www.uibhfhaili.com

The team goes something like this
PK,GR,JQ,JK,PMAC,SS,KS,AMC,NS,CMAC,NC,JC,TD,PJW,NMC

I'd say James Keane will have his hands full with Tommy Freeman, while likewise I'm assuming that means Niall Smith will be detailed to pick up Paul Finlay, if they line out like that.

Basically we have our two most raw players designated to mark Monaghan's two biggest attacking threats - while James Coughlan is expected to mark Damien Freeman as well.

The team itself is reasonable, but Christ it's certainly not horses for courses.



On a completely different matter, does anyone else picture Hyper like this?

Luckily Paul Finlay is suspended and Dick Clerkin is only coming back from a break.
I'd hope that McManus switches wing and takes on Damien Freeman, Freeman would be lose enough that Mac could pose a significant threat going forward.
Chop Grennan would normally be the one you'd expect to mark Tommy Freeman, however he seems to be out of favour these days. This will be a test of whether we have enough pace with Raffery and Keane as corner backs.

Hyper should use this pic for his bio.

Nice one lads! I'll stick it on if you can tell me how? i think we'll do ok on Sunday if we are able to go with the team selected

As it transpired, a win could have leapfrogged us into an unlikely 2nd place in the league. It wasn’t to be and Offaly now lie in de facto 5th place - once Leitrim beat London.

The final game showdown with Roscommon could see Offaly finish anywhere from 2nd to 6th in the table. The margin between playing Division Two football next year against the Corks or Dublins, or the humiliation of competing for the Tommy Cooper rust bucket and Division 4 football is that small!

However on the evidence of today, there are a lot of positives that Offaly can take. There were so many turning points that could have seen this game see-saw in Offaly’s favour, that it would be pointless trying to delve into them.
Ultimately, the biggest factor was not establishing a sizable half time lead when Offaly had win advantage. The slender 7-6 Offaly lead at the turnover was to prove insufficient.
In the second half Monaghan were far less shot shy and more direct than Offaly. It was their more efficient conversion of chances that won it for them.

Offaly put in a brave performance and the collective effort from the team was huge. Great credit must be given for how Offaly managed to retrieve a 12-8 deficit to draw level right at the death. The fickleness of fate saw the game slip from our grasp.
However if this kind of performance is replicated against Roscommon, and with a couple of tactical adjustments made, I would be surprised if Offaly didn’t win.

Offaly will need to adjust the forward line to possess more shooting ability. Niall McNamee as usual kicked a couple of dingers. As always he was made take the frees, missed a couple of them that you would and scored most of the others.
Aside from him, PJ Ward was the only other forward taking on shots, but unfortunately he wasn’t threatening the posts. Thomas Deehan was well marked, though was guilty of missing a couple too. With no real scorers on the half forward line, or midfield even, this left Offaly all too often failing to convert their determined outfield efforts. Several times in the first half, Offaly compressed the play too much in the Monaghan half, by over elaborating and didn’t leave room for shooting.

Offaly also suffered from the early dominance that Shane Smith had over Shane Sullivan. Smith was out in front, taking possession and pulling the strings for the Monaghan’s attack. The pacey Ciaran Hanratty was also giving Joe Quinn a tricky time of it. Sullivan was called ashore in the first half to be replaced by Scott Brady. This did see an end to Smith lording it here, though Brady himself did turnover possession a lot.

A great performance went in from James Keane, especially in the first when he made some great high catches. Thomas Freeman was kept very quiet by Keane until into the second half, when the play opened up and Offaly were being stretched. The Offaly defenders made very few mistakes, but were undone by some superb Monaghan shooting.

James Coughlan also did very well when coming on. He wouldn’t have struck observers as being the player who could operate as a half forward, but given that he has performed more effectively in this role than more, he must now be a serious contender.

Very few catches were made by any midifelder. Alan McNamee was quiet enough and though Niall Smith did win breaks, he doesn’t yet the physique to compete for or make catches. Given the circumstances he has been landed in, he certainly hasn’t let the side down.

