Club football 2025

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[quote="FullForward waster" post_id=76928 time=1761235727 user_id=13878]
[quote=SearingDrive post_id=76925 time=1761224207 user_id=2813]
[quote="Fear Uibh" post_id=76923 time=1761210761 user_id=12615]
Marius Stones is down for senior final
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A Clara referee. What Senior matches has he refereed.?
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You must be hugely invested in the senior football championship. I hope this is a joke. Regardless of where he is from he is absolutely deserving of the job. A very good ref and extremely fair. He gets very few things wrong. This year more than ever looks to be a mouthwatering affair which stones will added to with his huge experience.

I for one as a neutral would like to see Ferbane win. And i hope its their time after afew narrow losses. Along with the fact that their will be no bagpipes coming over Kilbeggan bridge Sunday night as an added bonus
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The bagpipes were played loud and proud over the Kilbeggan bridge last night

[Behindthegoal]

Fair play to both teams on a great game in tough conditions.

I think there was two areas where the game was won. The first is in the first half Tullamore were clearly running down the clock and Ferbane didn’t push out and press them easier said than done but on the flip side Ferbane weren’t able to keep the ball as easy in the second half Tullamore hounded them

The second is the kickouts Tullamore got some away short in the first half against the wind where as Ferbane went long and the ball almost blew back inside their 45 putting serious pressure on themselves

The 50m metre penalty Ferbane gave away after the goal was crucial their goal was wiped out almost immediately

I thought Aaron leavy was man of the match although Oisin kelly challenged him more in the second half. Harry Plunkett showed huge character having not been in the game to come up with that late surge.

For Ferbane Cathal Flynn carried the fight all day will be a significant loss for Offaly in the league this year. And Cian Johnson bravo son the word is he didn’t sleep or eat before the final and gave a clinic of kicking that free in the first half is as good as you’d see in the country read in the paper he done almost 200 sessions this year and it shows most people wrote him off so fair play to him.

The downs won’t be simple in two weeks Luke loughlin in particular will be a handful

[llkj]

What is up with Cathal Flynn for the league next year?

[Bogman123]

What a win for Tullamore yesterday. They were in control of that game and seemed they would just edge home until Ferbane got the goal. Once that opened a 3-pt margin, they just took control of the game (or moreso Harry Plunkett took control of the game). I watched back the last 15 mins today and Nigel Dunne was very complimentary of Plunkett's composure. Even for a seasoned inter-county pro like Dunne, those were difficult scores to take. 2 pointers from the ground and from play and a free off his left too - game winners are often the difference down the stretch.

Ferbane seemed to go for goals too early in my opinion. I think battle scars from prior 2 years do not help, and there was a sense of trying to "force" it a bit too much. Paired up with Cormac Egan and Declan Hogan heroic blocks, this was a real momentum killer for Ferbane. If Oisin Kelly fists that ball over the bar with 5 mins to go, and Tullamore do not get a score off the break, it may have been a different ending.

Although I don't think it would have been. Tullamore always had enough and they are winners, end of story. The old stereotype of Tullamore in county final performances does ring true and they always raise their game to get over the line - proven by their 3-in-a-row despite not being supremely dominant in any of the 3 finals. I know this is a great Ferbane side with lots of young footballers, but it is hard to imagine the disappointment that must follow the past 3 years.

As for Leinster, I see Tullamore are 10/1 on Boylesports which might be a good punt. Ballyboden most likely to come through Dublin and will not be as strong as previous Dublin champs in my opinion. The Downs might be favorites with home advantage in the QFs, but Tullamore will have great confidence from last year's run and have a strong squad for the heavier ground.

Cream rises, winners win and this Tullamore team are a classy, classy outfit.

[brosna]

Does anyone know who’s in the pre season training panel for Offaly? Is Harry Plunkett called in? With the two point rule he’d be a good option and Offaly had to bring Dunican up to kick frees last year.

[LetFly]

Congrats to Tullamore on a great win. Our lads fall short again, hard to know where we go from here. Couple of devastating defeats across both codes but a great group of players who will no doubt bounce back again. Credit to Cian and Cathal Flynn for great performances on the day. Being so competitive in both codes is fantastic for the club as a whole but ultimately hindering our success vs the likes of Tullamore who’s focus on one code has brought huge success in football and plenty of medals.

