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Replying To Blackbog: "I am told there was a big attendance.?" One of the biggest attendance at a first round league game I can remember(bar 2019 when we played our first game in div 3) Stand was close to full & decent crowd on terrace. Oisin McConville factor ensured a decent Wicklow support there also carlo (Carlow) - Posts: 181 - 29/01/2023 12:18:01 2454904 Link
Thks Carlo for a decent read-out on the match - current 'exiles' from the county such as myself appreciate it. From a quick look at the Twitter footage on the Carlow GAA account the opposition goalie gift wrapped our two goals - we might not have it as handy down the road. I agree 1000% on discipline - it has absolutely killed us over the years - it is an essential that lads are coached on this at inter-co level. Anyways, we came back to draw the game, you can always think on this missed chance or the other to have pipped a win ... In Div 4 as we have seen before any team is capable of taking points off the other on the day so it will be interesting to see how things progress over the next few weeks. Finally, Saturday evening is good for a game, it will always draw a bit of a crowd down town later on Bainisteoir (National) - Posts: 514 - 29/01/2023 12:48:12 2454911 Link
Replying To carlo: "Positives, 3 points down in 2nd half with 14 men & fought back for a draw. We even had the last kick of game to win it but unfortunately it was too far out of range for Foley. We would have lost that game a year or 2 ago. Negatives, gave away so many handy frees in front of goal, we can't seem to hold up the player but instead pull them down for a handy tap over free. Their goalie also kicked at least 3 frees from fouls a little further out. Our shot selection was questionable at times & we often ran out of ideas in attack & got turned over. We also left a couple of goals behind us. Doyle was unlucky with the 2nd yellow but when your already booked you have to be so careful. How many times do Carlow Football & Hurling teams shoot ourselves in the foot with getting men sent off??? To be honest Moran was also blessed not to get a 2nd yellow, the ref obviously didn't want to send off a 2nd Carlow man. Now I wouldn't ref in a million years & they have such a hard job but he hadn't a good game last night for both sides. Div 4 teams are always the guinea pigs for new refs to earn their stripes but he was so fussy & nearly every tackle was a yellow card. If he reffed a div 1 game like that he would never get another game. There must have been 10 cards in a game without a dirty stroke. Anyway onwards to Waterford. Other game was a draw also so not too much ground lost. This young team is getting more experienced & dug out a draw when it looked like a defeat." Just to add to this, I though Carlow's fitness was very good. Wicklow started to flag in the last 15/10 minutes and struggled to get around the pitch and press Carlow when they had possession. Carlow over the same period, outscored Wicklow three to one and had a chance at the end to win it, which is something having played nearly all the second half a man down. Attendance was unreal, great to see so many kids on the field at half time. Onto Waterford on Sunday, needs to be a win if they have aspirations of getting promotion. TaosHum (Carlow) - Posts: 234 - 30/01/2023 08:42:45 2455157 Link
Yeah I never saw a crowd like it for a league game but in fairness they had done a lot to build it up in the schools this week so a lot of kids made mammy or daddy bring them. And hopefully they'll be back in what was an always entertaining game. Lots of mistakes and thrills and spills. Saturday night football under lights is a winner also. So many young fellas there went to the game as the start of their Saturday night in the town so hopefully plenty more of these Saturday games. Although I see the big one v Leix is a Sunday afternoon but that will surely bring another big crowd to the grounds. I thought the Wicklow inside line was very dangerous Darcy showed great quick hands for their second goal but elsewhere around the pitch I thought we had the better ballers. Midway thru the first half we'd win well as we were really getting on top and out running them but we lacked what they had up front so we didn't kill them off when we could. The sending off was huge though it denied us that ability to run with numbers off the shoulder and they had more of it in the second and looked like they'd hold out but the last 15 mins from us was great to see they weren't going to lose it great fight and again we found legs in the last quarter so good sign re fitness. We play them again in the championship and I'd be fairly confident that with a dry ball and top of the ground we'd have too much for them but only if we cut out the ball into their two dangerous inside forwards. On top of the ground we'd have too much pace. I'd say and great to see such a young Carlow team out last Saturday. 3-4 years time with experience we could have another very good side. Just to find another few forwards as foley won't last forever. He had a great game is a great leader for these young lads. Some servant fair pay to him. Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1409 - 30/01/2023 11:52:39 2455229 Link
