Longfort - Iarmhi

[navaniarmhi]

Could have easily lost it despite being well ahead in most areas of the pitch for most of the match. It might have been an idea to make a couple of subs towards the end as many Westmeath boys were clearly becoming fatigued. The Longford comeback also coincided with Flanagan's move to the rear... it was very obvious. Dessie looked off the pace at times and made basic uncharacteristic errors. Did O'Flaharta need him to get matchtime? I  was sure Bannon would come in after half time.

Is it just me or do I notice  the Sunday Game boys carrying a patronising sneer when discussing Longford/Westmeath as if they were U-16's . .. "they've a lot to learn yet". This stuff drives me mad. Give Westmeath a virtual bye into a provincial final (Munster/Connaught) and a population of a few hundred thousand and they might win more titles. Oh Yeah, an odd home game might help. In order to even get a whiff of Dublin Westmeath have to beat Longford and Offaly away. This then entitles them to play against Dublin in their backyard. Bring the Dubs out to nice provincial  ground for their first round matches, I say. They should have to earn their Croke Park outings like us poor waifs. Ah Feck...... I'm beginning to sound like my father. 

Nice touch after the match when the players from both sides were surrounded by gossouns as they warmed down and nobody tried to stop it. My young fella was horrid impressed at getting so close to them so soon after the match.

One small point. How mad is it expecting the keepers to lep over advertising to retrieve a ball in a space created by two lines of that hoarding. Its unfair and insulting for senior players.

With regard to the pipe band, I think they are fine but I would be glad not to hear them for the third year in a row next year.

[Mentalman]

As a totally unbiased neutral I thought Westmeath got the benefit of nearly every decision going...very hard to see where the penalty came from, disgraceful decision to allow the 2nd goal taking into account the 10/12 steps and the throwing the ball in the air....Booking for No4 after a perfect shoulder...and some other really soft decisions...

Watching that game I don't feel there is too much to fear from a Dublin viewpoint....Westmeath will suffer badly with all that handpassing against a strong forward line...

Wouldn't agree with that. I thought he gave some soft frees to both sides, but also found it hard to give some players any - Dolan being a case in point - his reputation obviously proceeds him. Glennon obviously travelled for his goal, but it was a penalty in my opinion. The booking on 4? Is that one where he put the player over the sideline? If it was, he stuck his shoulder into his chest, which in no way is a fair shoulder. Or was that the high tackle? The ref also handed out a yelow, to Paul Barden I think, for raising his hands after winning a free. That was followed immediately by a yellow for Westmeath for feck all. I didn't think the ref had a great game, but at the end of the day Longford had thier chances to win the game but didn't take them.

As for whether Dublin have anything to fear I think you are being a little bit presumptious no? Apart from the fact Offaly have something to say about that, I think Louth might too.  

[DUBSFORSAM1]

As a totally unbiased neutral I thought Westmeath got the benefit of nearly every decision going...very hard to see where the penalty came from, disgraceful decision to allow the 2nd goal taking into account the 10/12 steps and the throwing the ball in the air....Booking for No4 after a perfect shoulder...and some other really soft decisions...

Watching that game I don't feel there is too much to fear from a Dublin viewpoint....Westmeath will suffer badly with all that handpassing against a strong forward line...

Wouldn't agree with that. I thought he gave some soft frees to both sides, but also found it hard to give some players any - Dolan being a case in point - his reputation obviously proceeds him. Glennon obviously travelled for his goal, but it was a penalty in my opinion. The booking on 4? Is that one where he put the player over the sideline? If it was, he stuck his shoulder into his chest, which in no way is a fair shoulder. Or was that the high tackle? The ref also handed out a yelow, to Paul Barden I think, for raising his hands after winning a free. That was followed immediately by a yellow for Westmeath for feck all. I didn't think the ref had a great game, but at the end of the day Longford had thier chances to win the game but didn't take them.

As for whether Dublin have anything to fear I think you are being a little bit presumptious no? Apart from the fact Offaly have something to say about that, I think Louth might too.  

