Offaly Senior Footballers 2025

[Cheddar]

A funny game today and a funny end of the game. Last week was pure ecstasy and lots of excitement. Today was anti-climatic and a lot of the players weren’t really celebrating. I actually get it, and I think it reflects the management, particularly Harte.

We got the job done, but lost and the players weren’t overly happy with themselves. Relief rather than ecstasy. Maybe it shows they they don’t accept second best and that they set high standards for themselves. Paddy Dunican spoke to Off the Ball after the game and that mood was reflected.

As the previous post said, for years all we’ve seen is scraps in D3 on the final day. Here we are, after getting a rightful promotion and we aren’t going crazy. Maybe it shows that this team and management think they are capable of more. Mediocrity isn’t the standard anymore and they can push on.

They’ve leaned lessons today and will be better for it against Meath. I think there could be a right game in Navan in a few weeks.

For now let’s enjoy the promotion, and bring big support to the derby against Kildare next week. We don’t win silverware often. I want a title next week.

[Doon Exile]

[/quote]

Let's hope our "championship" isn't over.. of course promotion was our first priority but we could do with a win next Saturday again or we could end up with 3 defeats in a row unless we can cause an upset against Meath, we caught them on the hop a couple years ago but they seem to be a different team now and we have to go to Navan. We really need to have a go at this tailteann cup, standard will be high and it will be hard to win. I'd worry that if we are beaten in our next 2 games, tools will be downed again this year. Let's hope that's not the case.
[/quote]

Very positive post there Joey. Maybe we should just give Kildare and Carlow/meath the points as it would save us having to wash the jerseys…..

[Fairplayalways]

dont be on here much, yes we got promoted which was aim all league, well done..a strange first half, Clare really hung on and put it up to us, we got the two goals, nice lead at half time, we should really have been seeing out the game from that stand point. Second half was strange again, Clare came flying back at us, got two goals late enough on, we just seemed switched off, passing ball around like Dublin back in the day even when losing near the end, I just dont get that mentality, yes we lost by less than was required for Clare to benefit which was important, but a lead like that at half time, had to be maintained in some shape or form, we lost be 5 having led by similar or so at half time...Kildare will be out for us in final, make no mistake..hopefully we can resume recent form and kick on...

[offalyman]

Today was always going to be a funny game to be involved in and I find the negativity here baffling after today’s promotion. Well done lads is all I have to say, last Sunday we got into the departure lounge ready for take off, and today we landed in our destination. super achievement.

[Superhans75]

Nothing beats a ,5am start on a Monday
After getting promoted.
And a long day yesterday
The point I have noticed in all the league games this campaign the forward. Line is still not scoring enough
I know the style of play doesn't necessarily
Suit certain types of players and when others can score it's academic but other teams will
Sus us out .
Have a great week everyone and enjoy
The moment

[joe123]

Let's hope our "championship" isn't over.. of course promotion was our first priority but we could do with a win next Saturday again or we could end up with 3 defeats in a row unless we can cause an upset against Meath, we caught them on the hop a couple years ago but they seem to be a different team now and we have to go to Navan. We really need to have a go at this tailteann cup, standard will be high and it will be hard to win. I'd worry that if we are beaten in our next 2 games, tools will be downed again this year. Let's hope that's not the case.
[/quote]

Very positive post there Joey. Maybe we should just give Kildare and Carlow/meath the points as it would save us having to wash the jerseys…..
[/quote]

I wasn't trying to be negative, more cautiously optimistic/realistic. You don't get points for winning the league final or the first round of the championship and there is zero chance we will be playing Carlow. We will be playing Meath in Navan and our record on the road is poor. My point is that our year can't end if we don't beat kildare or Meath like it has for many years after league and first round of leinster. On the road in the league We were comprehsively beaten yesterday granted it was a strange game, we lost in Fermanagh and our smallest win was against relegated Leitrim in Leitrim. Our main goal has been achieved but we need big performances against Kildare and Meath and a run in the TC which will be ultra competitive this year . Kildare will be all guns blazing and will likely be back in form and venue which will make them a different proposition than last week and Meath challenged for promotion in Divison 2, they are a different team than we caught on the hop after a brilliant start in tullamore 2 years ago.. can we beat both on the day? Yes but unlikely and our eggs for the remainder of the year can't be in the one basket of these 2 games where we will most definitely be underdogs. I want to see us be competitive in the TC. Well done to all involved, definitely up on merit this year and feels better than when we went up a few years ago when the group was split.