What was noticeable is that all around Offaly the pitch certainly didn’t possess the same amount of physical conditioning when compared to their opponents. This is a symptom of a high panel personnel turnover and a lot of young players in the side.
Perhaps in a county that also has a high management turnover, Offaly aren’t developing our players’ conditioning over a 3-4 period. When a manager spends the first year of his tenure deciding what players he even wants, I suspect long-term personal improvement regimes don’t really enter the equation.

When Offaly were on the back foot during Monaghan’s purple patch, I feel a more physically imposing Offaly side could have horded possession better and forced more openings. A lighter and more inexperienced side tends to be more easily rattled and Monaghan reeled off 6 points without reply when Offaly were flagging.

Seemingly Pat Roe wasn’t at the game due to holidays, but I would be surprised of Shane Sullivan holds onto his place at centre back with Brady looking a bit more assured here. PJ Ward also hasn’t caught fire in the forwards and though he has the advantage of size, his impact on the game hasn’t been enough.

The final round of league matches will be a very nervous time. Given that Offaly provide drama, comedy, farce and heroics that few (if any) counties can match, I expect it to be a hugely eventful day!

"Given that Offaly provide drama, comedy, farce and heroics that few (if any) counties can match, I expect it to be a hugely eventful day!'

Thanks for this (in addition to the writeup). Classic!

Sorry I didn't get around to commenting on this until now, but there's very little to add to BnaM man's comments really - they've summed it up very well.

Overall, I was actually quite pleased. Not with the result obviously, but the manner of the performance was quite decent. Not "All Ireland Winner" good, but certainly good enough to give the Dubs a few nervous moments in Croke Park in June. This year is the first year in a long time that we haven't had to be championship primed in May, and I would genuinely believe that any perceived fitness advantage Monaghan held was as much down to the fact that their running game looks very all-action and that they had the home support behind them. The fact that we more or less owned the last 15 minutes would suggest that this isn't as much of a disadvantage as all that.

Anyway, as always, here's my key points from the game....

(1) Shane Smith doing a job on Shane Sullivan was indeed crucial. Sullivan was way off the pace, though I won't lie - Brady did not convince me either. He did a better marking job, but at one stage he gave away possession three times in a row - and the one thing that was always his strong point was his ability to take the ball into contact, emerge, and find a team mate. I know it's late, but I'd like to see him and Joe Quinn switch roles for a game, just to see how it pans out.

(2) Newsflash - Offaly don't have a fielder. For the second game in a row we were comfortably outfielded, so much so that I really can't see us fixing this problem this year anyway. I am really at a loss what to do here. (Says he as if he haid any influence anyway!! )

(3) We are now so dependent on Niall it's ridiculous. Deehan still has a bit of nerve, but no-one else wants to shoot.

(4) McManus may not be a dependable free taker, but he still offers us a chance from range. In the second half we got one free about 50m out, one that would have been an absolute haymaker if it landed, probably only a 25% chance of hitting with it. However we did exactly the wrong thing - played a low percentage ball into a crowded defence, Monaghan spoiled, broke up the field and took a point. When faced with a running team, you don't give them easy possession from broken play - they'll eat you alive. Take the shot, if it goes over great, if it goes wide, no harm done.

(5) Monaghan's shooting was outstanding - they hit absolutely everything. Let's not forget here, we took on a decent team who were playing well and fell short by one point. On another day a lot of their 40 yard plus attempts would have gone wide, I was actually impressed with our close in defending.

(6) James Keane was truly excellent - I won't lie, I was genuinely concerned for him in advance of this game, but he was fantastic. Doffed cap to the lad.

(7) I don't think we can take the field without McManus again for the foreseeable future. He was stuck into a ferocious battle with Dessie Mone all day, but he more than held his own, and offered great support to the midfield. Didn't run the show, but I think he has to start.

(8) I think it's time we called PJ Ward ashore for good. I'll be the first to accept that when playing into a breeze his size offers something, but more often than not he's in the way and I can't see him being a factor this summer. His attempts to stop defenders breaking out of defence are pitiful as well.



In other matters, I think the pic is just a little too big to be used as Hyper's avatar - any bright sparks out there able to resize pictures?

I haven't heard much made of the fact Pat Roe was not at the match and was away on holiday. Very unusual for an inter county manager I would have thought.

It's because he's confident of championship football until September, and needs a holiday between now and then.