Offaly vs DIT match report

Bord na Mona man · Post by **Bord na Mona man** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 2:56 pm

Another low key win for Offaly in Tullamore yesterday. Although the margin was close for a lot of the game, DIT never looked like repeating their shock win over Longford and Offaly always looked like they could ratchet up proceedings if they needed to. DIT came with a better forward line than UCD's the previous week and with a midfield that had the better of Offaly for most of the game. However the students' defence was always easily carved open with the Offaly forwards breaking through their last line of cover several times. Evidence of this was both Ken Casey's goal which involved him being put clean through with only the keeper to beat.

Casey can be very happy with his competitive debut for Offaly. Apart from his goals, he also scored two frees, one in particular from the kind of distance that McManus would be hitting them from. He did miss one scoreable one from about 30 metres, but he certainly looks like he has the potential to be good asset to future Offaly teams. In any other era in Offaly, Casey would be already burdened with pressure and heavy responsibility. Strange times indeed when himself and James Coughlan could well be tussling over the third and forth place on the corner forwards roster.

Eight different players started yesterday, compared to last week. In goals Kevin Meehan started instead of Padraic Kelly and put in a good display. The goal conceded was unfortunate in that he had pulled off a good save and the loose ball ricocheted back off a couple players before finding the net. He also narrowed the angle and saved from from a close range angled DIT shot. The extra length he has added to his kick outs improve his chances of taking the number 1 jersey.

Joe Quinn put in another commanding display at full back. Fielding well and in command of the position. He did give away a couple of frees that were unnecessary. Greater challenges lay ahead, but more of the same decreases the chances of Conor Evans being parachuted into the position.
James Keane did little wrong, but I can't see him unseating Nigel Grennan at no.4. I think Grennan's pace will be required in the full back line. Keane may be of more use to Offaly in a more outfield position. Ger Rafferty looks favourite to hold a corner back position after another game where he tackled well and put in some good blocks. With Grennan and Rafferty in the corners, it allows you to put Grennan on the fastest opposition attacker and Rafferty on the bigger one.

Eoghan Byrne having played corner back last week was given more freedom to display his skills at wing back. He looks like a quality all rounder and he may be contention for the right half back position. If Barry Mooney's comeback doesn't see him back on full form, then Byrne will fancy his chances.

Shane Sullivan was restored to centre back. His ability to take the ball forward appears to give him the advantage on Sean Casey, who would probably be more in contention for a place in the full back line.

So far this year Karol Slattery displays have been solid. Whether its management tactics that are dictating, he hasn't been blazing forward on his attacking runs. However this is January and Offaly haven't been required to get out of cruise mode.

Ciaran McManus was taken off at half time. To be rested rather than for any injuries we hope. Also this facilitated the introduction of Alan McNamee without sacrificing Kieran Hogan, who management would be more interested in assessing. Interestingly McManus was blocked down a couple of times. However this indicates the degree at which he is now looking to measure the ball he plays, whereas traditionally he favoured the first time hoofed delivery.

Kieran Hogan looked effective in open play but for fielding he was struggling against DIT's John Coughlan who had a height advantage. If Hogan is to break into the starting 15, it most likely won't be in midfield.

Given Coughlan's Offaly connections (he's a nephew of the great Offaly hurling full back Eugene Coughlan) and how he is surplus to requirements in Dublin, you'd have to wonder if there is a possibility of him transferring to the county where his family are woven into the GAA tradition of (Mick and Liam Coughlan also hurled for Offaly). His height, physique and fielding are exactly what we need. Also he is well capable of scoring long range points.

Scott Brady had another useful display at wing forward. His shooting usually holds up well, but wouldn't be sniper accurate when under pressure. However he is clever in his ball usage and has the intelligence to survive in a lot of positions. Thomas Coughlan also had a productive debut on the other wing.

This centre forward position will be very much up for grabs and there certainly isn't a queue of likely candidates. John Reynolds was the unlikely lad who started here last week. PJ Ward was selected here yesterday and didn't exert much influence on the game. He did pop over one free with his left foot, which gives him a little bit of sway. However I can't see him starting here in future games.

Niall McNamee was excellent as always with his forward play, though he did miss two scoreable frees. He was taken off at half time for Thomas Deehan who scored 2 points, but missed a couple of chances.

Laois next week will be the first side that Offaly can be properly gauged against. At the moment the biggest problem is still catching balls at midfield. Perhaps the adjustments made at half forward line will reveal improvements in more competitive matches. However some of the new faces have acquitted themselves well and the panel appears to be improving in strength.

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Line ups and scorers (robbed from the Indo)

SCORERS - Offaly: K Casey 2-2 (2f), N McNamee 0-4 (2f), PJ Ward (1f), T Deehan 0-2 each, E Byrne, S Brady, A McNamee 0-1 each. DIT: C Ward 1-3 (1f), R Cleere 0-3 (2f, 1 '45'), J Coughlan, D Munnelly 0-1 each.

