Offaly minor football manager delighted with progress of young guns operating in an adult environment

AS Offaly minor footballers endured real horror spells during a real roller coaster of a Leinster championship campaign, it was all too easy to give out and forget about the youth of the players.

They have operated on their wits at times and their nine lives must be used up at this stage but somehow, Offaly have kept it all together and are now counting down to Monday's Leinster Minor Football Championship final against Louth with growing confidence and optimism.

They have shown plenty of promise and their wins over Meath and Kildare in their last two games have really got the juices flowing but there were stages when it could have been all over very quickly.

The problem they have had is that their bad spells have been just too bad: They conceded 5-4 without reply against Dublin, 1-7 right at the start of their earlier defeat against Louth, they threw away a 1-12 to 0-8 lead late on in the preliminary quarter-final against Wicklow, requiring extra time to get through, and let in another 1-7 without reply near half time of last week's semi-final win over Kildare.

The plus side is the character they have shown in the knockout stages, the bottle to keep going and win but there is only so many times they will be able to tap into that well and Offaly simply have to limit the damage they sustain when Louth have their spells in the ascendancy in Newbridge.

It has been an extraordinary journey for Offaly. Full back Tomas Carroll made an almost miraculous goal line clearance to deny Kildare an almost certain match winning goal last week, goalkeeper Jack Ryan has boomed over three huge two point frees in the dying moments to help them crawl over the line against Laois, Meath and Kildare – Ryan gave away a cast iron penalty in the win over Wicklow but it wasn't given by the referee and Offaly survived.

They could have been beaten in their three knockout games against Wicklow, Meath and Kildare but they are now in a Leinster final against a Louth county on an unprecedented high, bidding to complete a magical treble of senior, U20 and minor titles.

They have had great spells of exciting attacking football that has set the heart racing in supporters. And then there has been those calamitous spells, moments of real heart attack football when anything could have happened or went wrong.

In all of this, it is important to remember the youth of the side – it is U17 grade, the Leaving Certificate is only out on the horizon for most and they are nowhere near fully physically developed. As manager Roger Ryan pointed out this week, they have a couple of 15 year olds, 4 are now 17 and the majority are just 16 years of age. Patrick Duffy is the only member of the starting fifteen who is still eligible next year, there are just six of the panel.

They have a hardcore of players, Tadgh Kelly, Eamon Maher, Cian McNamee and Dylan Dunne in their second year on the minor team and this experience and leadership has been key to their progress.

Now in his third year as Offaly minor manager, there have been times when Roger Ryan and his cohorts, Keith McGuinness (Edenderry), Darren Quinn (Clonbullogue) and Nigel Dunne (Shamrocks) have had to remind themselves that they are not dealing with adults.

“When they make a mistake, we say they are children, they will happen,” the Shannonbridge man remarked. “The turnover of ball happens so frequently at this age. They are not adults, that only comes from maturity. Against Kildare, I thought our slow play was very good at times. Not everything has to be frantic. We got two points after we held onto the ball for a minute and a half. It shows they are listening and learning. It doesn't have to be a million miles an hour all the time.”

Ryan knew the question that was coming when the second quarter against Dublin, the start against Louth etc was referenced. “We are very aware of it. Every team has a purple patch and we need to manage theirs better. That is a key learning every day and for us on the sideline as well. We learnt more from Dublin and Louth in the first two games than anyone else. We didn't manage those games as well as we could have. We let in 1-7 on the run against Kildare, in bigger venues it is hard to get messages in, to tell them to get back to basics and hold onto the ball for a few minutes.”

The performances against Dublin and Louth in the group were not to their “expectations”, below the standards they had set. “We had moments within them where we were quite good but our game management was a problem. It is a development age but we have managed teams a little bit better in recent games. I know there has been a couple of kamikaze minutes but you will never dominate every game.”

He pointed out another positive. “We have only lost two games the whole year. We won every game in the league. Three teams from our group were in the semi-finals, it was a tough group but we got out of it.”

