THE crowd in Ennis on Sunday for the double bill was afforded some parallel entertainment by frequent, shouted reports of the National Hurling League match in Ballinasloe between Galway and Offaly. Fifteen-nil, 19-nil, 20-nil, 23-nil. At one stage the public announcer refused to broadcast the score because he thought his informant was pulling his leg.
It's safe to assume that Offaly players and management found the experience less hilarious than those experiencing it vicariously in Cusack Park. Manager Eamonn Cregan does his best to explain what happened.
"We decided to play against the wind because it takes teams about 10 minutes to settle down at the beginning of a match. By 12 minutes, we were down 15 points to nil. Galway had been out 20 minutes before the start warming up. The first ball went over the bar immediately.
"Galway are a big, strong team - except in the corners (of the attack) - and they won everything in the air. It was a most humiliating defeat for Offaly. We were beaten in so many places and showed no hunger. We've had only two games recently against the rest of Leinster and Wexford. Galway looked as if they'd been playing for six months.
"They sent in some excellent diagonal ball to the corners and I can't remember any wides. We never came to grips with the situation. Our defence was under pressure from puck outs - not theirs, they didn't have any - with (Michael) Coleman winning everything. We tried to switch the ball away from him but they still won it.
"Liam Burke scored a point from 80 yards into the wind. No matter what they did, it came off. We didn't even have a wide - no, there was one - and no shots on goal. Our two scores were from frees."
The recent controversy in Galway concerning the appointment of a new selector had left the players frustrated at the intrusion of politicking and anxious to get the season started.
"Galway were proving that all the hassle was irrelevant to the players," says Cregan. "They'll certainly go to the quarter finals, probably the semi finals. I'd say they'll end up on 11 points. They were extremely fit and no matter what we did they closed us down. Players got frustrated. No space, and striking that should have sent the ball 80 yards was only making 35 or 40 yards into the breeze.
While disappointed by the collective melt down in morale, Cregan can see certain reasons behind what happened.
"I don't think they could believe what was happening. Their best efforts were repulsed. The momentum of the All Ireland kept us going before Christmas but the break and the trip to the Canaries provided a cut off from hurling.
"The training is going okay. It's stamina work and we want the hard work done by April. It's also slow work, but we're training for the long term.
The remainder of the league campaign holds out some promise for Offaly as their final two matches are against bottom of the table teams Kerry and Waterford. They are well placed to avoid relegation and have a chance to reach the play offs and have almost a hill panel working towards match fitness. Johnny Dooley and Kevin Martin are slightly longer term absentees with knee and hamstring complaints, respectively.
Whereas he is hopeful that the whole embarrassing episode can be quickly forgotten, Cregan is unsure of the long term effect on the team.
"I don't know how the players will react. It was very quiet in the dressing room afterwards. Fellas just wanted to have their dinner and go home. It was very sobering. A team that won an All Ireland and reached final in the last two years just brushed aside and had even scored from play.
"I don't know what it is but Offaly seem to switch off for the league. The future depends on how the lads react. There are two options: they can just fold under the weight of it or get up off their knees and put it behind them. It's a question of pride and there's a fortnight to work on it."
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