OFFALY - K Meehan; G Rafferty, J Quinn, J Keane; E Byrne, S Sullivan, K Slattery; K Hogan, C McManus; S Brady, PJ Ward, T Coughlan; K Casey, N Coughlan, N McNamee. Subs - A McNamee for McManus (h/t), T Deehan for N McNamee (h/t), P Kellaghan for PJ Ward, R Connor for S Brady (both 52), J Gorman for K Hogan (60).

DIT - E Sommerville; D Walsh, P Turley, A Daly; M Hannon, C Burke, L Fleming, J Coughlan, D Cullotty; M Brennan, D Munnelly, S Conlon; G Gallagher, K McMenamen, C Ward. Subs: J Donegan for D Culloty (15), R Dunne for D Munnelly, R Cleere for S Conlon, S McCormack for G Gallagher, C Finn for D Walsh (all 44).

the bare biffo · Post by **the bare biffo** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 5:37 pm

What role did Neville Coughlan play, traditional full forward or withdrawn.

Bord na Mona man · Post by **Bord na Mona man** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 6:39 pm

the bare biffo wrote:What role did Neville Coughlan play, traditional full forward or withdrawn.

He played withdrawn behind Casey and McNamee/Deehan and wasn't hovering on the square. However I suspect he will revert to the conventional half forward line next game.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Mon Jan 15, 2007 8:03 pm

At the risk of sounding very biased, The clara lads did ok. Maybe shaper's time is limited in the offaly set up, he didn't feature at all this week. Meehan was impressive and in my opinion has surpassed Kelly, and has to be number one choice now. Joe Quinn had a solid game and will be very hard to move from the full back role. Bardy and couglan in the half forward lin add much needed strenght to what was our lightest and weakest line last year. Both are very good ball carriers and distributers. Niall McNamee was impressive as ever, even though it looked like he didn;t even hit fourth gear. Ken Casey was excellent, the only problem is, how he fits into the full forward line that was so effectiv last year. There is a risk of depriving all three of space if he is put into a full forward line with niall and tomo. Possibly move niall to centre forward?? I know no-one wants to move him out the field, but unlike deehan, niall is very accurate from more than thirty yards from play. Tomo did well when he came in winning all his own ball... His finishing was a little off, but it is only january and he may have been a little rusty. A second half in which he gained 2 pts and could/should have scored 1-3 more bodes well. I was pretty disappointed with James Keanes distribution, off hand i can remember 4 passes, under very little pressure which went straight to a DIT player. Over all, it was an average display on a soft pitch against less than average opposition... Nothing to get carried away about, but a few high points... including a good display from eoghan byrne at wing back.

Muck Savage · Post by **Muck Savage** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 4:02 am

I don't know about moving Niall out the field, yer always better off keeping the dangerous forward close to goal. Moving him out filed will only take away from the score Offaly will rack up. The further away from goal he is the less he'll score.
I know it was just Casey's first game but maybe your letting your Clara heart rule over your head, is Tommy in trouble of loosing his place? My feeling is Casey may be a year off holding down a spot full time. Has Deehan ever been tried on the wing? I think that casey will have a better strike rate than Deehan, and with Deehans work rate he could do very well wing forward.
How would the three in the full forward line work? Let Deehan roam all over the forward line or just try them all in there for a game?

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:38 am

I don't know about Pat Roe, him only being in charge for a few months, but if we've learned nothing else about the Offaly forwards in recent years, it's that Niall McNamee is neither a wing forward nor a free taker. A wing forward ends up spending half the game tracking his man up and down the field, and as such hasn't got the time to be a scoring threat. Putting Niall in the half forward line would be lunacy, plain and simple - he's our best forward and one of our best players, and he should be left where he can do damage.

Likewise the two man full forward line was excellent last year - we saw what happened in Portlaoise when it was abandoned. The idea of losing it again makes no sense. Ken Casey is just out of minor, and will hopefully be on Offaly panels for at least a decade from now - there's no rush on promoting the lad. If he adds a potential late punch, or can provide good cover for if one of the lads get injured or lose form, then great. There's no logic whatsoever to drawing Niall or Tommo away from where they are so effective.

Finally if you told me one of them was to be a wing forward, to me it would be Casey the best option of the three. But to be honest I wouldn't really want that either.

the bare biffo · Post by **the bare biffo** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:26 pm

I don't like the idea of closing minds to options. Yes McNamee and Deehan did well against the lessor lights last year, but our attacking options were found wanting against Dublin, and personally I think they are the only Leinster team worth measuring ourselves against.
The two man full forward line is fashionable recently but if Pat Roe is capable of getting three good scoring forwards playing together then 3 beats 2 any day of week.

Age is another barrier that really doesn't exist. If Casey is good enough and strong enough then he should be in the team. It isn't exactly rare for lads out of minor to go straight into senior.

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 12:37 pm

Obviously I wouldn't rule it out, but the two lads thrived on the space created by the absence of a third full forward, so I'd be keen to keep that going if possible. Personally I wouldn't have blamed them for the poor show against Dublin either - it went back to our inability to get close to parity around the middle of the field, though in all likelihood I'd say we may just prepare to deal with that because it's not going to change for the next five years anyway.

