O'Byrne Cup 2011 - Official Thread

thanks bloodsub!
where was roly for the earlier stages of the o byrne? how long was he on for today?

feckin mental how we could play so bad for big parts of that game and win that game! poor aul louth.
at this stage in the year im sure geezer will look to address some of the problems and there were plenty today. the defence was shaky especially when louth were running at us. full back line is still a problem.
we had no real half forward line either today. we kicked away a lot of ball and did an amount of just silly things. the shooting was awful at times too.
that's all the negatives without picking out individuals.
positives there too with lynch winning his own ball. smith when he is in and around the goals looked dangerous.
ah sure very happy to come away smiling anyway but plenty to do.
just a though as well, i know it's our home but the smaller picth doesn't suit us at all.

whitetop wrote:

thanks bloodsub!
where was roly for the earlier stages of the o byrne? how long was he on for today?

only rejoined the squad last week.started the second half had a shot at goal in the first few minutes that nearly hit the corner flag but settled in well after that and had a very good game (in my opinion)

Not the best football we've played so far this year but fair play to all the lads for pulling it off at the death, never gave up and battled on right till the end. Was almost expecting the ref to blow for full time with the scores level after Rolys' peno but good work around midfield, quick ball forward and Cribbin was in the right place when the ball came loose to bury it.

Louth to be fair should have been well out of sight as injury time approaced, about 4 or 5 times they came forward in the second half and instead of taking a handy point they tried to work the ball into a goalscoring opportunity and Bolton twice (and McGrillen and Lynch I think?), managed to win back possession and get the ball clear.

Our forwards seemed to make very hard work out of getting a shot away in both halves, at times in first half the ball must have been passed between 5 or 6 players before somebody would take a shot. Second half we were a lot more direct, more movement off the ball, lads making runs on the overlap and quick diagonal balls into space opened up the Louth defence much more effectively than our efforts in the first. Defence was much better in the second half, only conceded two points and McGrillen and Bolton made some great bursts forward. Overall though we kicked some very poor wides, the pass / shot selection at times was also pretty poor and we gave away some stupid frees in the first half, to be fair though the ref seemed very fond of stopping play any chance he got.

If I was a Louth fan I'd be wondering how a 7 or 8 point lead was allowed to slip, especially considering the chances they had and the amount of first half possession. Also despite putting up a good score in the first half they seemed to go about 20 minutes without scoring, raced into the lead at the start with two quick goals and some handy frees and then didn't do anything until the final five minutes of the half.

Bolton, Flats, Lynch and Smith were impressive, especially Bolton, with some of the tackles he put in and the threat he created going forward. Lynch seems to be playing in something like a sweeper / quarterback role in front of the defence, looks to get on the ball a lot and is well able to pick out a good pass, starting to win a lot more ball around the middle too now which is good.

Brilliant finish, Louth have now lost their last two finals in the last 30 seconds... oh well.

It was a strange game I though, at times there was no real urgency then other times their was fire and brimstone. Hugh Lynch was fantastic in the second half, he put the All Star in his pocket and dominated around the middle. His winning of possession turned the game.

Full back situation looks a problem area again, although Mick Foley played a lot better in the second half I can see Hugh going back into full back with Fitzpatrick on one side and Mac on the other if fit.

Smith was good and won most of the decent ball sent his way, Leper was again playing a leaders role and was instrumental in the Cribben goal.

The way the lads never gave in was a sight to behold because they could have said to hell with it the league is more important but the didn't so all credit goes to them for that.
Also the way the moved the ball when they needed a goal was magical and showed patience and skill.

Nice to get a bit of silverware, but the real football starts next Sunday, a win in Belfast and we could be onto a nice couple of months.

Anyone know how serious Bolton's injury is ?

Based on today's performance he'll be a huge loss if he can't play next week.

Fair play to the lads for winning a game they really should have lost. As leper said at the presentation, hopefully it won't be the last of the silverware for they year.

Have we finally seen the last of the big Willie experiment I wonder? Surely he wont start for the league?

SamMaguire wrote:

Fair play to the lads for winning a game they really should have lost. As leper said at the presentation, hopefully it won't be the last of the silverware for they year.

Have we finally seen the last of the big Willie experiment I wonder? Surely he wont start for the league?

Surely Rob Kelly who's been doing so well at full forward for UCD will be the preferred option.

whitetop wrote:

thanks bloodsub!
where was roly for the earlier stages of the o byrne? how long was he on for today?

He was on honeymoon, played all second half, showed well for the ball, shooting looked a bit rusty although there was plenty of others in the same boat. Took the penalty extremely well which was good to see, remember the days when he was an absolute cert from the penalty spot?


Bolton's injury looked bad enough, I was behind that goals and he was absolutely clattered by the keeper and the defender caught him aswell. He would be a huge loss if he can't play is right. Hopefully its one the ice baths can sort out. Two points next week is vital if we're going to be in the mix for promotion this year.


After last week, one would assume Geezer told Heffernan he has one final chance to impress and he clearly didn't take it. He just seems to be drained of all confidence, the shot he dropped short from inside the 21 was as bad as anything you'll see anywhere.

The quadruple is on !

Fair play to Kildare they dug out a good win. In my opinion they deserved it for never giving up. As Rex said, they knew they needed goals and put the movements together to get them. Thought O'Neill was a bit quiet in the second half, maybe the yellow card, but Lynch was really good. I think yesterdays game was niggly and physical and Flynn would have made a huge difference if he was available.

Hope we gave them the respect Fitzpatrick was mouthing about in June.

