2019 U20 Football Development League

Started by Junior Ex Laoistalk, January 25, 2019, 12:17:51 PM

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thegreeenandgold

Super Win last Monday night,  and even more important to follow it up with a good performance against Westmeath on Tuesday.  Hopefully the competitive performance from the Minors last Friday, allied to this U20 performance is the first chinks of light in our underage football recovery.   

Another big week in Laois Football and that has to be a good thing.  Beat Offaly on Friday and Westmeath on Tuesday and we are on the cusp of our best year in Football in a decade.

Heshs Umpire

Quote from: thegreeenandgold on June 28, 2019, 12:20:38 PM
Another big week in Laois Football and that has to be a good thing.  Beat Offaly on Friday and Westmeath on Tuesday and we are on the cusp of our best year in Football in a decade.
We're half way there! I hope the 20's are fully focused cos a win up in Mullingar is never easy.
Well I could keep it above
But then it wouldn't be sky anymore

on the hop

Draw at half time 1-6 to  0-9. Very sloppy and off the pace in defense. As always in Mullingar in a dog fight

High Fielder

Hopefully there's a second half like last week in them. Westmeath appear to have invested heavily in that half, but their movement is impressive while our tackling is just terrible. We have a definite edge in midfield and we should have three goals, so the platform is there

GAA-SMART

Extra Time- Hopefully we will keep going here

on the hop

We could have lost well or won well, it's that type of game

High Fielder

A wake up call tonight. Nothing worked properly and we still pulled through. I always think that's a good sign, but let's not kid ourselves, we didn't cope well for long periods. Our first up tackling was powderpuff and technically very poor. On too many occasions, lads went in to try and tackle, got beaten handily, and stopped. The other option was to foul. Neither of these are helpful. We were isolated and outnumbered and they were running hard. They got their rewards. Some of our backs were having a hard time and some truly baffling decisions were being made on the line.

We had a distinct size advantage in key areas. We didn't use it well at times. Dan did better tonight, but it's a tactic from another era. Percentage wise, it has serious flaws, but look, he took his goal really well and he caused panic in a small looking back line. Midfield had the ability to win the game on its own. A mixture of handling errors, poorly placed kick outs and lack of work rate meant we didn't maximise an obvious advantage. Our support play was awful too. Lads were running into a sea of maroon and looking lost.

Despite all of the above, we kept them close enough. You could see that they had gone off a bit quickly and were a little bit too buzzed up. That told in extra time where we dominated without ever really looking like the team of last week. Clearly we have a nice young team with some very good players, but if they sit down and look at the match again, they will know they are a lot better than that. Still, 5 minutes or so into the second half, you'd have taken a draw at full time, so credit to them for grinding it out.

on the hop

#67
What a crazy game, didn't really start well but the two lads in the middle got us a foothold. They played a possession game of sorts and we couldn't lay a Hand on them. Backs were way off and had no intensity, fouling seemed to be the only option for some. Both half lines were at sea. Then big dan caught a ball and laid it off for a goal. We missed a second goal that hit both posts but honestly it should have been squared across, a theme for the night. There small midfielder then took over, he kicked three and was very good and they finished far better. We appeared very flat. This continued into the second half and they went four up and we looked in bother. A few changes and a sense of urgency and we got back level. In the six minutes of injury time we had as many chances but a combination of poor shooting, decision making and selfishness led to the game drawing.

In extra time we were far better. The two midfielders lorded it and drove forward. A few of the forwards realized you can pass rather than shooting and we worked a goal. The first of a few decent balls into the big man and he exploited his height difference and finished well. We finished out the second period playing better and looking fitter and I think it's meath next Tuesday.

A tough night for the backs collectively, they all had there individual moments but we had awful problems with fouling and tracking runners. The speedy corner forward did a lot of damage but as both wing backs are inclined to bomb forward we are exposed on any turnovers. We didn't seem to have the personal to deal with him.The full back has great potential but it's a pity he can't be centre back as he looks like a good stopper. Saunders continues to be a massive loss. Both midfielders played very well and give this team every chance. They lorded the sky and are good pairing, Dunne drove forward very well and both gave great engines, but once they lapse the team struggled. I Not a great night for the half forwards, all replaced but Owens did well when introduced, if only he would keep it simpler. The full forward line scored 1-9 from play I think and when the right ball goes in they are lethal. I still think we would be better served with Owens or Whelan full forward. If your going to have dan in there, it's either the right ball in or he moves more and brings players into the game.