As for Casey coming on to senior, obviously I wouldn't rule it out, but I just wouldn't be in any hurry is all. If the lad shines in the under 21 championship in the spring, well then obviously he has to be considered. I'll wait till I see that before I'd even begin to consider him a potential starter in the summer. The fact that we're not really short on decent corner men means we can afford to think like this, as opposed to a few years ago, when Niall was first coming on to the scene.

Muck Savage · Post by **Muck Savage** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 7:28 pm

Things went well last year witht he two lads inside. I think Niall has to be left in there for sure but while Deehan is a great man to make space, works well with Niall etc. I just don't like his strike rate. A few time last year he had very easy chances and kicked them wide. If a lad like Casey can do the same as Deehan but is more clinical then throw the lad in. I agree that he might be better off being an impact sub this year due to age.
Another thing we need is a plan B. What happens if the 2 man full forward line ins't working? Getting quality ball in to them is a problem as our midfield is not where it should be but if we come up against two corner backs that are good enough to cancel out the 2 men then where do we go? It's fairly predictable for all teams out there that Offaly will play the two man full forward line now and we need to be able to change things around a bit. I'd be interested to see people opinions on what we'd revert to if this happens.

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:01 am

I know you'll say i'm letting my clara heart rule over my head, but to question tommo's strike rate is a bit unfair. As far as i can remeber, coming out of croke park twice last year, tomo scored more from play than niall. Maybe i'm wrong, but as i was sure Mac outscored tommo with frees in those games. Again... cud b wrong!

Bord na Mona man · Post by **Bord na Mona man** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:55 pm

Ideally Deehan would convert a higher percentage of the chances he gets. However he will always have the confidence to take on the shot. Also when he misses a couple, his confidence doesn't flag, as tends to happen with James Coughlan. He is capable of scoring chances that a lot of forwards wouldn't take on.

Agree that Ken Casey is very likely to push him for a place, but lets weigh down Casey with too much expectation too soon. As yet he hasn't performed to his ability in Croke Park in two Leinster minor finals, which might just be coincidental, or unfair to say, as he performed exceptionally well in other games. Even though it puts a slight doubt in my mind, I wouldn't like to assess him until he approaches the finished article. Currently he still has more to prove than Deehan does. It would take several good league performances for management to take a chance and start him.

turk · Post by **turk** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:06 pm

I think both Raffertys should be featuring in the backs.
Where is the other lad?

Lone Shark · Post by **Lone Shark** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:12 pm

Personally I'd say James Rafferty would be a bit slow to be in the backs - and by a bit, I mean wojious slow. He could make a full back in a few years when he's filled out, matured, and learned the wily ways of forwards (a Francie Bellew or Paddy Christie style) but in the meantime I think he has a bit to go. Cian Ward fairly gave him the run around in the under 21's last year, and personally I though Kildae could have looked to play him a bit better when he came on in the Leinster quarter last year.

Ger Rafferty on the other hand, if he has the time to commit properly, could be a big player this year. A little bit of me was thinking that maybe he could be remade into that hardy midfielder we're lacking. Wouldn't be a wonderful fielder, but if he can catch a few, break a few, maybe it could work?

Plain of the Herbs · Post by **Plain of the Herbs** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:40 pm

I don't usually post here about football but I just want to point this out.

The advantages to the use of two man full forward lines in football are twofold:-
1. It creates additional space for the front two and
2. It should help crowd out midfield which would benefit a team who don't win much clean possession in that area.

The fact that chances were squandered in the Leinster final wasn't down to the system used, they were bad misses in many cases. If the quality of the ball delivered in is good enough (diagonally, preferably), scores should come. Some fantastic ball was delivered to McNamee and Deehan during that match. It was the sending off that derailed Offaly that day. I'd prefer to see a third midfielder used rather than a fourth half forward.

Muck Savage wrote:Things went well last year witht he two lads inside. I think Niall has to be left in there for sure but while Deehan is a great man to make space, works well with Niall etc. I just don't like his strike rate. A few time last year he had very easy chances and kicked them wide. If a lad like Casey can do the same as Deehan but is more clinical then throw the lad in. I agree that he might be better off being an impact sub this year due to age.
Another thing we need is a plan B. What happens if the 2 man full forward line ins't working? Getting quality ball in to them is a problem as our midfield is not where it should be but if we come up against two corner backs that are good enough to cancel out the 2 men then where do we go? It's fairly predictable for all teams out there that Offaly will play the two man full forward line now and we need to be able to change things around a bit. I'd be interested to see people opinions on what we'd revert to if this happens.

the rat · Post by **the rat** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:46 pm

was at this on sunday and reckon we have to play 3 at midfeild.

1.meehan.2.rafferty.3.quinn.4.grennan.5.mconway.6.sullivan.7.slattery.8.mcnamee.9.keane.10.n.coughlan.11.mcmanus.12.pj.ward.13.deehan.14.brady.15.mcnamee.
brady as third midfeilder.