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Feckin Brilliant.

Granted we won't be winning any All Irelands by being one point better than Wexford in a home league game, but there was so much to like about this game in Birr yesterday that I can't help but be utterly ecstatic at the way it worked out. After so many games where we were edged out in recent years, to finally win one of these puck of a ball games instead of coming out with an honourable defeat and condescending remarks from the opposition was absolutely fantastic. All the more so because of the way it was won - on a wet day where fast ground hurling was not an option we dug our heels in and pulled it out of the fire by way of sheer force of will. It has to be said that players and management alike can take an awful lot of praise after this game.

I remarked with ten minutes to go that even though it was just a league match, this game was always likely to be the making or breaking of this team. To be edged out again would have been a serious dent to the confidence - instead we have kept the unbeaten league run alive, and they have delivered in a tight game when the pressure was really on. I know I'm rambling on here, but it's just been so long since I got to come out of an Offaly game this happy ......

As with the football, to make a few notes about the game:

(1) It's a long time since I've seen an Offaly team dominant in the air - which they were yesterday, albeit over a small Wexford team. The half backs caught a lot of high ball while Gary Hanniffy and Mick O'Hara in particular really made their presence felt in the air as well. Great to see.

(2) Great tight marking by the backs while still not conceding that many frees. Superb.

(3) Above all, kudos to the management - in a stark contrast to our bigballers, this game was won on the sideline. Darragh Ryan was having a fantastic game, playing like a one man brick wall at full back for Wexford. At no stage did we give up and just let him go - when Joe Brady was brought on onto him, he was the fourth man to be given a go there, and that was only on 50 minutes. Brady eventually forced the 65 that the goal came from. A direct example of making switches and reacting the game unfolding quickly and decisively. Regan was also very good, patrolling up and down and directing players constantly, a vital role with such a young and relatively inexperienced team. All these things made a world of difference in the end.

(4) Seamus Murphy - "no disrespect to Offaly or Down". Muppet - you deserved that.

And now to the player by player .......

Brian Mullins: One of several man of the match contenders. He made two fantastic saves and one great blockdown for a point. And as the scoreline proves, they could not have been more vital .......

Brendan O'Meara: Classic old school corner back stuff. He never gave Furlong a sniff all day, and just looked after his own corner very well. Hugely aggressive, tight, and all round impressive.

Paul Cleary: Another hero. He had Rory Jacob well marshalled throughout, and got in some great clearances. Continues to come on in leaps and bounds.

David Franks: Also a good show, rounding off the best line on the team. Had a lot more to do with Dessie Mythen looking as lively as he has been all winter, but still ended up the winner of that battle. He's not quite back in the form of 2003 yet, but he's getting there.

Dan Hoctor: Probably the least prominent of the back six, though you wouldn't have said he was poor. He's still very one sided and can get slipped past relatively easily. He might struggle to hold his place to be honest.

Rory Hanniffy: Absolutely imperious. Brian Carroll could have scored another ten points and Rory still would have been man of the match. He completely dominated the centre of defence, cleared loads of ball, burst past lads ...... it was a joy to behold. You'd feel sorry for Oakley who was only left out on account of the upcoming wedding, but the centre back question appears to be resolved.

Kevin Brady: Definitely the best game I've seen him play in a county shirt - but there still are questions about his decision making. He's good in the air, good striker of the ball and can hurl well off the ground as well - but sometimes he hurls off the ground too often. Clearly WIT has been good for him though - he was well on top of his man yesterday, and finally looks to be delivering on potential.

Gary Hanniffy: Another very happy story - the big man is finally playing like a hurler of his size and strength should. He hurled a lot of ball in the middle of the field, but more importantly, he sought out contact and really looked to use his strength to dominate the sector. I always thought a fired up and aggressive Gary Hanniffy would be a fantastic hurler - yesterday we saw just that.

Aidan Hanrahan: Clearly a runner who likes top of the ground conditions - the mud in Birr was not suited to him at all. His running was of limited use yesterday, though he deserves praise for the way he was still going strong at the end of seventy minutes - clearly one of the fitter players. Still one of our best fifteen, but I'm not sure about midfield.

Dylan Hayden: Our second top scorer!! To be honest I thought he had a very quiet game, and overall he was almost anonymous. He didn't miss a lot of shots or anything, but he was very peripheral for a number 10. He can do a lot better.

