U20 hurlers 23

[JimBwobb]

He's Captain of the under 20 so no brainer really.

[ah lethimoutwithit]

He's Captain of the under 20 so no brainer really.

I think no brainer for us but not for him and management, and co board.
Mitchell has maded a serious contribution to the seniors in tight games and this differnce could be crucial to beating Carlow.

Leave it to the powers that be!

[private joker]

He's Captain of the under 20 so no brainer really.

It's really not. It's two national titles. If offaly win joe mcdonagh, be some craic next year with the 6 day rule. A lot of those players will get called up.

[JimBwobb]

We'll see what happens.

Isn't it even great we have this predicament?

[Hasselhoff]

What about postponing the joe McDonagh Cup?
Plenty of time between the final and the preliminary quarter final.

[Doon Exile]

Cork playing Clare in the senior the week before so that’ll rule out their seniors so in our interest to play the u20 on the 27th.

Think it’ll be a mistake not to play a double header.

[Anonymous1]

Unbelievable stuff yesterday, a win that’s good for the soul. I was expecting a good Offaly crowd but on arrival it was fairly clear it was almost exclusively an Offaly crowd, crazy really when you consider it was an u20 game on a Wednesday night in Carlow… We really are starving for success! On a side note, does anybody know why there were empty seats in the stand despite being told it had sold out? I’ll also throw in that the toilets were like a swimming pool and there wasn’t even a shop in the place, Portlaoise next time please!

On the game itself, Screeney was absolutely magical once again. Those two points he got along the sideline were worth the entry fee alone, he’s as good of a player as we’ve had since the 90’s and still has two more years at this grade

Ravenhill was also excellent yesterday, he’s waited for his opportunity to start and has grasped it with both hands. Can’t see how you could drop him or any of the 15 indeed before the final with the exception of Miller if he returns in time.

A word for Cormac Egan too, not the most natural hurler there’s ever been but by god he makes up for it in terms of work rate and speed, he’s been integral in the buildup of most of our goals in the last three games which were the key to winning all three games. He now has a chance to be an all Ireland u20 winner in both codes, something I would imagine hasn’t been done too often.

I thought we were a bit looser defensively yesterday than we had been up to now. The concession of soft frees was infuriating at times although the ref certainly didn’t help us in that regard and as for the red card, while the rule book might have stated Mitchell deserved two yellow’s, a ref should be doing everything in his power not to spoil games at this stage of the competition, surely he should’ve been given a warning not to do it a third time or he’d be off.

Alas, that red was the best thing that could’ve happened to us, we seemed to rally after that in a similar vein to that of Tipp in last years minor final. I did think we were in trouble when they equalised at 0-15 all with 20 minutes left but we dug deeper than we ever had before to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Amazingly, Wexford never led in the second half despite having an extra man for half an hour… That is the definition of character. There was a pivotal moment in the 59th minute when Wexford’s no.15 was bearing down on goal but instead of popping it over to go in front, he tried to hand pass it into the six yard box to set up a goal and Ter Guinan intercepted it, Offaly went up the other end, took the lead and never looked back.

On whether to play the final as a double header with the Joe Mcdonagh final next week or not, I come down on the side of thinking it’s better to move it to a later date. While a double header is more appetising and affordable for fans, I think the county’s no.1 priority has to be to win both games and I think separating them gives us the best chance of doing that.

Mitchell is a nailed on starter for the seniors and as attractive as an all Ireland final is, we can’t lose sight of the fact Liam McCarthy cup hurling is on the line for the seniors, it would also give us a home preliminary QF this season vs Dublin which would be another big occasion.

Anything short of two wins in a potential double header will result in ifs, ands and buts for years to come over why we didn’t allow both teams have their best teams available to them. Also if we do request a change of date for the u20’s, I can’t see it being held the weekend of June 3rd/4th as a lot of those lads have leaving cert exams starting on the Wednesday, I think it’d be very unfair on both the winners and losers to be expected to sit exams three days later so moving it to later in June would be ideal for us as it would allow Mitchell focus on the seniors next week then have time to focus on the u20’s while also giving Miller and Rigney time to recover from their injuries plus I’m sure Screeney and Kavanagh would fancy a bit more time to rest considering both are just back from injuries themselves. The caveat here of course is it would also allow Cork’s Eoin Downey to play in the final too but fair is fair.

