U-21 Final vs Laois
Posted: Fri Apr 06, 2007 5:35 pm
There’s an unwritten rule when writing about underage teams - that under no circumstances can there be any direct criticism. Nine times out of ten that’s fair enough, because as a rule whatever else you can say about kids, they certainly put their heart and soul into games and any falling short of what is required is never due to a lack of effort. That still leaves that one time in ten when you come across that selfish full forward who takes every shot himself, or the midfielder who pushes forward but never tracks back, but in the interests of allowing kids to learn for themselves, it’s left unsaid and praise is dished out where possible.
At Under 21 the gloves come off, and criticism becomes legitimate once again – these are adults now after all. This is ironic, because in the case of our current Under 21 footballers, no true supporter could, or would want to, give them anything but the highest of praise. If they go no further in their GAA careers than they have so far, this current band of players have served their county very well. Since 1995, the last time Offaly put together a good run at this grade, many teams have come and gone, several of them heavily laden with potential, only for them to slip up early on in this competition.
In the last two years most of these players have played on one or both of the minor teams that reached two Leinster Finals and one All Ireland semi final, teams that always put 100% into every game they played and got their just rewards with a string of narrow hard fought victories. This character and determination has now been carried onto the Under 21 stage, where they have again defied expectation by edging out fancied sides from Longford and Meath as well as emerging victorious from a rough and tumble clash with Carlow. Once again they face into a game where on paper they look outgunned by an altogether more powerful Laois outfit, even though one suspects that if Laois are to justify their prohibitively short odds of 2/5 to lift the Leinster trophy (source: Ladbrokes) they certainly won’t have an easy ride.
The potential suspension of Brendan Quigley may yet prove crucial, but GAA rules and appeals processes being as they are, we won’t rule him out until it’s confirmed. Last week’s attempts to suggest that he might run off to Australia again if his ban is not rescinded suggests that no stone will be left unturned in the efforts to get the Timahoe man on to the field. If he plays, he represents a challenge that Offaly look ill-equipped to match. In Conor Mahon and Niall Smith Offaly have two fine ball playing midfielders, Mahon’s 1-2 against Meath showing just why he’s well worth his place, but neither the Kilcormac nor the Gracefield man would come close to Quigley for pure fielding, and this forces the Offaly management to plan in terms of breaking ball and sweeping up the pieces, never a manager’s first choice.
With Laois likely to secure at least a fair share of possession at midfield, the attention turns to the clash of the Laois full forward line and the Offaly full backs. This clash is a microcosm of the game as a whole, with the star quality of the Laois trio squaring up to an Offaly combination that has played together cohesively and effectively for almost five years. Donie Brennan will be the name most well known to Offaly followers, but he represents only one third of what constitutes a fantastic attacking trio. MJ Tierney is their top scorer, operating out of the right corner, while David Conway had a superb Sigerson campaign with NUI Galway – his 1-7 against Athlone IT will no doubt be fresh in the memory of several of the Offaly players. By contrast, the unit of Grehan, Dalton and Byrne will not be well known outside the county, but they know each other’s play inside out, and the lack of a goal against the team in three games so far is a testament to their defensive stickiness.
Individual clashes aside, this still represents a great chance for these players to secure the Leinster medals their efforts so far have warranted. That they have improved is beyond question – for an example of that one needs to look no further than Paul McConway. In 2004 he played in goals for Offaly’s minors, on Saturday evening he will anchor the team from centre back, by now without question one of the stars of this team and a guaranteed starter, barring injury, in this summer’s senior championship team.
Any national papers who see fit to preview this game will no doubt look at the big names involved in both sides, make reference to how the local rivalry will keep it close, but eventually give their verdict to Laois saying how their clash should out in the end. Offaly supporters know that this may indeed happen, but the committed level of performance that we have come to expect from this group of players adds more than a degree of uncertainty, and if the odds are upset on Saturday night, it’ll be no more than they deserve.
At Under 21 the gloves come off, and criticism becomes legitimate once again – these are adults now after all. This is ironic, because in the case of our current Under 21 footballers, no true supporter could, or would want to, give them anything but the highest of praise. If they go no further in their GAA careers than they have so far, this current band of players have served their county very well. Since 1995, the last time Offaly put together a good run at this grade, many teams have come and gone, several of them heavily laden with potential, only for them to slip up early on in this competition.
In the last two years most of these players have played on one or both of the minor teams that reached two Leinster Finals and one All Ireland semi final, teams that always put 100% into every game they played and got their just rewards with a string of narrow hard fought victories. This character and determination has now been carried onto the Under 21 stage, where they have again defied expectation by edging out fancied sides from Longford and Meath as well as emerging victorious from a rough and tumble clash with Carlow. Once again they face into a game where on paper they look outgunned by an altogether more powerful Laois outfit, even though one suspects that if Laois are to justify their prohibitively short odds of 2/5 to lift the Leinster trophy (source: Ladbrokes) they certainly won’t have an easy ride.
The potential suspension of Brendan Quigley may yet prove crucial, but GAA rules and appeals processes being as they are, we won’t rule him out until it’s confirmed. Last week’s attempts to suggest that he might run off to Australia again if his ban is not rescinded suggests that no stone will be left unturned in the efforts to get the Timahoe man on to the field. If he plays, he represents a challenge that Offaly look ill-equipped to match. In Conor Mahon and Niall Smith Offaly have two fine ball playing midfielders, Mahon’s 1-2 against Meath showing just why he’s well worth his place, but neither the Kilcormac nor the Gracefield man would come close to Quigley for pure fielding, and this forces the Offaly management to plan in terms of breaking ball and sweeping up the pieces, never a manager’s first choice.
With Laois likely to secure at least a fair share of possession at midfield, the attention turns to the clash of the Laois full forward line and the Offaly full backs. This clash is a microcosm of the game as a whole, with the star quality of the Laois trio squaring up to an Offaly combination that has played together cohesively and effectively for almost five years. Donie Brennan will be the name most well known to Offaly followers, but he represents only one third of what constitutes a fantastic attacking trio. MJ Tierney is their top scorer, operating out of the right corner, while David Conway had a superb Sigerson campaign with NUI Galway – his 1-7 against Athlone IT will no doubt be fresh in the memory of several of the Offaly players. By contrast, the unit of Grehan, Dalton and Byrne will not be well known outside the county, but they know each other’s play inside out, and the lack of a goal against the team in three games so far is a testament to their defensive stickiness.
Individual clashes aside, this still represents a great chance for these players to secure the Leinster medals their efforts so far have warranted. That they have improved is beyond question – for an example of that one needs to look no further than Paul McConway. In 2004 he played in goals for Offaly’s minors, on Saturday evening he will anchor the team from centre back, by now without question one of the stars of this team and a guaranteed starter, barring injury, in this summer’s senior championship team.
Any national papers who see fit to preview this game will no doubt look at the big names involved in both sides, make reference to how the local rivalry will keep it close, but eventually give their verdict to Laois saying how their clash should out in the end. Offaly supporters know that this may indeed happen, but the committed level of performance that we have come to expect from this group of players adds more than a degree of uncertainty, and if the odds are upset on Saturday night, it’ll be no more than they deserve.