Offaly need to work on defensive plans ahead of Sligo test

KEVIN EGAN analyses Offaly’s displays in this year’s Allianz FL ahead of their clash against Sligo, and he also looks forward to the next week’s Leinster U21 FC meeting with Kildare.

 

There is a sporting adage on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean which claims that “offence wins games, defence wins championships”. Some have adapted that phrase into an even harsher line stating that defence decides the result while the offence decides the winning margin, but whatever about the latter phrase, the former line has certainly been true in most sports, at least historically speaking.

In recent years, as rules and refereeing styles have become more and more in favour of attacking play, the emphasis appears to have shifted. We’ve seen Manchester City scoring goals at an incredible rate in the Premier League; Dublin winning hearts and minds with their all action style last year; and Clare doing something similar in the hurling championship.

Yet for all that, defensive play remains all important, and it is on that measure that the Offaly footballers have struggled so badly this season. This was first illustrated in January, when Offaly conceded more scores than any other county in the round robin stages of the pre-season competitions.

Even in the most recent competitive encounter, a 1-11 to 0-8 defeat to Cavan at O’Connor Park, the home side struggled defensively. All bar a point of that total was scored in the first 44 minutes, before the visitors settled into a holding pattern to close out their victory.

It was also notable that all of Cavan’s scores that day came from play, 1-8 from the boot of two forwards, Eugene Keating and Martin Dunne. Rampant foul play is foolish and will be punished, but defenders have to try to live as close to the line as possible, and as the saying goes, too far east is west – conceding frees is rarely advisable, but letting forwards operate unscathed tends not to end well either.

It’s not that Offaly haven’t been able to get sufficient numbers back behind the ball either. This group appear to be putting in very long hours in training and there has been plenty of lung busting action on the field, yet there is a real sense that in many cases, players are tracking back and filling space as opposed to falling back into defence with a clear plan as to how they can create turnovers or disrupt opposition attacks while they are there.

It’s no use having ten players inside your own 45m line if most of them are just evenly spread out instead of concentrating on the likely scoring threats, while an inability to shut down either of Cavan’s two main forwards would suggest that Offaly’s current willingness and commitment to defending is not necessarily matched by a clear understanding and tactical awareness to execute that play efficiently.

The Offaly teams of the 1970s were well known for their tough streak and any scores that were taken against Paddy McCormack, Mick Ryan, Eugene Mulligan and company were hard earned. Even in the 1980s, names like Matt Connor and Seamus Darby may have captured the imagination of the general public, but it shouldn’t be forgotten that the 1982 All-Ireland final was only the second time that Kerry had been kept without a goal in a championship match for six years. It goes without saying that a green flag at Matt Furlong’s end of the ground in that tie probably would have changed history completely.

As things stand, the third division of the national league appears to have two tiers – Wexford, Cavan and Roscommon look poised to fight for promotion, with Sligo, Offaly, Longford and Limerick likely to contest relegation. Fermanagh could yet fit into either of those groups, though right now they look too good to go down but yet not good enough to ascend.

On that basis, the upcoming relegation four-pointers are the ones that will make or break the season, and there can be no more teachable moments for this group – delivery is all important. Ultimately, defeats to Cavan and Wexford will not be costly, though the large margins may take their toll. Almost all the relegation protagonists will come up empty handed against those teams.

Two wins out of three against the fellow stragglers, including Sligo, alongside perhaps one more point gleaned somewhere else should be enough to ensure division three football again in 2015, so this is one fixture where there is no middle ground – there is a positive result, and there is defeat. If the latter comes about, then no amount of experience, learning, development or positive attitudes will redeem the day.

U21 FC: Kildare v Offaly
Next week’s under-21 championship clash with Kildare at Athy is a little different, since a close run contest, even if Offaly come out on the wrong side, would be a disappointment yet would still represent something tangible for this group. Three years ago these sides met in the Leinster minor championship at Tullamore and Kildare were clear winners that day, though Niall Kelly and Daniel Flynn both played a key role for the Lilywhites and both men will be absent from this clash.

Nonetheless Kildare have far greater depth, they’ve several of the better minors from last year’s team to augment their elder players, while their drive to get back to the Leinster final and to renew hostilities with an incredibly powerful Dublin team will be strong. By the end of the year, a narrow defeat to this Kildare team could easily look like some very good form.
Offaly’s first round test against Wexford told very little, not because Offaly could be faulted, but because Wexford were almost too bad to be believed. 

They were a desperately poor minor team three years ago, and many of the better minors from that group have since decided to focus on hurling. A competitive win of some sort was of immense importance and, as was pointed out during the aftermath of the result, that was Offaly’s first win in this competition outside of home soil for nearly 20 years. In that context, no win is insignificant.

Right now this group will consider anything less than a victory to be failure and that’s both right and proper in the situation, yet from the outside looking in, a win would be fantastic but if the game is in the balance going into the closing stages, that alone would be commendable. Here’s hoping we at least get that much.