[Cheddar]

Link to all scorers for this years championship. Used for my All Things Offaly Instagram page. 98 scorers across all games. Interestingly none of the Top 5 were Offaly panellists by end of championship. CF left and Nigel retired. Johnson, and Plunkett could be on board next year and you never know with CF. Hopefully all bridges will be mended.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... p=drivesdk

[Offaly Hero]

Link to all scorers for this years championship. Used for my All Things Offaly Instagram page. 98 scorers across all games. Interestingly none of the Top 5 were Offaly panellists by end of championship. CF left and Nigel retired. Johnson, and Plunkett could be on board next year and you never know with CF. Hopefully all bridges will be mended.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... p=drivesdk

Thanks for all your work on 'All things Offaly'. Great resource and content.

[biffinbanner]

ferbane have a great team. but tullamore just that bit better. evidence is evidence. but walsh island won 6 in a row back in the 80s where ferbane were often the victims along their way. but ferbane came back and won 5 in a row. so lets hope for the best in the next few years.

[jimbob17]

Good bit of work gone in to that. Fair play. Going by this, if Johnson, Farrell and Plunkett are left out, it may be case that none of the top 16 scorers will be on senior panel in 2026, which would be astounding. We do have a few at senior B and Intermediate level that start regularly in Dylan Hyland and Shane Tierney but doesn't explain how other county footballers are so far down the list.

[Cheddar]

Well of that Top 16, Cathal Flynn and Aaron Kellaghan are still there. Surely a place there for a few more.

[FullForward waster]

Link to all scorers for this years championship. Used for my All Things Offaly Instagram page. 98 scorers across all games. Interestingly none of the Top 5 were Offaly panellists by end of championship. CF left and Nigel retired. Johnson, and Plunkett could be on board next year and you never know with CF. Hopefully all bridges will be mended.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... p=drivesdk

Well done Cheddar, A lot of time and effort gone into that spread sheet and fair play. Although small in stature but heart of a lion mike fox if managed correctly it would be nice to see him get a call. Speedy and energetic. Harry will have to get a call in. In my opinion i think Nally should be given a crack too, has been impressive for Ferbane all year. Id love to see a nice few called in get a fair crack of the whip. I stand corrected on this but approx 3/4 years ago clubs were contacted to send 5/6 players in they see fit and a few in house games took place over a month or so and narrowed down each week. Would be nice to see this happen again.

Fair play to Tullamore the never die attitude within that team is admirable. You'd feel for Ferbane they have left all and some on the pitch the 3 years. One would wonder what is Raffs future. As the old age saying goes winning is a habit.

[jimbob17]

Well of that Top 16, Cathal Flynn and Aaron Kellaghan are still there. Surely a place there for a few more.

Stated above by poster that Flynn will not be involved for some reason. I have not heard myself but did hear both Kellaghan and Ruairi McNamee will not be involved - again no specific reason given....

[Wingbackassassin]

Not sure how Ferbane will recover from losing three finals in a row. Being a proper dual club and having several of their best footballers being county hurlers, makes it very difficult to beat a Tullamore team who are much more focused on football. Tullamore didn't play particularly well once again but got the scores at the critical stages almost effortlessly.
Ferbanes best chance to win was 2024.
Tullamores age profile is also a lot younger than Ferbanes. McDaid, Egan, Furlongs, Bourke all aged 22 or younger.
I know Ferbane have had excellent minor teams the past few years but even with them on board it's hard to see Ferbane being any stronger next year.

[LetFly]

Agreed wingbackassasin, F/B are the only proper dual club in Offaly where players treat both codes equally. It’s probably holding them back in both in reality, the likes of Loughmore are an exception rather than the rule. Looking at players who got gametime sunday, 14/17 for ferbane hurled this year, I make it 4/18 for Tullamore but stand to be corrected on that.

B/D are probably closest in terms of players doing both but their commitment to both codes is questionable after this year. Looking down the lower grades, very few clubs successfully doing dual.