|
All Ireland U21 Football Championship - 2 Like(s)
Replying To panamasam: "As I suspected cute hoorism was alive and well on here in build up to the Munster championship and final tonight. Some statement of intent from Kerry tonight and they are going to be very very hard to beat given the improvement they are showing game to game. Whoever comes out of Ulster will have their work cutout given the fixture pile up though from a Donegal perspective the extra time will allow some of the injured players more time to get back to fitness. But lets face it it is going to be very hard to stop Kerry now. The problem for Dublin after sauntering to another Leinster title tonight is that the step up in quality they will face from now on is a very big one and they could be caught cold. Whoever comes out of Ulster will be battle hardened and the other side of the draw looks especially strong now given tonights result and Galway's win at the weekend. In Leinster the main challengers were thought to be Meath and Kildare but both got knocked out early. I know Meath were missing players but having seen Westmeath play Dublin it is hard to believe they managed to lose that match given they had shown good form coming in. I found it very hard to gauge the Dubs that night so I think some of the comments here could be true. Westmeath were woeful on the night and I came away thinking Leinster football Dublin apart is in a very very sorry state." "The problem for Dublin after sauntering to another Leinster title tonight is that the step up in quality they will face from now on is a very big one and they could be caught cold."
A little harsh on our lads there I feel. To say they sauntered to it isn't fair.
This isn't the senior grade. I think you're judging it somewhat based on what you've seen in the Leinster senior championship for the last 8 or 9 years. The rest of Leinster have been far more competitive against Dublin at this grade in recent times. Offaly have been very competitive at underage level now for a few years. Last night too, Offaly gave a good account of themselves, especially in the first half. To go in double scores down at half-time was a bit hard on them. They mixed it very well with Dublin in the first half and but for a lack of clinical finishing and general efficiency, would have been right in it starting the 2nd half. Admittedly, Dublin pushed on and put the game to bed in the 2nd half. But overall, I thought the score flattered Dublin a little bit.
OffalyBigBall (National) - 30/03/2017 08:57:32
|
|
Heartbreak for Mayo once again - 1 Like(s)
Football is dead, some say. Give me a break. That was absolutely absorbing stuff. 2 teams going at it hammer&tongs for 80 mins or so. As a neutral, its what I wanted to see. Neutral in that I'm from Offaly but I'd have liked Mayo to win yesterday as was the case with most 'neutrals'. But fair dues to Dublin. They know how to grind it out. They do what they have to do. Dark arts maybe, but all the top teams do it. Dublin are just better at it. Many varied opinions here. I enjoy reading them all. So much to analyse, I'd love to discuss it all day. Firstly, lots of negative stuff. The O'Gara incident, Vaughan's moment of madness, Keegan GPS-throwing, the wrestling of men to the ground after Rock's free & some refereeing decisions in general. All in all they probably evened themselves out.
On the positive side, Mayo are an unbelievable team, make no mistake about it. I think they'd beat any other All-Ireland winning team in recent times. They've just happened to meet a particular Dublin juggernaut now on too many occasions. They are as good as them I've no doubt. But Dublin have just managed to get a psychological edge on them & have probably utilised the cynical aspects of the game a little better than Mayo in recent meetings. That Dublin have won 5 titles since 2011, 4 of them by a point, shows the psychological strength they have to dig deep & get a result from an apparent 50/50 situation. Mayo needed to be cuter when it mattered, but were hit & miss in this particular aspect. One example being a well-engineered free towards the end, which O'Connor missed. They did well to get it, probably could have stolen an extra yard or 2 infield & then inexplicably had nobody there to fight for the dropping ball inside the 14 or 21. Compare this to the winning Dublin free & how they dealt with it, especially their clock management around this time.
Personally I think Dublin won the game as a team. They were slightly more consistent amongst the 21 that played yesterday over Mayos 21. The subs had a big influence. It wasn't hugely apparent but compared to the impact of Mayos bench, it was significant. Mayo just dont have the quality to come in. Split-second decisions cost Mayo the game & won it for Dublin. Loftus turning left (with his back to goal near the 45) instead of right was one. O'Shea's rash, glory-seeking effort was another. Contrast that with the decision making of Dublin, such as Rocks fisted effort & Mannions nice score when many would've gone for goal. Collectively Dublin were better yesterday as a unit. Mayo probably had more visible outstanding performers. Overall, I felt that Barrett was consistently the best performer & probably deserved Man of the Match. I thought O'Shea bossed McCarthy for most of the 1st half. Fair play to James, he redeemed himself 2nd half against a visibly slowing O'Shea. But over the full game I don't think he merited MotM. Mayo needed more from O'Connor. And I think they needed more from Rochford too. Dont get me wrong, he got 95% of his calls correct, but his substitutions were predictable. Boyle had more in the tank, again. His early exit every game along with that of Sheamus O'Shea bugs me.
I was leaning towards Andy Moran for Player of the Year, but last years decision to give it to Keegan will work against him, I feel. Dublin will surely get it this time & McCarthy will be the recipient. McCaffrey is a contender, but going off injured in the final has cost him the gong I'd say. Cluxton had a great year too, one of his best. Made some great saves this year as well as his almost flawless kicking, up to yesterday. Boyle was flying too, but being burned by O'Callaghan for the early goal yesterday will count against him. O'Callaghan, O'Sullivan & Mannion had good years without ever really hitting 'great' status. Rock will get a mention but his overall contribution in open play lets him down. Keegan, Barrett, Parsons, all shined at times throughout the season. Colm Cavanagh too had a super year
OffalyBigBall (National) - 18/09/2017 12:27:45
|
|
Division 3 Relegation - 1 Like(s)
I wont harp on too much, but everything was in Derry's own hands yesterday. All they needed to do was get a result and they were safe. When you start looking elsewhere at results 'not going your way' then you really are trying to deflect blame.
The bottom line is that Derry only managed to win 2 out of 7 games. Regardless of the Offaly Westmeath result, winning 2 out of 7 games is not displaying good enough form to ensure your divisional status for another season. From what I can see from results, Derry were relatively competitive in all of their games. But no more than Offaly were. With the Longford game being notable exception for Offaly, although Derry went down easily enough against them too. Its a shame to see them go down, but it isn't a shame if my own county survived because of it. We all played the same teams and Offaly ended up with one more point from those games than Derry and that's basically that.
OffalyBigBall (National) - 26/03/2018 09:52:15
|