OFFALY V WATERFORD.

[black and red exile]

Ithought I would kick off on this one. It should be a routine 70 mins with little difficulty. I know Waterford will believe that they have everything to play for with 3 wins under their belt but anything less than a comfortable 10 point victory would be seen as us being as inconsistent as ever when playing the lesser lights. Im thinking back to the tipp game in Tullamore that should have been a doddle but turned into a struggle due to our own making.

[azoffaly]

As long as Offaly approach it in the right way, this should be straightforward enough. Might be an idea to give a few fringe players a game to make sure the attitude is right, lads coming on hungry to prove themselves are more likely to be up for it than lads who think we've already qualified and they are in the first 15 anyway.

Waterford have won 3, but the wins were against Kilkenny, London and Clare, the bottom three teams. Their defeat was at home to Wicklow, so if there is any consistency of performance at all, Offaly should record a double digit win.

Having said all that, I now confidently expect Offaly to require Waterford to miss a last minute penalty to hang on for a 2 point win

[Lone Shark]

There's different schools of thought about this - give the panellists a run in order to keep them interested or keep the full fifteen. I can see both sides but I still think we'd be better employed testing out a few of the maybe guys.

Having said that the injury to Wayne Hennessy and the lack of any really good results for Waterford so far suggests to me that this will be a very poor team that comes to town, and I agree that we should be winning with a bit to spare, either way.

[black and red exile]

I was reminded today of a Sunday afternoon 2 years ago when Waterford went to Breffni Park and caused a sensation by beating Cavan by 2 points and killing their promotion hopes and last year they shocked Wexford also in the League. If the unthinkable was to happen on Sunday I swear to god I will eat my hat.

[BUFFALO]

I was reminded today of a Sunday afternoon 2 years ago when Waterford went to Breffni Park and caused a sensation by beating Cavan by 2 points and killing their promotion hopes and last year they shocked Wexford also in the League. If the unthinkable was to happen on Sunday I swear to god I will eat my hat.

Can we quote you on that one?

[Hyper]

And the Waterford manager was down in Wicklow sussin' us out!

[Bord na Mona man]

I remember Wahurford beat Offaly in Division 4 back in the early 90s.
Vinny Claffey had a tooth knocked out that day, if I recall correctly.

You'd never know...

[BUFFALO]

I realise that its no harm to tread carefully in such an encounter,but for jaysus sake lads its a game that you'd be expecting to win very handily,no matter what the circumstances.
Granted,we dont have any God-given right to beat them,but we certainly do have a Fhaile-given right.
The Deise aren't exactly renowned for their footballing exploits now,are they?
Considering the handful of genuinely talented players that we have I'd be looking for a win of at least 10+ points...now this ain't arrogance on my part,but instead a realistic expectation.

[black and red exile]

Yes Buffalo you are dead right, if we can't beat this lot by at least 10 points then we surely have to wonder where we are going later in the year. Oh and yes if we were to somehow lose on Sunday then in front of my buddies I will eat my Offaly hat that is in the back window of my car.

[Bord na Mona man]

Oh and yes if we were to somehow lose on Sunday then in front of my buddies I will eat my Offaly hat that is in the back window of my car.

I wouldn't like to be if we lose.
This was spotted in your back window...

[black and red exile]

Phew, that was close, with 10mins to go I could taste the hat.

[Bord na Mona man]

Decies make it tough for Offaly

Offaly 0-13
Waterford 1-8

HOT Division 4 promotion favourites Offaly were given the fright of their lives yesterday by a battling Waterford in Tullamore.

Just two points, 0-13 to 1-8, separated the teams at the end of a mediocre game, leaving the Leinster side very relieved at the final whistle.

With just 12 minutes left, Waterford found themselves within sight of a shock win after an opportunist Ger Power goal stunned the home side.

That tied the score at 0-10 to 1-7 and while Offaly out-scored their opponents by three points to one in the remaining minutes, they were unconvincing.

Offaly could have found the net twice in the opening minutes but then the game turned into a real dogfight. The sides were level at 0-3 each by the 26th minute before Offaly produced their best football to lead by 0-8 to 0-3 at the break.

By the 14th minute of the second half, Waterford had cut the deficit to two points, 0-8 to 0-6. Two Niall McNamee frees gave Offaly some breathing space but a Patrick Hurney point and Power's goal put the game back in the melting pot. A super free from Ciaran McManus -- one of the few players to drive Offaly on -- put them back in the lead and they just held on.

SCORERS -- Offaly: N McNamee 0-4 (2f), P Kellaghan, J Reynolds and C McManus (2f) 0-2 each, A McNamee, T Deehan and N Grennan 0-1 each. Waterford: G Power 1-0, L O Lionain and C Power (2f) 0-2 each, S Briggs, G Hurney (f), P Hurney and A Hubbard (f) 0-1 each.

OFFALY -- P Kelly; G Rafferty, S Sullivan, B Darby; P McConway, S Brady, N Grennan; A McNamee, C McManus; J Reynolds, N Coughlan, N Smith; P Kellaghan, T Deehan, N McNamee. Subs: K Casey for N Coughlan (ht), J Coughlan for Casey (64).

WATERFORD -- S Enright; M O'Gorman, T O'Gorman, J Walsh; E Rockett, S Briggs, J Phelan; M Ahearne, G Hurney; L O'Lionain, G Power, P Hurney; T Grey, A Hubbard, C Power. Subs: S Cunningham for Grey (56), K O'Keeffe for Power (64), L Lawlor for Hubbard (67).

REF -- J Curley (Meath).

[azoffaly]

As long as Offaly approach it in the right way, this should be straightforward enough. Might be an idea to give a few fringe players a game to make sure the attitude is right, lads coming on hungry to prove themselves are more likely to be up for it than lads who think we've already qualified and they are in the first 15 anyway.

Waterford have won 3, but the wins were against Kilkenny, London and Clare, the bottom three teams. Their defeat was at home to Wicklow, so if there is any consistency of performance at all, Offaly should record a double digit win.

Having said all that, I now confidently expect Offaly to require Waterford to miss a last minute penalty to hang on for a 2 point win

Fcuk Me. Any reports lads? I presume Waterford didn't miss a last minute penalty??

[the bare biffo]

Let that be a lesson.
The reality is this team, even at full strength, can not afford to take anyone for granted.

Looking at Westmeaths performances in D2, I am not looking forward to the summer at all.

[Bord na Mona man]

An unconvincing win, but promotion to Division 3 has been achieved at least.
No Tommy Murphy this year thankfully!

---------- P W D L F A +/- Pts
1 Antrim ---6 5 1 0 7-96 2-39 72 11
2 Offaly ---6 5 1 0 13-84 4-48 63 11
3 Tipperary 5 3 0 2 7-72 4-37 44 6
4 Waterford 5 3 0 2 5-54 1-49 17 6
5 Carlow ---5 3 0 2 5-47 5-60 -13 6
6 Wicklow --5 2 0 3 5-71 4-56 18 4
7 Clare ----6 2 0 4 5-60 4-63 0 4
8 London ---5 0 0 5 2-27 13-80 -86 0
9 Kilkenny -5 0 0 5 2-28 14-107 -115 0