Good to win in Mullingar

blueandwhite1

Wow, the performance reports look grim. Did great to turn it around and won well in the end.

Meath in a week. What's the verdict?

The PRO

Quote from: blueandwhite1 on July 03, 2019, 08:51:44 AM
Wow, the performance reports look grim. Did great to turn it around and won well in the end.

Meath in a week. What's the verdict?
Billy O'Loughlin may well be the only Laoisman shouting for Cork next Saturday. A defeat sees O'Flynn and Barry available for the Meath game.

SCFC

I saw some reference to the semi final being in Portlaoise. Let's hope it's a good source.

High Fielder

I still have faith in them. They're still a good bunch even allowing for those not there. Westmeath probably had their homework done but did we get any chance to do the same? The coach pulled in an hour before throw in and the warm up looked hurried. It took us a long time to acclimatise. Maybe small things on their own, but collectively might have contributed to the flatness. We have to be more tuned in because better teams will put you out the gate by half time

Nameless

Couldn't make the game last night, looking at the scoring it seemed that things went better for big Dan but was it similar to last week? We wasted more than we got from the long ball tactic? Disappointed to hear our defence was opened up easily. They looked tight enough in the full back line last week. Maybe Kildare were actually quite poor. Hard to tell. Players at this age can be great one week and average the next. Meath will be a step up, the Offaly team they beat were highly rated.

on the hop

In response nameless, the first ball in was spot on against a much smaller marker and should have been a goal, they immediately put their centre forward back in front of him and we persisted with the bombs with no return. A better ball in led to catch and the lay off for the goal. We struggled in the second half for long periods and ended up sending in awful ball, rob kearney wouldn't have caught them. I don't know if the game plan is to tell him not to leave the edge of the square but there was little movement for a different ball. A re-think in extra time saw dan bought to midfield for the throw in and he ended the half with a lovely finish for the goal again after a better ball in. There sweeper went out as they were chasing the game and in the second period he made hay with two points.

He is a massive weapon to have at this age group. The right ball in and it's a score but the forwards have to pushing up for the breaks or lay offs. The scores gave the crowd a great lift. Problems are sending in bombs and expecting a return plus a lack of movement which at times cuts off space for the other two. A flick down or a flick on wasn't really tried which would have been easier at times. It was noticeable that Tyrell is excellent at this on kick outs and wouldn't be a bad option if needed.

Nameless

Quote from: on the hop on July 04, 2019, 01:19:13 AM
In response nameless, the first ball in was spot on against a much smaller marker and should have been a goal, they immediately put their centre forward back in front of him and we persisted with the bombs with no return. A better ball in led to catch and the lay off for the goal. We struggled in the second half for long periods and ended up sending in awful ball, rob kearney wouldn't have caught them. I don't know if the game plan is to tell him not to leave the edge of the square but there was little movement for a different ball. A re-think in extra time saw dan bought to midfield for the throw in and he ended the half with a lovely finish for the goal again after a better ball in. There sweeper went out as they were chasing the game and in the second period he made hay with two points.

He is a massive weapon to have at this age group. The right ball in and it's a score but the forwards have to pushing up for the breaks or lay offs. The scores gave the crowd a great lift. Problems are sending in bombs and expecting a return plus a lack of movement which at times cuts off space for the other two. A flick down or a flick on wasn't really tried which would have been easier at times. It was noticeable that Tyrell is excellent at this on kick outs and wouldn't be a bad option if needed.

Good stuff on the hop. I think what you said about at this age group is the key point. It may work occasionally at this age group, it needs a great ball though and you can waste lots of possession with this tactic. But what is the main aim of this age group? To develop senior inter county players I would have thought? Long gone are the days of the Bomber Liston and although Donaghy had some great days, he was the best in the business at it and he was shut out by organised defences. Is big Dan in that category of player? Maybe he is but like you say, there has to be some movement as well, a little bit of unpredictability.