It was a shoulder to shoulder and even the commentators said they couldn't see how it was even a foul never mind a booking!!! The yellow for the Westmeath player just afterwards was for stamping on the Longford players foot after the foul...

My comment was that if Dublin have to play Westmeath we shouldn't be too worried....I never said we would definitely be playing them...

[Mentalman]

As a totally unbiased neutral I thought Westmeath got the benefit of nearly every decision going...very hard to see where the penalty came from, disgraceful decision to allow the 2nd goal taking into account the 10/12 steps and the throwing the ball in the air....Booking for No4 after a perfect shoulder...and some other really soft decisions...

Watching that game I don't feel there is too much to fear from a Dublin viewpoint....Westmeath will suffer badly with all that handpassing against a strong forward line...

Wouldn't agree with that. I thought he gave some soft frees to both sides, but also found it hard to give some players any - Dolan being a case in point - his reputation obviously proceeds him. Glennon obviously travelled for his goal, but it was a penalty in my opinion. The booking on 4? Is that one where he put the player over the sideline? If it was, he stuck his shoulder into his chest, which in no way is a fair shoulder. Or was that the high tackle? The ref also handed out a yelow, to Paul Barden I think, for raising his hands after winning a free. That was followed immediately by a yellow for Westmeath for feck all. I didn't think the ref had a great game, but at the end of the day Longford had thier chances to win the game but didn't take them.

As for whether Dublin have anything to fear I think you are being a little bit presumptious no? Apart from the fact Offaly have something to say about that, I think Louth might too.  

It was a shoulder to shoulder and even the commentators said they couldn't see how it was even a foul never mind a booking!!! The yellow for the Westmeath player just afterwards was for stamping on the Longford players foot after the foul...

My comment was that if Dublin have to play Westmeath we shouldn't be too worried....I never said we would definitely be playing them...

Well I only saw it in real time so I could be mistaken, if s I stand corrected. I think Healey was yellow carded for us too, for kicking back at a player, despite the fact the player wasn't within striking distance...what you going to do.

On your second point I get ya, so I suppose we'll see, or perhaps we won't, who knows.

[INDIANA]

dsfm we don't need that sort of  talk. i'd be pretty wary of westmeath, i'm not that worried about louth because i think westmeath are a lot better than them. westmeath could have won by 10 today. they've a better full back line than us, a smashing half back line and good primary possession winners at mdifield and a good full forward line. That's a good start. Their weakness is the half forwards which would struggle badly against dublin if either get to the semis. i think they'd give us a right good game. I think we'd win if we performed well but not by much. we've yet to see what we're coming with yet. I doubt westmeath would be quaking in their boots based on our form at the moment

[Hardy]

Sensational news from Croke Park this morning and once again gaa.ie enhances its reputation as the source of record for all things GAA. It is, after all, the official website of the GAA, so I suppose we should expect it to be first with the news. Nevertheless, congratulations again to the Aussie crew who run the site for the GAA on being the first to inform us of the sensational reversal of yesterday's result. According to one of their "Latest News" headlines this morning, "Longford progress in Midlands derby".

(By the way, when did we start having "derbies" in the GAA? Nobody told me about that).

[navaniarmhi]

  Yes. These derby matches are a curse if you border with five other counties. Bring on Kings County.

[North Longford]

Very disappointed with the performance yesterday. Don't think we played anywhere to the standard we can and yet still could have won. McGee and Kavanagh between them missed about 1-08 which they normally wouldn't miss in a month. Poor I thought around midfield. Don't think our el capitano caught a single ball over the hour. Struggled badly with the blanket defence with lot of the ball supplied to the forwards quite poor particularly in the second half. Disappointed in Dowd. He didn't seen fit and a couple of times in the second half he just let his man run without tracking him.
Berry was terrible and didn't seem fit and Jamise did very litle worthwhile either and was lucky to last the 70 minutes. Would actually have taken him off at halftime and pushed McGee closer to the goals
To me and all those around me of both persuasions the overcarrying for the goal was very obvious and was very very poor by the ref to miss. Thought he was poor anyway but maybe he just got dragged down to the level of the game!!
Anyway on the positive I thought Dec Reilly did a good job on Doan for the second year in a row and Paul Kelly, Noel Farrell and Enda Williams did quite well also.

