Thrilled Offaly U-20 hurling manager will be steering clear of Joe McDonagh Cup ultimatums
STILL trying to catch his breath, grinning from ear to ear, a thrilled Offaly U-20 hurling manager Leo O'Connor promised that there will be no outbreak of war between him and senior manager Johnny Kelly after they qualified for a second successive Leinster final with a sensational 2-17 to 2-16 win over a shocked Kilkenny in Tullamore on Wednesday evening.
Offaly play Dublin in the Leinster U-20 hurling final next Wednesday evening, most likely in Portlaoise but in the middle of all that there is the very serious matter of a huge Joe McDonagh Cup game for the seniors against Kerry in Tullamore on Sunday.
Three U-20s, Donal Shirley, Cathal King and Dan Bourke all started in the run away Joe McDonagh Cup win over Meath in their last outing while star forward Adam Screeney came on as a half time sub.
This quartet will be pivotal to Johnny Kelly's plans for Sunday's must win game against Kerry – a win will put them on the verge of a return to the Joe McDonagh Cup final while a defeat will almost certainly result in a group exit.
With the Kilkenny game having exacted a huge physical toll out of everyone who played – and that four played for the full sixty minutes plus -, it is far from ideal having another high intensity, high stakes game on Sunday, just three days before the Leinster final.
There will be an inevitable debate among some supporters about the wisdom of playing the U-20s on Sunday but they have been very much part of Johnny Kelly's plans to date and the senior manager will want and need full access on Sunday.
O'Connor promised that there will be no outbreak of war between the managers at this stage. They have co-operated every step of the way so far and he won't be changing now, remarking:
“Myself and Johnny Kelly are working this out between us. We are constantly talking to each other. There is no pressure on either of us and there is no point at this stage in putting pressure on. Let's see what Johnny needs on Sunday and we go from there. Plain and simple, no one is going to panic. That is the most important thing.”
Told that senior and U-20-21 mnagers in football and hurling have had fierce fights in the past in Offaly, the Limerick man took a refreshing stance: “Myself and Johnny Kelly are too long in the tooth for that and it is just keep a cool head and let's work through this. Isn't it a great position to be in?”
It was suggested that U-20 players are benefitting from playing senior with Cathal King coming on particularly well.
O'Connor agreed: “Cathal is massive for both teams. It is just a matter of getting the work rate and getting the load right. That is being straight and honest about it.“
He saw Offaly pass another huge test of character, as they came through a real topsy turvy battle that went right down to the wire.
“A game of real intensity, a lot of fellows really grew up tonight and came of age. For us that is the most important thing. It is development. This is two U-20 Leinster finals in a row, an All-Ireland minor final and U-20 so from our point of view and I keep saying this, it is not one team that will get Offaly back. It is a series of teams and we have fellows buying in and they are producing the goods.”
Offaly motored well early on to lead by 1-9 to 0-7 but then conceded eight points in a row as Kilkenny went into a 0-15 to 1-9 lead seven minutes into the second half. The Limerick man didn't panic but admitted that he was concerned at some of the things that went wrong in this period.
“When you are at this level and you look at senior matches, when teams get a run on you, it is very very hard to stop it. From our point of view, we were disappointed with a few things. We have to go away and analyse it and look, it is just a matter of getting things right. Momentum swings. You are playing Kilkenny, a serious team. They have a few seniors there who will no doubt play championship for Kilkenny later in the year. From our point of view, we learn from it, we analyse it and we go forward.”
Asecond brilliant Shane Rigney goal in the 40th minute plugged the lead as Offaly countered Kilkenny's long streak with 1-5 without reply themselves to take a 2-15 to 0-16 lead with five minutes left.
How does that type of turnaround happen?
“It is just the way hurling is at the moment. The pace of that tonight, in my opinion, that was as close as you will get to senior county hurling there. You have the whole intensity, whole work rate. It is small things when fellows get on top and it is momentum changers the whole time. I keep repeating myself, you get a ball, you pop it over the bar and you break the momentum. Then when the opportunities came, we took them. We got two absolutely great goals. We stood up and answered the questions tonight, we just drive on again.”
Offaly did ride their luck in the second half as Liam Hoare saved a Kilkenny penalty while they also hit the crossbar. The playing of only two minutes injury time was another break for Offaly – it could very easily have been three or four.
“Have we got breaks over the last two years? Not that many so tonight we got the breaks and we take them.”
It was another magical evening in O'Connor Park with an attendance of over 8,000 people, the bulk of them roaring Offaly on. O'Connor agreed that the players thrive in these situations.
“I was so proud to be with Offaly here tonight. Look at that crowd, the momentum, the noise. Them players hear it. We know from the sideline when balls are going over the bar from the far side. The crowd are blowing them over it. It is a massive opportunity and we take everything that goes with it. It is a momentum changer the whole time for us.”
Now they are back in the Leinster final, facing a Dublin side that they edged out in a very tight group game.
“Every game is a different game and we take every game as it comes. No matter who we are playing, we prepare for them and we get these lads up again. That will take an awful lot out of them tonight. It is about getting them back, doing a few things tomorrow night, getting the extended panel out and we go from there.”