Think myself Lynch is the next Demot.Lennon was mouthing off in on of the papers sat or sun.Saying how louth never fear Kildare,that is kildare that fear louth,this mental thing he says.
Well lennon we can put that one to bed now.as someone said in their early post that is two finals louth have lost in the last few minutes

I only got in at half time so missed the first half. From what I saw I thought Hughie Lynch deserves a lot of credit. The comeback was superb. There was great movement in the forwards in the last few minutes that had Louth all over the shop.

We had a few goal opportunities before the end but cynical fouling stopped them (see thread elsewhere).

Cribben hit the bar before the peno. Someone should have got red for the peno. Terrible tackle it was.

The one thing they can take from this is the great fight they showed to comeback and the movement for the goals. We spent years struggling to have decent goal threats but Geezer seems to have sorted it these days thankfully.

The winning mentality is great and the fringe players have done them,selves no harm with a very useful run out in January.

Oh yeah one other thing....when they announced the Ballymore result yesterday I could have sworn I heard a cheer go up from the main stand?? Did I hear things? Was this Louth supporters. If so, classless!!!

A bit fortunate to get the win and plenty to work on for next weekend. Nice to get a bit of silverware all the same, even if it was only the O'Byrne Cup.

O'Byrne Cup positives:

- We won it!
- Shane Connolly looks a real solid goalkeeper
- Good form of Leper, McGrillen & Bolton
- Blooded some new talent like Fitzpatrick, Ollie Lyons, Moolick, Dowling
- Paudie looks like he could do a job at midfield
- Rob Kelly showing good form for UCD after his injury and could have a big role to play this year

O'Byrne Cup negatives:

- Peter Kelly's injury: just when it looks like we have the full back line sorted we're back to square one again
- A handful of fringe players look like they'll never cut it at this level

Sam1928 wrote:

Oh yeah one other thing....when they announced the Ballymore result yesterday I could have sworn I heard a cheer go up from the main stand?? Did I hear things? Was this Louth supporters. If so, classless!!!

Not hearing things unfortunately. Every time the Ballymore scoreline was announced there was a cheer from a few Lisnaskea fans !!! Not sure if they were from Kildare or Louth though.

I couldn't believe that some of the people I spoke to on the way out yesterday were giving out at how poorly Kildare had played.

However, they had just beaten a very strong Louth team who target this competition every year. On the flip side Kildare probably only had 6 of last years first 15 starting (McGrillen, Bolton, Paudie, Flats, Leper & Smithy).

This coupled with the emergence of Connolly, Fitzpatrick, Moolick & Dowling and the continued progression of Hugh Lynch have made January a very encouraging time for Kildare football IMO.

With the reintroduction of JD, Jimmers, Rob Kelly, Morgan Flats & Daryl due at various stages over the coming weeks I think we have a great chance of winning the League, or at the very least getting promoted. Please God all the big players will knit back in seemlessly and we don't incur any more injuries so we can build a settled team for the Championship.

Can't see it being from Kildare fans as the last OB game in Newbridge Ballymore got a great cheer when the result was read out. Some people are just classless idiots no matter what situation they are in.

It was a good game to have before the league, Louth obviously wanted to win and they had a strong team out, whereas Kildare has a experimental team out once again.

Players to come back in,Flynn, Rob Kelly, J.D, Mac, Flats the elder, Kavanagh, Chalky with Dermot, Mikey Conway and Peter Kelly all out long term. Strength in Depth if the injuries clear up.

Last thing about the game, good to see the lads walking away from the flash point at half time, shows maturity and discipline.

Great minds think a like Fear an geata

Nice to get the win, but Boltons injury is a concern - seems to be the dreaded knee curse again, I thought Roly had a big influence on the game when he came on, looked hungry, full credit to him, Connelly is confident looking in goals too, but in the fist half it looked like the Louth match in Navan last year, alway a yard or 2 behind play, their first goal was very poor from a Kildare point of view, cut through us like butter, but still, overall very positive about the team so far, As Leper said in his speech afterwards - " I hope this is the first of many trophies this year"

Rex wrote:

Great minds think a like Fear an geata

Yeah but fools seldom differ.

Well done on the win , showed real character to drive on and win in the manner kildare did , should bod well up to the leinster semi , now this should give the team a great started into the NFL 2 campaign , its a pity about ballymore but they did the county and there club proud

Typical January football, tough, dogged, not a huge amount of skill, end to end stuff. Nice to see them fight right to the end and not give up. Not going to read too much into it and people should relax, I'd be more worried if I saw that type of display in May.

Agree with Sam1928 about the rugby tackles...

carburyman wrote:

Think myself Lynch is the next Demot.Lennon was mouthing off in on of the papers sat or sun.Saying how louth never fear Kildare,that is kildare that fear louth,this mental thing he says.
Well lennon we can put that one to bed now.as someone said in their early post that is two finals louth have lost in the last few minutes

Why in the name of God would you be upset about that? What you expect him to say? Fuck it Kildare are much better than us... and then there's the fact that they HAVE had the Indian sign over Kildare for years... jaysus.

As for Willie, I have defended long and loud his right to be on the panel and the team for the OBC, or Geezer's right to pick him... but we all knew he wasn't gonna be there for the league and championships especially, so that's why I couldn't understand people being so exercised by it. He'll be back with the juniors now and will probably struggle to make the 26, might sneak in at the arse end of it but I wouldn't think so.

I thought Paudie oNeill was class in the 1st half, looks like a natural midfielder, and I would agree that Hugh Lynch was instrumental in turning the game Kildares way in the second half, I think the emergence of those two guys as genuine midfield oiptions is a big plus for us, Louth looked much the better team for a long time and they looked too pacey for us at times. Great determination and graft from kildare to turn it round,

yeh i thought o'neill did well,so many players barely touched the ball though,lynch,ennis,heffernan,smith until last 10 mins,scanlon,foley!!
im sure there be many changes next week,sweeney was brilliant wen he came on!!