublin would be beatable outside the comfort of Parnell Park and was happy with how Offaly went about it.

[footoftheblooms]

Today was a great day for the county to beat one of the leading contenders for the Liam McCarthy , Offaly showed great heart and determination to drive on and win.

For me the winning of the game was the introduction of Ger Oakley a great stalwart of offaly hurling, roll on Galway where i hope to see ger line out for the full 70 minutes.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Well done to the lads today. It was down to them and they hurled well and finished impressive winners.

What a game Derek Morkan had. Brilliant in the air, forceful on the ground and every ball is delivered intelligently. He used the handpass to good effect too and always seemed to take the right option. What a half back line he’d make with David Kenny and Diarmuid Horan. Kenny though is wanted at full back where he was solid today, while Horan is the latest addition to Offaly’s injury list.

Michael Verney had a fine game, seeing off the threat of David O’Callaghan, while James Rigney kept McCrabbe quiet. No mean feat.

Conor Mahon was mighty at midfield, and finished the last quarter hurling deep in the halfback line. Brian Carroll finished the game in the unlikely position of an extra defender. He grew into the game as it went on. So, too did Joseph Bergin

As BnM said, it looked ominous shortly after the break, Dublin outscoring Offaly 4-1 in the early stages to lead 1-16 to 2-10. Dublin only scored twice in the remainder of the game. That they did so was down to Offaly doing much better under Dublin’s puckout as the wind whipped up in Offaly’s favour. Dublin were unable to gain the possession they required as Liam Rushe and Peter Kelly were out of reach of Gary Maguire’s restarts, and consequently never got their attack moving. Isolating Joseph Bergin up front with Shane Dooley feeding off the break suited them too.

Kevin Brady never came to grips at centre half forward, but things like that are always worth a try anyway. Joe Brady did much better and kept the ball moving goalwards with some powerful ground strokes. The introduction of Ger Oakley around the same time tightened up the defence too. Whatever Hayden is, a defender he ain’t, and that should be the end of that experiment. There’s always the option of playing Kevin Brady at 5 anyway.

Penalty-taking is a problem and the bout of “after you” between Bergin and Dooley after Offaly were awarded their penalty screamed that Offaly had no appointed penalty taker! In the event, Dooley struck a moderately-powered shot that was saved. Again.

Loose lips sink ships and Dublin certainly had been speaking out of turn during the week. Ronan Fallon’s mention of their ambitions to reach the league final in the papers during the week were a mite premature. A Pat Nolan of the Irish Daily Mirror followed up on this, remarking in today’s programme notes “Dublin have continued to develop at senior level to an extent to which there has been a marked difference in ambition between the two counties as they approached this National League campaign. Dublin talked up their aim of reaching the final, while Offaly will be happy to consolidate their place in the top flight having just won promotion last year.” Indeed.

Where now for Dublin? They hurl Kilkenny next weekend with Kilkenny (amazingly) in need of a few wins. They then face in-form Cork in round 5 and Galway the week after. By the time they face Limerick in the final round they may have a much-changed team owing to a run of defeats with their scoring difference in tatters.

Offaly face Galway next weekend. Galway collapsed in the second half against Tipperary today, scoring a mere one point in the kind of second half collapse Offaly usually produce. Tonight, the usually excellent Sean Walsh on Galway Bay FM cited a poor return in the air as the reason for the collapse. Sounds familiar. There will, no doubt, be a backlash from the Leinster newcomers, but Offaly wouldn’t be without hope here.

[Bord na Mona man]

Keeping Joe Bergin as close to goal as possible should be priority.

True. Joe showed flashes of his best at times when moved in to FF.
The tactic of leaving him isolated on the edge of the square with the second half breeze worked well generally. Under the high ball his marker was struggling and left exposed. For the quick pulls and low balls into space, he can be a bit slow to react.

Give him a bit of time there to build up his confidence and the scores should come.

[leinsterman]

Didn't i tell ye there was a 70 minute game to come out of offaly today,
they will take beating in galway next weekend can't wait for it. UP THE FAITHFULL.
people told me i was mad to go to cork to watch them, but i tell ye all here there's a leinster
in that offaly hurling team in the next two year's mark my word's, the last 20 minute's today
was like the old offaly bye jasus we hurl the dub's out of tullamore today

[Bord na Mona man]

Its worth a peek over on reservoirdubs.com to read at some of the comments over there.
Nothing against Dublin hurling, but talk about getting ahead of yourselves.

Pity. Would have been a nice to have put Offaly out off our calibre. Hard knock alright.

Disaster really fellas. Gutted. I said it during the week Offaly are our bogey side.

If we have any ambitions teams like offaly have to be put away. Simple as.

If were not able to compete 15 on 15 with the second division hurlers like Offaly (Joe Bergin, Shane Dooley aside) we might as well throw our hats at it.

And letting anyone score 2.10 today on their own is enough for me to see something is wrong. Its offaly were on about for jaysus sake!!

Getting beaten by Offaly doesn't cut it quite frankly.

http://reservoirdubs.com/index.php?opti ... &Itemid=12