A point gained and a decent performance from the panel. Subs brought in did make a difference especially O' Neill. Fitter overall than Wicklow and we were handed 2 goals by their keeper No doubt that we gave away quite a few frees that Wicklow scored and that is a big area for the management to work on. Playing with 14 for 34 minutes was not easy but the team managed it without any fuss. Real fire in their belly too when they got the scent of a chance to get a result. Will be interesting to see how the team responds against Waterford. carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1787 - 30/01/2023 18:48:11 2455387 Link
Looks like we just did enough tonight Big challenge next week with Laois at home Blackbog (Carlow) - Posts: 678 - 04/02/2023 19:39:03 2456436 Link
Went down tonight, decent win we never looked like losing it, it's going to get a lot harder from here on though, waterford offered very little in terms of a forward threat and only for our silly fouling infront of goals the gap would have been far greater. Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1503 - 04/02/2023 21:53:25 2456475 Link
A repeat performance and Laois will win handy, Pat Flanagan should be ear marked for next Carlow managers job. supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2880 - 05/02/2023 11:26:05 2456516 Link
A it of a trimming from Kildare an reports? Are we slipping? Bainisteoir (National) - Posts: 514 - 05/02/2023 13:50:40 2456539 Link
Replying To Bainisteoir: "A it of a trimming from Kildare an reports? Are we slipping?" An inexperienced team out yesterday. A look at the team and subs used shows that we have a lot of players to come back. Players are being given game time which augurs well. Plenty of injuries and some unavailable. Would not be too worried yet but next week will be another serious test. We will need a full panel to make an impact on McDonagh. carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1787 - 05/02/2023 15:44:39 2456558 Link
Replying To carlowman: "An inexperienced team out yesterday. A look at the team and subs used shows that we have a lot of players to come back. Players are being given game time which augurs well. Plenty of injuries and some unavailable. Would not be too worried yet but next week will be another serious test. We will need a full panel to make an impact on McDonagh." Six nailed down starter's missing yesterday and 5 of them forwards. Only one missing through injury, which leaves a lot of questions really. It's a pity really, getting to division one should be there main aim for the year. Definitely with all available Carlow would have the strongest set of forwards in the division and some strong subs. Winning the Joe Mac and promoted to Liam Mac is a hiding to nothing unless you're playing in division one. Lose next week and the league is over. But they're well good enough to get a result, but only with a full panel available. Skippy2 (Carlow) - Posts: 53 - 05/02/2023 19:23:19 2456720 Link
Replying To supersub15: "A repeat performance and Laois will win handy, Pat Flanagan should be ear marked for next Carlow managers job." I'm not sure the manager will make much of a difference, players don't seem to be there at the minute, we are fairly limited right around the field with a few honorable exceptions, we haven't produced a good minor team in years, there has to be an internal look at how we organise our underage leagues, are our club footballers getting enough games are the games competitive. It all starts there if you have good 13s-17s leagues you will start producing better footballers. Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1503 - 06/02/2023 15:24:56 2456873 Link
Replying To Barrowsider: "I'm not sure the manager will make much of a difference, players don't seem to be there at the minute, we are fairly limited right around the field with a few honorable exceptions, we haven't produced a good minor team in years, there has to be an internal look at how we organise our underage leagues, are our club footballers getting enough games are the games competitive. It all starts there if you have good 13s-17s leagues you will start producing better footballers." I agree The team of the 2016 - 2019 period were based on the minor and under 21 teams, that pushed for provincial honors. I remember some this forum talking about a Carlow under 14 that was beating all comers. Tha t the same core that made up the minor oand u 21panels So we had the players already then we got a goog manager and a very strong coach, hence we improved So as Barrowsider says we need to be working from the ground up It will telling that Poacher said one of the reasons he left was there was not a lot of talent coming through Having said all that the team at the moment are spirited and we give of their best. But I don't think they will be promotion contenders this year. Blackbog (Carlow) - Posts: 678 - 06/02/2023 19:31:39 2456908 Link
Replying To Bainisteoir: "A it of a trimming from Kildare an reports? Are we slipping?" As others have said, missing so many key lads the result isn't much a surprise. But Kildare hurling is on the up and they may have already passed Carlow out in terms of being able to compete with the Big 9 counties. Savage work being done at underage and the game prospering in north urban areas In contrast to Carlow, where we are relying on rural clubs in the south of the county. TaosHum (Carlow) - Posts: 234 - 07/02/2023 07:21:20 2456934 Link