Ryan admitted that they rode their luck against Wicklow and the Garden County “should have been put to bed”. He is not certain Wicklow should have got that late penalty and said their manager said immediately afterwards their forward had taken too many steps.”We learnt a lot from that and against Meath and Kildare, we knew how to manage the last few minutes. We had six shots in the last ten minutes the last day, Kildare had two. I know we had a lucky goal line clearance but we were setting the agenda. In general play, there was only one team looking to push on. We did butcher chances and Patrick Duffy was just one step from getting a goal but Cian McNamee may not have passed that ball. Passing was the right thing to do and I was happy to see that. Cian has developed and learnt that. Maybe with the pressure of being captain, he was trying to do too much and we told him to just relax and play. Everyone has two or three marking him and that is not simple when you are sixteen years of age but it freed up others.

He also claimed that Offaly should have got two '45's and a penalty themselves against Wicklow. “Those things balance out and we were just glad to hear the final whistle, to reset for extra time.”

The team has had a better balance in the last two games with Tomas Carroll now at full back, Eoin Rouse wing back and Charlie Duffy midfield. Ryan paid tribute to the players who had played before they came in and said: “Championship puts different pressures on different lads at different times. Tomas has settled in well now. He got sick and missed two weeks but is playing really well. Daniel (Stoyanov) had done well. Eoin Rouse coming back is massive. He is a second year minor and a big leader. He came on against Louth but we were more or less without him for the first three games. His match fitness was off but he has got that now, he is a big leader and very important to us.”

Ryan saw what Louth were capable of in Hunterstown when they beat Offaly 2-26 to 2-17. “Louth were excellent, they performed brilliantly that day. It was 31 minutes before they had a wide, that is unheard of at minor. They have a fine team and are warm favourites. Underage football is very unpredictable, they have a few really strong players. They are all quality players. We learned a lot up there but have progressed. We scored 11 points in 20 minutes before half time, we left two goals behind us and had four wides as well that we would expect to convert. It was a good gap at the end but I can't see that happening now. I think it will be a one score game, I can't see it being any more than two or three points, either way.”

They have already spoken about what to expect in Newbridge; a crowd of over 5,000 and a passionate Louth support braying for glory.

“We spoke to the boys about that before Kildare. There was over 3,000 in and we knew there would be a crowd. We told them to embrace it, to play the game, not the occasion. Play football, the occasion looks after itself. We are where we want to be. That is why we are training all year and what we are there to do. We know at this stage, there will be massive Offaly support. They embody everything that used to be in Offaly players; a never say die spirit, no lack of skill, a good bit of get up and go and you fight to the bitter end.”

The emergence of this team is a big help after the 2021 All-Ireland U20 win. It is quick on their heels but the real benefit will be in winning a cup on Monday. “We all know the U20s were a magnificent team. A lot of work has gone into these boys. People got a lot right in the development squads. My job is to deliver players for the county U20s and if four or five of this team play senior, that would be a massive turnaround.”

There was a weight of expectation around this team from the start and for a while, we all wondered if it was either too much or just off the mark.

“I was fully aware this was earmarked as a good team. That pressure was there but it is a good pressure,” he said, paying tribute to the work but in by men such as Keith McGuinness, who has been with them all the way up, Declan Kelly (senior football joint manager), John Rouse (Tullamore), Karol Slattery (Gracefield), Benny O'Brien (Tullamore), Paul Rouse (Tullamore).

“I want to acknowledge that. They came through a very good system with the lads. We are getting a bit of praise at the moment but I don't mind that, others were a huge part of their development.”

Ryan also sang the praises of parents, who have ferried their children to training from all over the county, never complaining at the sessions that invariably went from 7.15pm to 9.15pm.

“There is not a lot to do in Kilcormac but they never once complained or said will you wrap it up. We played in Cork this year on a school night to replicate the trip to Louth. Lads were taken out of school early but they never said this is crazy, they embraced everything and I couldn't commend them enough. It is an hour from Edenderry to Kilcormac and it is not just the two hours there.”

REMEMBER THIS: Bleak underage year continues for Offaly football as minors face into winner takes all showdown with Laois

He has also been thrilled with the input of their big backroom set up; the hours his nephew Jack Ryan spends getting clips from each game for management and players; the extra work beyond and above the call of duty by physio Meabh Kavanagh; the logistical work by Mick Spain and team secretary Niamh Slevin; the hours so many others have put in.

“Everyone has been so good and have given great commitment,” he smiled.