Mick O'Hara: Made a huge contribution yesterday. You always here about the centre forward on the joke junior B team "not a fantastic player himself, but he'll stop a good man from hurling". So it was yesterday - he did some fantastic scrapping and spoiling yesterday from the middle, doing trojan work making blockdowns and tackles. He missed the one scoring chance he got - a scorer he will never be - but for a team that has had problems in holding up the ball up front, he has a role and looks to be fulfilling it well. Second best forward.

Joe Bergin: Poor ould Joe got a bit of a raw deal yesterday. He started at 12, and the first couple of balls that came his way he hurled them on to the corner well - however he was finding rising the ball in the conditions a bit difficult, and looked a bit cumbersome. He then got put in on Ryan, who exposed his inexperience by anticipating the ball incredibly well, making Bergin look like he wasn't even trying - which was not the case. He got withdrawn early enough for Damien Murray, which was the right call on the day, but still this experience might stand to the big man. Not out of the running yet by any manner or means.

Brian Carroll: Where do you start? He has finally become the leader of the attack that he always promised to be. Missed a few in the first half, and at one stage it looked like he was going to have a tough day of it, but he dug deep, put in the hard yards and played his way out of the slump. 1-9 may have flattered him a bit, but it was still great to see him nail such a fantastic winning score, particularly when you could see how much it meant to him. He's one of the big guys now.

Stephen Brown: Way off the pace - he has to be running out of chances. Murphy's flu gave him a run, but to be honest he never looked like scoring, and missed a couple of very scorable shots himself. He's too young to write off completely, but I'd be surprised if he features too much in 2006.

Alan Egan: Another young buck who needs good to firm going or better. He fought hard for possession, but the ball never ran to him, either sticking in the mud or coming to him in the air. Didn't really threaten yesterday, but should still be retained.

Damien Murray: Had one of his better games when he came on, and really troubled the corner back when he took him on - laid on Brady for a couple of good chances, one of which led to the penalty. Impressive in a quiet way.

Joe Brady: Elegant he ain't, but he stopped Darragh Ryan from dominating, which was the winning of the game in the end. I still don't like him as a full forward, but it is always an option in unusual circumstances. As always his heart and effort were top class.

Barry Teehan & Michael Cordial: Didn't really get enough time to be judged.

Super win. And we simply had to win it having hurled our hearts out for 70 minutes.
The sight of Breeder racing out the field and pulling off a diving block down of a certain point will live long in the memory.

A super display by Rory Hanniffy, he reminded me of Brian Corcoran in the manner in which he played the position. Calmness during crisis. Always managed to clear the ball away when under intense pressure. Knew when to solo, knew when to shorten the grip and clear. The ball seemed drawn to him like a magnet.

The change in Darragh Ryan's performance was remarkable when Joe Brady went in on him. Having mopped up everything in sight, suddenly he became flustered and ill-assured. Whereas he normally reads the game and doesn't need to tightly man-mark, he had no choice but to go toe-to-toe with Brady. The balls in started to break between the two of them and put the rest of the Wexford defence under pressure.

The contrast in management was interesting. Seamus "no disrespect to Offaly and Down" Murphy did a Kilmurray on it and only started pondering subs and switches when the crisis was well and truly on. McIntyre kept re-jigging the problem areas until something finally worked. Now McIntyre knows a bit more about how to take on Wexford next June. It's by experimenting that you learn.

Just want to make a brief point - well done to the management for the switches. My opinion on John McIntyre actually changed some months ago after reading the interview with him on this website! He spoke so honestly and answered questions in a matter-of-fact manner that I felt he deserved support. He was also brave to stay on after what happened last summer.
On Saturday night I analysed the table and was hoping Waterford would beat Clare - had that happened and other results went our way, we could have reached the knock-out stages with five points. As it stands, we'll more than likely need to take a point or two against Waterford or Clare, which won't be easy. But it would be a great achievement.

One step at a time!

This was a big one.

Part of the unpredictable nature arises because at least one round will be played out on the dirtiest weekend of the winter amidst driving rain and an icy wind. Saturday was one of those days, when a win will have to be ground out on a sticky pitch where conditions most certainly do not favour forwards.

Therefore, the most pleasing aspect of this was the way Offaly fought hard for their win in rain-soaked Birr. Some random thoughts below.

While Saturday wasn’t a day for free- flowing hurling, and didn’t suit 19 year old forwards like Bergin & Egan, or small forwards like Murray, it still begs the question- if Brian Carroll doesn’t score, who does? In fairness, Dylan Hayden worked hard and seems to be maturing. Aidan Hanrahan grew in stature as the game wore on. More matches should see him improve. His starting on return from injury obviously means he is foremost in John McIntyre’s plans.