Replying To Blackbog: "I agree The team of the 2016 - 2019 period were based on the minor and under 21 teams, that pushed for provincial honors. I remember some this forum talking about a Carlow under 14 that was beating all comers. Tha t the same core that made up the minor oand u 21panels So we had the players already then we got a goog manager and a very strong coach, hence we improved So as Barrowsider says we need to be working from the ground up It will telling that Poacher said one of the reasons he left was there was not a lot of talent coming through Having said all that the team at the moment are spirited and we give of their best. But I don't think they will be promotion contenders this year." Great spirit there, and it's possible they will develop over the next few years if they stick at it, but that's not how it normally goes, lads pack it in if they don't make the starting line up. Midfield is a problem area and it's hard to see any quick fix there. Still we are going into the laois game unbeaten so we have something to play for and if we could turn them over everything would change. I think our clubs are a bit behind the curve in terms of developing players, football is a year round sport now, if you're not on the field you have to be in the gym, once the seasons ends in Carlow we just let them off until next year, we should be using that off-season to develop our young footballers physically, I've seen loads of underage county teams over the last couple of years and counties like kildare are already far ahead of us by 15-16 year old the physical difference is huge, the county squads do gym work but the clubs need to do this in addition to that so every young footballer is being brought on ,we need to get with the times Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1503 - 07/02/2023 12:06:55 2456984 Link
Replying To Barrowsider: "I'm not sure the manager will make much of a difference, players don't seem to be there at the minute, we are fairly limited right around the field with a few honorable exceptions, we haven't produced a good minor team in years, there has to be an internal look at how we organise our underage leagues, are our club footballers getting enough games are the games competitive. It all starts there if you have good 13s-17s leagues you will start producing better footballers." I'm not 100% sure my self but it's worth a try, I believe the best is not being got from the panel of players that Carlow have, there has to be another 10 to 15% that's bottled up inside them, a top-quality coach would sort that, you obviously are up to speed with Carlow club football, didn't you say if Carlow had to be more disciplined in front of goals against Waterford they would have won by more, so discipline has to be revisited, personally I think they could play smarter football too, all those little things add up and could be the difference between winning and losing. Laois football has been in decline that has brought them all the way down to Div.4, I intend to be at the Laois game, if Carlow lose out to Laois, I can see it being the little things mentioned above that let them down not because they are not good enough. I remember when Michael Dempsey came in and took charge of Hanrahan's when they were not in a good place, in no time he had them Co champions not alone that but he had them winning a Leinster senior football title defeating a very fancied Moorefield side. I do agree with your views on underage football in the county, but a proven coach at senior level is every bit important. supersub15 (Carlow) - Posts: 2880 - 07/02/2023 12:25:59 2456987 Link
Replying To Barrowsider: "Great spirit there, and it's possible they will develop over the next few years if they stick at it, but that's not how it normally goes, lads pack it in if they don't make the starting line up. Midfield is a problem area and it's hard to see any quick fix there. Still we are going into the laois game unbeaten so we have something to play for and if we could turn them over everything would change. I think our clubs are a bit behind the curve in terms of developing players, football is a year round sport now, if you're not on the field you have to be in the gym, once the seasons ends in Carlow we just let them off until next year, we should be using that off-season to develop our young footballers physically, I've seen loads of underage county teams over the last couple of years and counties like kildare are already far ahead of us by 15-16 year old the physical difference is huge, the county squads do gym work but the clubs need to do this in addition to that so every young footballer is being brought on ,we need to get with the times" I agree with that too many clubs do nothing from October to March with players. It means Gaelic is just a seasonal game that get picked up and dropped. Unlike other counties. Something I said before that I love to see if to scrap the underage county leagues for the top team in each club and put every underage team in the county into the Kildare leagues. Eg Eire Ogs top U - 13 team would play in the Kildare league. Play our own championship but get league games at a higher level that are competitive week in week out. Alternatively divide the development squads into say 2 maybe 3 separate teams per age group and enter them into the top divisions in Kildare or even Dublin. I think it would bring the best young players in the county on a lot to be playing the best club sides in Dublin regularly. Doing what we're doing at the moment is hopeless. The pool is too shallow so stronger players are walking past far weaker players playing at the same level. It's doing neither any good. Onion Breath (Carlow) - Posts: 1409 - 07/02/2023 14:27:32 2457062 Link