[ruletheroost]

Will be a tough game Saturday evening. I suspect Darragh Kirwan and Niall Kelly will both start which adds another dimension to Kildare.

I suspect we will give Meath a very good game considering they have lost their best forward. Jordan Morris sustained a bad injury yesterday and looks like he is gone for the year. They looked very average against Louth yesterday.

[Doon Exile]

League final now moved to Sunday 1:45 throw in and double header with div 1 final.

[Faithfully]

League final now moved to Sunday 1:45 throw in and double header with div 1 final.

Great news imo. A lot more fan friendly for us and has more of a sense of occasion being paired with the Div 1 final as opposed to Div 4.

[Bord na Mona man]

We were comprehsively beaten yesterday granted it was a strange game

Clare only went in front in the 66th minute. Your definition of comprehensively must differ from the usual understanding of the word.

[joe123]

We were comprehsively beaten yesterday granted it was a strange game

Clare only went in front in the 66th minute. Your definition of comprehensively must differ from the usual understanding of the word.

If I said that they were barely beaten, you'd disagree with me Had Clare been more efficient earlier in the game, we could have found ourselves in real bother, i think you'll find most will agree on that, havinf said that it was a difficult game to be involved in and 5 points is a significant win. Let me rephrase, we were comprehensively outplayed and we very much were. Clare are good team and they had to go at it.. Last year we comprehensively out played them for an hour and ended up losing by 1 point having had a chance to win it at the end and ye were jumping up and down looking for a root and branch review after the game, players and management were slated all over the place.

[Lone Shark]

The psychology involved in a game like that one yesterday would have been incredibly difficult for players and management to handle. It's all very well to say "just play to win" but it's not humanly possible to tune out a piece of information that is there in your brain. It's like when there's something on your mind, and someone gives you the advice - "try not to think about it and it'll be fine" - that is the single most useless thing anyone can say.

Based on everything we've seen from Offaly so far this year, the logical way for the players to play that game yesterday - if it was a normal league game where the aim was to win the match - was to keep the tempo high, to get stuck into a shootout, and to trust in this group's ability to run up a decent score. But it's a hell of a lot easier to lose by 11 or 12 points in a freescoring shootout than it is in a tight game. You could play well and still lose a game by 3-22 to 0-20. And if that was what happened, then there would be no shortage of hurlers on the ditch who would immediately chime in to say that they should have just battened down the hatches and looked to keep Clare to 15 or 16 scores.

That's not saying that Offaly played a great game or that they handled it the right way, but it was a tricky test, and they did what they needed to do. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough, and at the end of the day, the reason they could afford to lose by ten points was because of everything that they had done in the previous six games. Offaly didn't get the rub of the green against Fermanagh and probably would have got a draw if the right call was made with Dylan Hyland crossing the half-way line, and they didn't run up a score against Leitrim, instead they accumulated their scoring difference advantage against other teams that were genuinely trying, like Sligo and Antrim. In a nutshell, the players earned the position that they were in on Sunday, and all the Clare ochóning about beating the two promoted teams but not going up is nonsense.

The scenario for next Sunday's final, or for a Leinster quarter-final against Meath, is very different - it's play to win, score more than the opposition, nothing complicated about it. So I'd be confident they'll be back to playing the type of football that has served them so well, and they'll have learned a little from the game yesterday as well.


Finally, getting the game on Sunday, as the forerunner to the D1 final, will be a big boost. Better for supporters, a bigger crowd overall to improve the atmosphere, and also it will free up a few people to get in and support the minors in Tullamore on Saturday. Good stuff all round.

[joe123]

The psychology involved in a game like that one yesterday would have been incredibly difficult for players and management to handle. It's all very well to say "just play to win" but it's not humanly possible to tune out a piece of information that is there in your brain. It's like when there's something on your mind, and someone gives you the advice - "try not to think about it and it'll be fine" - that is the single most useless thing anyone can say.

Based on everything we've seen from Offaly so far this year, the logical way for the players to play that game yesterday - if it was a normal league game where the aim was to win the match - was to keep the tempo high, to get stuck into a shootout, and to trust in this group's ability to run up a decent score. But it's a hell of a lot easier to lose by 11 or 12 points in a freescoring shootout than it is in a tight game. You could play well and still lose a game by 3-22 to 0-20. And if that was what happened, then there would be no shortage of hurlers on the ditch who would immediately chime in to say that they should have just battened down the hatches and looked to keep Clare to 15 or 16 scores.