Paul Cleary is improving with every game, was outstanding again on Saturday. Big, yet mobile. Brendan O’Meara also had another fine game, and like Cleary, is improving.

Its terrible to see a corner forward come out to take 65’s, though this situation was remedied somewhat later in the game with Hayden going to the edge of the square to contest the long range frees which Carroll was taking. This led to the goal. Similarly, a full back coming to his own 65 to take a free isn’t on. Is there no-one from the middle-eight who can do this?

I thought Saturday was a day for Oakley to forage on the ground, though Rory and Kevin Brady’s ball winning in the air proved vital. I thought Kevin would be switched to the opposite wing in the last quarter. Barry Teehan was being beaten in the air, and Fitzhenry aimed every puck-out to that wing in that last quarter. Every dropping ball on Kevin Brady’s wing late on say Gary back in on top of him, even though Kevin was under it. Does Kevin not call for them? Why not?

Joe Brady’s introduction was the turning point. Up to then, Darragh Ryan had been Jonah Lomu-esque walking out through the full forward line of Carroll, Murray & Egan, delivering inspirational clearances. That ended with Brady’s presence, which will be required against Clare in a fortnight.

2 very tough games remain, against probably the 2 strongest teams in the group. With the way the our group has become compressed with all teams taking points off each other, Offaly could still finish 5th on the 5 points already accumulated, meaning a relegation play-off against Laois, which no-one wants. Sunday’s Clare/Waterford battle shown live on TG4 showed just what Offaly will be up against in those 2 matches.

Ideally, I’d like them to finish 4th. Means the end of the league, but April is usually a hard-training month, and it would suit not to be punctuated with matches. Remember, Cork haven’t won an April league match in either of the last 2 years. Two other critical matches see Cork travel to Wexford, and entertain Clare last. They face Clare in June, so Clare may act the maggot in this one, meaning they’ll give it holly against Offaly. If Cork beat Wexford, Wexford (who have Down last) can only finish on 4 points, but if Wexford beat Cork, Wexford will finish on 6, with Cork’s win over Clare giving then 5, and edging Offaly for 4th on points difference. A defeat by Clare could see Offaly face the last round against Waterford with a situation where a win would see them top the group but a defeat would result in a 5th place finish!

The other group is much more clear-cut. Kilkenny will finish top, with Limerick in second, with the third spot hinging on the meeting of Galway and Tipperary, where a Galway win here and a narrow defeat to Kilkenny would see them edge it. Tipperary did their goal difference no favours with a 4 point win over Antrim.

One thing’s for sure, and though I’ve said it before, now I’m convinced. Offaly/Wexford in June will be the match of the summer and will go to the wire. There’ll be 68 minutes on the clock, the referee will go to the linesman – 3 minutes will be added – and in the words of Amhrán na bhFiann its “bás no saol”.


FOOTNOTE
Plain of the Herbs found himself surrounded by the 2 biggest muppets present in St. Brendan’s Park on Saturday. Anyway, after a free was awarded to Wexford, the approx. 80 year old muppet turned to me and sez “Now if I was playin’ and I wouldn’t care if I never hurled again, but I’d bury that referee with me hurl.” Incase ye were wondering why Offaly won nothing for 95 years.

I agree that we need to find a few more scorers. McIntyre is doing the right thing, persisting with Joe Bergin and Alan Egan. Both of them will be threats in the future in different ways. I'd have liked to see Joe Bergin start on Darragh Ryan and be given twenty minutes on him at least.

We badly need need a consistent long distance free taker. Sid & Colm Cassidy are gone. It's not good enough nowadays to put them into the square from 65 or 70 metres when the likes of Seanie McMahon or Paul Codd are so consistent from distance. We could do with some more long-distance scores from play as well to take the pressure off the forwards.

Brian Carroll is not a bad free-taker closer in although I don't think he enjoys free-taking - maybe Rory should take some of them.

I was so impressed on Saturday with the fielding - this is something we've not been good at. I'm no hurling expert but it seemed to me in the last decade as a pure spectator that Offaly hurlers have been trained to bat the ball in the air, double on hopping balls and ground balls to the exclusion of getting the ball into the hand. Going back further of course the likes of Pat Delaney could make great high catches.

But on Saturday for the first time I saw morale boosting fetches from this team, the likes of Rory Hanniffy, Paul Cleary and Kevin Brady. Great Coaching by John McIntyre and Co. Possession is priceless in the modern game and this new-found aerial prowess gives us a much better chance against Wexford and even Kilkenny.