Replying To Onion Breath: "I agree with that too many clubs do nothing from October to March with players. It means Gaelic is just a seasonal game that get picked up and dropped. Unlike other counties. Something I said before that I love to see if to scrap the underage county leagues for the top team in each club and put every underage team in the county into the Kildare leagues. Eg Eire Ogs top U - 13 team would play in the Kildare league. Play our own championship but get league games at a higher level that are competitive week in week out. Alternatively divide the development squads into say 2 maybe 3 separate teams per age group and enter them into the top divisions in Kildare or even Dublin. I think it would bring the best young players in the county on a lot to be playing the best club sides in Dublin regularly. Doing what we're doing at the moment is hopeless. The pool is too shallow so stronger players are walking past far weaker players playing at the same level. It's doing neither any good." Interesting idea, if hurling clubs can play kilkenny league surely we could do something similar with football, I actually have a little idea myself for the dev squads I'd split them in 4 and have an internal regional championship by year, great way of keeping as many as possible involved too, we should be looking at whats best for Carlow as that won't always be the same as in other counties play the finals of these competitions under lights as curtain raisers senior games where possible. Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1503 - 07/02/2023 20:49:18 2457158 Link
Replying To supersub15: "I'm not 100% sure my self but it's worth a try, I believe the best is not being got from the panel of players that Carlow have, there has to be another 10 to 15% that's bottled up inside them, a top-quality coach would sort that, you obviously are up to speed with Carlow club football, didn't you say if Carlow had to be more disciplined in front of goals against Waterford they would have won by more, so discipline has to be revisited, personally I think they could play smarter football too, all those little things add up and could be the difference between winning and losing. Laois football has been in decline that has brought them all the way down to Div.4, I intend to be at the Laois game, if Carlow lose out to Laois, I can see it being the little things mentioned above that let them down not because they are not good enough. I remember when Michael Dempsey came in and took charge of Hanrahan's when they were not in a good place, in no time he had them Co champions not alone that but he had them winning a Leinster senior football title defeating a very fancied Moorefield side. I do agree with your views on underage football in the county, but a proven coach at senior level is every bit important." The style we are playing isn't as open as it was in the previous two seasons, there is definitely a great structure to our play now, we are not as cavalier in our approach, I think of any progress is to be made this year we will have to solve the midfield issue, we are struggling there as clever as we can be you still need a high fielding midfielder who can win his own ball and contest their kicks Barrowsider (Carlow) - Posts: 1503 - 08/02/2023 12:42:43 2457246 Link
Replying To Barrowsider: "The style we are playing isn't as open as it was in the previous two seasons, there is definitely a great structure to our play now, we are not as cavalier in our approach, I think of any progress is to be made this year we will have to solve the midfield issue, we are struggling there as clever as we can be you still need a high fielding midfielder who can win his own ball and contest their kicks" Isn't it great to see the co team playing a decent fast style of football and away from the dire sterile football of a few years ago ! Definite structure with our current team and it is paying off. Whether the current style is good enough to succeed is another question as all teams have improved in the past few years. Midfield is a.problem but I would look at the degree of inventiveness In the forwards as another difficulty in that our half forwards are playing very deep and our no 11 is a second center back. We have good pace breaking out if defence and generally we take the right options.s Overall - way better than before. Players are enjoying it and it's much easier to watch. carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1787 - 08/02/2023 16:42:16 2457320 Link