Birr vs Dunloy

[slow corner back]

Fair enough AZ I hope he has one of his off days on Sunday as does his brother, I wouldnt bet on it though.

[ziggysego]

Good Luck to Dunloy this Sunday. My sister-in-law is from Dunloy.

[Lecale2]

 

This should be a great battle. Unfortunately I can't get to it as our club has a match at the same time. It is really hard to call games like this at this time of year but my money is on Dunloy. They have prepared well and I expect them to pull through.

[orangeman]

Good luck to Dunloy.

[optimus euhregab]

i was a speaking to a lad there from dunloy n he says that there manager has them drinnkin nothin but red bull to give them a lock of energy for the game. they believe that their lack of energy in the other semi finals is what lost them the game, fair play. there nat so slow anyway.

[Square Ball]

i was a speaking to a lad there from dunloy n he says that there manager has them drinnkin nothin but red bull to give them a lock of energy for the game. they believe that their lack of energy in the other semi finals is what lost them the game, fair play. there nat so slow anyway.

One word... Gazza

[theskull1]

You don't by any chance drive one of these to work optimus 

[Guillem2]

Good luck Dunloy. They have every chance and I hope they can pull it off.

[Two Hands FFS]

Good Luck to Dunloy. I think they have a very good chance. They'll need to get alot of ball into their FF Line as thats where the majority of their scores will come from. Keep the frees down to a minimum as well.

[ziggysego]

Hard luck Dunloy.

You don't by any chance drive one of these to work optimus 

See one of them driving about Omagh the odd day.

[Whitehair]

There in the holylands every Monday and Thursday giving out free 24decks.

[orangeman]

Hard luck to Dunloy - Birr are a seasoned team - good luck to them in the final where they'll be up against it in the form of Portumna.

[orangeman]

Clones is hardly fit for football at the best of times !

[Bord na Mona man]

Birr ran out commanding winners in the end but had it tough for 3/4 of the match.
Surprisingly, the Birr side under Pajo Whelahan would be renowned for enjoyable training sessions and relaxed "team bonding" sessions, lasted the pace much better then Dunloy. It did seem noticeable that some of Dunloy's older stalwarts ran out of steam with about 10 minutes to go. In contrast, the Birr bench contained speed merchants like Michael Dwane, who was sprung from it to torment Dunloy with his pace.

In the early exchanges Birr looked very much in command. They went into a 0-3 to 0-0 lead fairly quickly with the Dunloy defence looking shaky. At this point Birr should have pushed home their advantage more. They would have gone further clear, was it not for over elaboration in attack, overdoing the soloing and too many stray passes. Also Brian Whelahan fluffed a couple of straightforward frees. On a side note, free taking was probably the least accomplished aspect of Sid's game, yet most pundits and commentators tended to rate him as one of the master practitioners of the art. He was 60% at best in his Offaly days from 65s.
Never mind that. One piece of Sid magic in the first half was when he was under pressure and crowded on the touchline, turning back towards his own goal, he slung a lovely ball back out towards the middle picking out an unmarked Rory Hanniffy who stuck it over.

As the half wore on, Dunloy started to win the ball, find their colleagues and play good direct hurling. They were preventing Birr winning puckout possession and were edging it at midfield. Sean Mullan was managing to keep Gary Hanniffy from making clean catches and puckouts aimed at Brian Whelahan (playing centre forward) were being defended well by Damian McMullan. At midfield Dunloy drove good long balls into the full forward line, whereas Birr were more ponderous in possession.

At half time the game was keenly balanced though you felt Birr had a little that little bit extra in reserve. For the second half, Michael Dwane came on for Paul O'Meara who had picked up an injury mid way through the first half. Birr upped it a notch and started to score more freely. The spread the ball wide more and gave forwards like Simon Whelahan a chance to run, onto it and shake off the markers.

Barry Whelahan started to win a lot of puckouts and move the ball quickly. His ability to get the ball in hand first time, avoid tackles and deliver, makes him the sort of player Joe Dooley should be contacting.

Stephen Browne also came to the fore after half time, winning ball, making yards and hitting quality low ball down the channels. Rory Hanniffy started to find space and gave us glimpses of his blinding pace. He stuck over one great long range point at a crucial stage of the match.

Sean Ryan, found the conditions difficult, though he did get 2 points. He is player who thrives of picking up loose ball but isn't suited to being a target man. I think he needs to be played further outfield, unless he is played alongside a full forward who breaks the ball down for him. Lobbing in 50/50 balls between him and his marker is not going to work.

With pitch conditions so poor, both sets of backs were in for a nervous time of it. The Birr full back line stuck tight to their men and were unlikely to concede the goals that realistically were Dunloy's best hope of turning Birr over. Breeder made some good catches and apart from worrying short puck out, had a faultless display.

The game was still in the balance with 10 to go. With Birr 3 points up, Dunloy went in search of a goal. If the 50/50 lob into the Birr goalmouth had got whipped to the net, instead of away to safety, it could have been a storming finish. Instead Birr went downfield, stretched the gap to the magic 4 and kicked for home.

Overall it was an impressive Birr display gievn the conditions. Dunloy are in transition and need more time to blend a team together. Birr are clever enough to give Portumna a good battle in the final. On paper the Galway men would warrant being favourites, but never rule out the Pad Joe Whelahan madness factor to cause an upset.

[Bord na Mona man]

Clap clap.
Great report, Bord na Mona man.

Its hardly Pulitzer prize winning stuff in fairness!