[AZOffaly]

Cheesy Yes. These derby matches are a curse if you border with five other counties. Bring on Kings County.

Try bordering 7 and see how you like it. . By the way Hardy, I'd always have said local derby matches as well.

As for yesterday, I've only seen it once, and caught the last couple of minutes of the Sunday game which had moved on to Dara O'Cinneide trying to look worried as he tipped Kerry, so I haven't gone back over it other than in my head. A couple of random observations from an Offaly perspective.

Westmeath's back are good. John Keane and the Boyle lad are grand, and Kieran Gavin was excellent in the second half, after being caught behind Kavanagh a couple of times in the first half. Mind you, even at that he was still forcing Kavanagh to take shots from mad angles, so he can feel very happy with himself today. The half back line is very strong, even if Natchie didn't have his best game at #5. Damien Healy just keeps going and going, and is an example to any young lad. His cameo solo up the field for Mangan's point was brilliant. Derek Heavin was solid enough on Barden, but quiet at the same time. Having said that, the amount of ball that Westmeath won from breaks was crazy, so the half lines were definitely competing hard. Westmeath are a bit over-inclined to handpass the ball though, and that could cost them against a hard tackling forward line like Dublin, Kerry or any of the northern teams. This 'blanket' defence idea suits them as well, and some of their football coming out, when they got it right, was lovely. By isolating Glennon and Dolan, or Mangan up in front, they give the opposition real trouble as everything becomes a one on one. The problem is their distribution is still iffy, and the Longford centre back ate a lot of ball up, by just standing on the 45 and getting in the way. Offaly will try to approach Westmeath differently I think, the traditional Offaly game, attacking wise, is to let the ball in to Niall McNamee, Thommo Deehan etc long, fast and low-ish. That will hopefully negate the crowding defence, but the lads inside will have to win their battles, and that won't be easy.

Westmeath's midfield was excellent for 50 minutes, until Flanagan started to tire, and lapsed into his old habit of shooting from County Hall in Mullingar, and carrying the ball until he loses it. Up until then he was very good though. Winning kickouts, breaking kickouts, kicking scores and kicking his long range frees well. Donal Donoghue was the quiet man of the pair, but no less effective, winning ball, tackling hard and giving it to a maroon jersey when he had it. I don't think it was a coincidence that Longford started to get a lot of joy out there when Donoghue moved back into the defence and, ironically, David Duffy came on.

Their forwards are a carbon copy of some of the more successful northern counties like Tyrone or Armagh, and if they play to them correctly, they will be dangerous. The half forward line dropping deep to let a two man inside line try to isolate opponents. Glennon is ideally suited to this, as would a fit Dessie Dolan, but Glennon, in particular, needs to be more direct. It will be interesting to see how Offaly try to counter this, and they may take note of how the Longford centre back stayed static. Longford's downfall was the fact that their full back line couldn't really handle the full forward line, and even allowing for Glennon's over doing the carrying, they struggled. Glennon turning his man along the line for the second goal was a case in point, and is unforgiveable at county level.

All in all, Westmeath will come on a ton from that. You cannot overestimate the benefit from having a championship match under your belt, and I'd expect them to iron out some of those wrinkles. It will be interesting to see what they do from a selection perspective next time around. David Duffy will start, so what do you do with Donoghue or Flanagan? I'd not be surprised to see one of them, probably Flanagan, deployed at centre forward in place of Smith, and Bannon coming in for Mangan. Doran Harte seems to be cast in the Dooher/Galvin role, and I don't see him being dropped.