That's not saying that Offaly played a great game or that they handled it the right way, but it was a tricky test, and they did what they needed to do. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough, and at the end of the day, the reason they could afford to lose by ten points was because of everything that they had done in the previous six games. Offaly didn't get the rub of the green against Fermanagh and probably would have got a draw if the right call was made with Dylan Hyland crossing the half-way line, and they didn't run up a score against Leitrim, instead they accumulated their scoring difference advantage against other teams that were genuinely trying, like Sligo and Antrim. In a nutshell, the players earned the position that they were in on Sunday, and all the Clare ochóning about beating the two promoted teams but not going up is nonsense.

The scenario for next Sunday's final, or for a Leinster quarter-final against Meath, is very different - it's play to win, score more than the opposition, nothing complicated about it. So I'd be confident they'll be back to playing the type of football that has served them so well, and they'll have learned a little from the game yesterday as well.


Finally, getting the game on Sunday, as the forerunner to the D1 final, will be a big boost. Better for supporters, a bigger crowd overall to improve the atmosphere, and also it will free up a few people to get in and support the minors in Tullamore on Saturday. Good stuff all round.

Agreed the psychology of it is difficult particularly as a player, you're gonna play a little confined, the wing back or the corner back that might bomb forward might have said thought on the odd occasion that they wouldn't make that run forward as they needed to be cautious and no need to take the risk, it changes the dynamic of the game. No point saying not to think about it. If I tell you not to think of a pink elephant, it's the first things that will come into your head.

Great position to be in in both codes and nice to come into work and be talking about Offaly on the up.

[Cheddar]

The psychology involved in a game like that one yesterday would have been incredibly difficult for players and management to handle. It's all very well to say "just play to win" but it's not humanly possible to tune out a piece of information that is there in your brain. It's like when there's something on your mind, and someone gives you the advice - "try not to think about it and it'll be fine" - that is the single most useless thing anyone can say.

Based on everything we've seen from Offaly so far this year, the logical way for the players to play that game yesterday - if it was a normal league game where the aim was to win the match - was to keep the tempo high, to get stuck into a shootout, and to trust in this group's ability to run up a decent score. But it's a hell of a lot easier to lose by 11 or 12 points in a freescoring shootout than it is in a tight game. You could play well and still lose a game by 3-22 to 0-20. And if that was what happened, then there would be no shortage of hurlers on the ditch who would immediately chime in to say that they should have just battened down the hatches and looked to keep Clare to 15 or 16 scores.

That's not saying that Offaly played a great game or that they handled it the right way, but it was a tricky test, and they did what they needed to do. It wasn't perfect, but it was enough, and at the end of the day, the reason they could afford to lose by ten points was because of everything that they had done in the previous six games. Offaly didn't get the rub of the green against Fermanagh and probably would have got a draw if the right call was made with Dylan Hyland crossing the half-way line, and they didn't run up a score against Leitrim, instead they accumulated their scoring difference advantage against other teams that were genuinely trying, like Sligo and Antrim. In a nutshell, the players earned the position that they were in on Sunday, and all the Clare ochóning about beating the two promoted teams but not going up is nonsense.

The scenario for next Sunday's final, or for a Leinster quarter-final against Meath, is very different - it's play to win, score more than the opposition, nothing complicated about it. So I'd be confident they'll be back to playing the type of football that has served them so well, and they'll have learned a little from the game yesterday as well.


Finally, getting the game on Sunday, as the forerunner to the D1 final, will be a big boost. Better for supporters, a bigger crowd overall to improve the atmosphere, and also it will free up a few people to get in and support the minors in Tullamore on Saturday. Good stuff all round.

Absolutely spot on Kevin. Well said and definitely puts a positive spin on it. We are promoted because we deserved it. If it wasn’t for a bad ref call or two in Fermanagh, yesterday wouldn’t have mattered at all as we’d already have been promoted. We are in a great position and our form is good. Yesterday was a mental game but still we only lost our lead at 64 mins. It wasn’t great but we did our job and that’s all that mattered. Onwards to D2 and hopefully the open spaces of Croker suit is against Kildare again like last week.

[oneshot]

well done to Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte and the squad offaly were tipped to go down and some on here were saying that with certain players not called back in we will be lucky to stay up. but from been hammer by London to going up to division 2 was some turn around. as for playing Meath in navan i know it has been a graveyard over the year's but this Meath team ain't like the meath teams of old offaly will be well able for them on the day.