If the u20’s lost in a potential double header, the air would be gone from the stadium and it would be almost impossible to get up for the seniors, word would obviously seep into the camp too that we’ve lost and you’d be worried about a knock on effect. Conversely if the 20’s win, half our supporters will want to head off to the boozer to celebrate making it almost impossible for the seniors to follow it and you’d risk spoiling the 20’s win with a senior loss afterwards. Also, if the 20’s lose but the seniors win or vice versa, how would the celebrations after work where one team will be in mourning and the other jubilant? Of course everyone will dream of the fairytale where we win both but it’s fraught with too much danger in my opinion.

If it has to be Thurles in a months time then so be it, we’ll still heavily outnumber the Cork supporters and we’ll heavily outnumber Carlow’s support in Croker too.

Lastly I just want to say to Donal Óg, let’s be having ya!

[jimbob17]

Joe Mac can't be postponed. Two Finalists play All Ireland senior prelim q finals two weeks later.

Conundrum is great to have. Lots of good stuff happening in Offaly. We are long way ahead of where I thought we would be. 3 all Ireland finals in 3 years is monumental. The powers that be will decide what happens. U20 might be moved to following Saturday. Leaving cert is big issue in this as lots of our players are very young.

Senior Hurlers winning back up to Liam MCcarthy would be bonus even if I don't think they are ready yet as could come straight back down. Senior Football also showing improvements and all is huge for dev of next wave of primary school aged kids.

[Bord na Mona man]

A few more thoughts on last night.
Carlow was a poor venue in many respects.
Long queues for the jacks which stank and Mark Renton from Trainspotting would have run a mile from.
Very few stewards compared to other more road-tested grounds - no obvious crowd management such as keeping the terrace pathways clear etc.

In other ways it was perfect. Packed out with Offaly people. The noise booming in from all 4 sides, a proper cauldron.
At some level the crowd must have lifted the players spirits if doubt was creeping in near the finish.

2 key moments. Screeney and Ravenhill stripping the Wexford #7 Conor Foley at the end for the turnover and point. Down to 14 men, for Offaly to manage to double team a player and win the turnover was huge.
Also, Wexford were working the ball in for a goal attempt, Ter Guinan won a huge intercept. Because the next receiver would have pulled the trigger for a goal attempt. Had Offaly conceded a goal at any moment in the last 20 minutes, Wexford would have won.

I don't want to be the 'ah ref' person, but Wexford did get a slight benefit on balance of the decisions. Maybe when I watch the video, it won't be as obvious. It's hard to be objective in the heat of the game.
That said, the internal Offaly review will also show we coughed some silly scores from frees. At times when the Wexford player had run out of space and ideas, the Offaly foul came in.
Management will be delighted with the spirit, but need to be telling the players they should have won by 5 or 6 points instead of 2 with better discipline.

[Bord na Mona man]

There must have been some buzz in Durrow, 4 guys from the football area win a Leinster together, along with 2 Clara men on the pitch at full time, unreal.
And a Ballyskenach man kicking the winner for the minor footballers the previous night!!!!

At the final whistle there were 2 players from Clara and 0 from Birr and Rynaghs. Not long ago that scenario would have shocked people.
The sands are always shifting and we can't stay rigid. The wheel will turn again and these clubs will be producing more talent again.
Thankfully we are in more open minded times where the wider spread is welcomed instead of scorned.

[greenairfield]

10 starters from two clubs actually. To be honest just a brilliant group of players.

[Hasselhoff]

Joe Mac can't be postponed. Two Finalists play All Ireland senior prelim q finals two weeks later.

Conundrum is great to have. Lots of good stuff happening in Offaly. We are long way ahead of where I thought we would be. 3 all Ireland finals in 3 years is monumental. The powers that be will decide what happens. U20 might be moved to following Saturday. Leaving cert is big issue in this as lots of our players are very young.

Senior Hurlers winning back up to Liam MCcarthy would be bonus even if I don't think they are ready yet as could come straight back down. Senior Football also showing improvements and all is huge for dev of next wave of primary school aged kids.