For Longford, it's a case of stop-start now. 10 weeks is crazy in fairness and, as Luke said, the lure of America may well tempt some of their lads with summers off work, like Kavanagh. I think yesterday they hung around despite themselves, and seemed to be surprised by Westmeath's tactics. Luke looked like he was a bit shell shocked by their approach in the post-match interview, and I'd say he was caught out by it. Longford were certainly destroyed by the crowding of the midfield, and the funnelling back. They just ran into cul-de-sacs loads of times, and looked as if they were short of ideas. Having said that, fair play to the Larries for sticking to it, plugging away, and Westmeath's deficiencies when they were so on top almost gave them a chance to get a draw or better out of the game at the end, which would have been unreal.

Anyway, Offaly have been warned. Westmeath have a new approach, and a month to fine tune it. We are going to have to be up for it, in a calm and measured way. Ciaran McManus will have to give us a big day at last against Westmeath, because we are in danger of being destroyed around the middle. I think our half back line will be okay, and I think Ger Rafferty will be detailed to mark Glennon, with maybe Niall Darby picking up Dessie. If we can break even between the 45s, I think Offaly's more direct approach will help negate the extra defenders, and if Niall McNamee has a good day, we'll have a chance. A lot of 'ifs', but then again what championship match (especially the first of the year) isn't?

[Billys Boots]

Good news is that there were no serious injuries and no coffins (either real or metaphorical) need to be measured yet.

How is the latter good news?

I Sky+d the game, as I was abroad until last night -  I thought it was very poor fare indeed.  As NL says, Longford were awful but could still have won - WH will really struggle if they continue with that short game.  I have a feeling that they (O'Flaitheartha et al.) thought that the Longford midfield would not have the ability to deal with that game, and they were right (to a certain extent).  I get the impression that Kavanagh's media attention has taken away some attention to his game, and hopefully he can get his head right again - he was poor yesterday, and Longford can't afford that.

Sheridan - no comment.

Fullback line - not as bad as anticipated, Noel Farrell played well, especially when liberated in the second half.

Halfback line - didn't really cope well with the amount of possession they had (didn't seem to expect to have that amount of it), and didn't use it well enough.

Midfield - swamped, again, big Liam's not a man for the dry sod, and Dowd didn't seem to have his usual spark.

Half-forwards - effectively midfielders, which didn't suit (P) Barden, not his game.  Good move for his goal - how many times have we seen him do that for Longford (I can count five or six immediately)?  Berry and Mulligan were only poor, intermittently.

Full-forwards - McGee out of his depth, Jamesie incapable of gaining or holding possession, and Kavanagh on a downer.

And we still only lost by three.

[mattockranger]

north longford your spot on...

With an inside line of kavanagh and McGee i predicted two stars of the summer and thats not an overstatement Mcgee is a class act
Then Was dissapointed with the tactics??
McGee was anonymous for much of the game and left with no confidence
foolishly waste of a good player cause i thinks Kavanagh lacked support and suffered also
to play the whole league with those two in the inside line and then come championship change it
it was never going to work and cost longford the game.........

[LaurelEye]

Good news is that there were no serious injuries and no coffins (either real or metaphorical) need to be measured yet.

How is the latter good news?

Principally referring to the worst that happened being an ankle sprain, stretcher or no stretcher.

Realistically, while I don't think Dempsey will (or should) be there next year, it was a close enough result - better than I was expecting at any road - for him to be left for the qualifiers.

As far as your favourite player goes - no comment

[LaurelEye]

10 weeks is crazy in fairness and, as Luke said, the lure of America may well tempt some of their lads with summers off work, like Kavanagh.

Oh, I'd imagine that Kilmacud Crokes will be looking for bang for their (purely metaphorical) buck. But others will be tempted.

[AZOffaly]

On a side topic, how bad was Ger Canning again yesterday? He is a cretin when it comes to knowing anything about the game.

[Mentalman]

On a side topic, how bad was Ger Canning again yesterday? He is a cretin when it comes to knowing anything about the game.

He walked by us a couple of times before the game. The auld fella says "Why don't you say to his face what you say when he's on TV". Doh! He is pretty bad though. Poor lad looked well shook yesterday, didn't look like he was taking the heat well at all at all.