Brian Cody puts great store by this skill - I remember a snippet in the newspaper about a promising young player discarded late in the summer by Cody - the young lad told somebody that it was because he couldn't catch the ball.

We've been destroyed against Kilkenny by them catching the ball and driving forward to score a goal, draw a cheap free or a man for a handpass inside. If we can match them in the air and also use our skill on the ground judiciously we can really go places.

That’s some great observations there POTH – insightful and very readable at the same time. The Offaly Indo boys will still be stuck for a few matches for the summer if you want me to put a word in …… (other than that you’ll end up with a Meath woman covering some hurling matches – surely that would be something you’d want to avoid!!)

Seriously, though, I’m not sure I’d be as keen to stay out of the league playoffs – momentum could be worth a lot to us and with a team as young as this, a few wins on the bounce could do them the world of good. God knows the confidence of Offaly hurlers has taken enough hammerings in recent years. Going toe to toe, eye to eye to a few Munster teams and living to tell the tale could be just the prep for sorting out Wexford good and proper in June, when it matters. Clare will be a big ask all right, and to be honest I’d say the betting for that will probably fall in or around 4/9 the Banner and 2/1 our lads, 9/1 draw. Portlaoise last year will have scared the bejaysus out of them so I’d say being underestimated will not be an issue either. However Waterford in Birr is an eminently winnable fixture, and one that would banish a few more 2005 demons, putting away a team that beat us by eleven points. There’s a strong chance that the Blaas could have a playoff place secured by then, and busting a gut in Birr mightn’t be top of their agenda.

The fielding was fantastic – long may it continue, and like BnaM man, there aren’t words for how impressed I was with Rory Hanniffy – immaculate is the best I can do for now. I’m not as concerned about our forwards in the scoring sense however. I still expect Hano to be back in among the forwards by the summer, and we know he’s good for a few scores – ditto Hayden has been progressing nicely, even if he did have a poor game last weekend. We know Brendan Murphy is a consistently good player, even if he never scores heavily, which only leaves two slots. O’Hara is not a scorer, but the way he imposes himself at 11 is great – I can happily forgive him not registering a flag all year between now and September if he keeps winning dirty ball, laying ball off and curbing centre backs the way he has. Which leaves one slot, up in the air between Joe Bergin – possibly a 2007 option in my eyes, but still a good aggressive and hardy lad ith no shortage of skill – and Alan Egan.

Biased I may be, but I want Alan Egan to start – I may be wrong, but a big pitch on a warm summers day could see this lad burst onto the scene with a flourish. His pace will only be more of an asset as the year goes on, and even if he doesn’t score a lot himself, we have been getting a lot of frees – many of which were won by Egan terrorising corner backs and drawing them into fouls.

Finally to the freetaking. Brian Carroll is probably no Eoin Kelly, but I was hugely impressed with what he did last weekend to pull himself through a very dodgy start. Once upon a time the head would have dropped, but he plugged on and got into the game, eventually nailing a glorious winner – the kind of fighting spirit that made his Dad the legend he was. (I know we shouldn’t compare, but feck it………) I think he has to be left with the frees, any of them he feels like taking, irrespective of where they’re from. Just send Hayden in, and Bob’s your uncle. It’s not like Paul Flynn hasn’t come out to take a few great long ones for Waterford, ditto Farragher for Galway. I’d say give it to the guy who’s most likely to put it over the bar, irrespective of where he comes from.

Same with Cleary – by all means give them to him if it works – it’s not like he won’t have time to get back while the ball is travelling 100 yards.

Lone Shark wrote:That’s some great observations there POTH – insightful and very readable at the same time. The Offaly Indo boys will still be stuck for a few matches for the summer if you want me to put a word in …… (other than that you’ll end up with a Meath woman covering some hurling matches – surely that would be something you’d want to avoid!!)

Thanks for that. I wouldn't consider creative writing a forté of mine, and I doubt the Offaly would tolerate a one line report on a mullocky encounter between, say Drumcullen and K/K of "This was bad hurling" and then a list of the teams and scorers.

One more thing. I think it was Bogman herein who highlighted the fielding. A bugbear of mine in recent years is the way coaching seems to concentrate almost exclusively on ground hurling to the exclusion of hurling in the air. This was borne out in last years U21 tie against Dublin in Portlaoise when memory tells me Offaly went the whole match without catching a ball. Now, ground hurling has its obvious benefits, but we shouldn't be a county of one-trick-ponies. I feel I've an article on the merits of groung hurling in me. Some time this summer.