According to GAA master fixtures plan
Week 22 27th /28th May is Jmc Donagh and Under 20 hurling final
Munster and Leinster Round 5 of Liam McCarthy

Week 23 - 3rd and 4th June - Christy Ring, Lory Meagher, Nicky Rackard Finals ( could put the Joe McDonagh cup in here as Croke Park will already be opened for those finals.

Week 24 - 10th and 11th June - Munster and Leinster Hurling Finals
Week 25- 17th and 18th June - SHC preliminary quarter finals
Week 26 24th and 25th June - SHC quarter finals
Week 27 - 1st / 2nd July - SHC relegation play off
Week 28 8th and 9th July SHC semi finals
Week 30 - All Ireland Hurling Final

Three weeks between Joe McDonagh final and Preliminary quarter final at the moment. Dont know if it can be moved unless Carlow agree.

If the under 20 goes back a week its very close to the leaving cert.

Whatever happens, I hope its a weekend fixture anyway and not mid week. Good points above about the disadvantages of losing one match in the same venue with the two on the same day.

[timber]

Huge respect for and pride in our U20 hurlers last night. A game that alot of things were going against them in but they really stuck to the task. The work rate in the last 10 minutes or so when Wexford were really pushing to finish us off was incredible.

Ref watch - I found him frustrating. Maybe if I look back on it again I may be proved wrong, but I felt frees came a bit easier for Wexford and a fair few over carries were let go. Again the lads kept the head and stuck to the job.

Can I just put it out there and ask how everybody feels about either of the finals likely to be in croke park. I actually like a smaller venue for these games at this level as croke park will be too empty. Ideally play them separate day or weeks. Not a double header. as somebody pointed out, losing the first game would have a major impact on the energy in the ground for the second game.

Atmosphere is a big part of the occasion, and I think these games will lose that energy that was there last night for example and in Portlaoise for the minor.

On both finals. I think we go in as underdogs to both. Carlow have beaten Offaly comprehenisvely in last two championship meetings. Last years game Offaly were treating like a final and they turned us over badly at home. Make no mistake about it, Carlow supporters expect them to win this. Offaly will need to perform better than they have in the last two years.

In the U20, anything I have seen of Cork has been impressive. A very impressive team. Again, Offaly will need to reach another level to get a win here.

Well done to both teams on getting to these finals. Lets go and finish off the jobs.

[faithfulfanatic]

Huge respect for and pride in our U20 hurlers last night. A game that alot of things were going against them in but they really stuck to the task. The work rate in the last 10 minutes or so when Wexford were really pushing to finish us off was incredible.

Ref watch - I found him frustrating. Maybe if I look back on it again I may be proved wrong, but I felt frees came a bit easier for Wexford and a fair few over carries were let go. Again the lads kept the head and stuck to the job.

Can I just put it out there and ask how everybody feels about either of the finals likely to be in croke park. I actually like a smaller venue for these games at this level as croke park will be too empty. Ideally play them separate day or weeks. Not a double header. as somebody pointed out, losing the first game would have a major impact on the energy in the ground for the second game.

Atmosphere is a big part of the occasion, and I think these games will lose that energy that was there last night for example and in Portlaoise for the minor.

On both finals. I think we go in as underdogs to both. Carlow have beaten Offaly comprehenisvely in last two championship meetings. Last years game Offaly were treating like a final and they turned us over badly at home. Make no mistake about it, Carlow supporters expect them to win this. Offaly will need to perform better than they have in the last two years.

In the U20, anything I have seen of Cork has been impressive. A very impressive team. Again, Offaly will need to reach another level to get a win here.

Well done to both teams on getting to these finals. Lets go and finish off the jobs.

Offaly are massive favourites against Carlow and rightly so

[Bord na Mona man]

Ref watch - I found him frustrating. Maybe if I look back on it again I may be proved wrong, but I felt frees came a bit easier for Wexford and a fair few over carries were let go. Again the lads kept the head and stuck to the job.

He ignored the steps rule - fine, both teams knew they could take the 7 or 8 steps.
He pulled one thrown handpass which was an Offaly one - but ignored the rest
He blew for a charge by Ravenhill, but again ignored other charges.

That said, he took the correct decision to blow the Wexford lad who knelt on the ball. The easy and old school option is to throw the ball in.
When Brian Gavin did that to Donal Óg in 2007 and Waterford got a draw out of it, the Cork team nearly went on another strike over it.