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Early Disappointment For Baker As Westmeath Claim Offaly Scalp

Thursday, 26 January 2012

New Offaly hurling manager, Ollie Baker was given plenty of food for thought in Kinnegad on Sunday.

FIRST things first. Step away from the panic button. Offaly may have been comprehensively beaten by Westmeath on Sunday but for anyone thinking of getting the daggers out - think again.
On the grand scheme of things it is little more than a loss in a mediocre competition and will be completely forgotten about once the league starts in ernest at the end of February.
No one likes to lose to their neighbours and rivals especially when Offaly had always had the upper hand on Westmeath but Westmeath are a patch of their old couldn't care less about hurling attitude.
Strides have been made at underage and they are gradually making the transitions to senior status along with some dual stars committing to the small ball.
All that aside, Offaly were extremely poor but the players and management themselves will be the first to hold their hand up on that count and both will be frustrated at how things panned out.
It is only the last week in January and with the first round of the league four weeks away, there is plenty of time for Ollie Baker to access and call order on his troops. In fact this defeat could serve as a wake up call. Training had been going well but this defeat to Westmeath may well signal an increase in training intensity as both manager and players adjust to each others ways.
The fitness work is not complete by any means and by the time Laois visit O'Connor Park on the 26th February for the league opener, you can expect to see a more focused and in tune Offaly side.
As mentioned above, the facts are clear from Sunday's game. Offaly were lethargic and were deservedly beaten by a hungrier Westmeath team and this is a fact not lost on Ollie Baker.
"There is no doubt that Westmeath were deserving winners on the day. We will have to go back and access our own play but we were not good enough today.
"I wouldn't be happy with the result or the performance but we are happy that they are a bunch of players that have been around the block and that we just have to put our own stamp on things. Its frustrating on a day like today because training had been going well".
Three red cards were brandished by card happy referee Paud O'Dwyer with Shane Kelly receiving his orders along with Westmeath's Aonghus Clarke after just forty seconds while substitute Ger Healion saw red near the end of the game.
All three decisions were harsh and despite the heat of the local rivalry, Baker thought the game was played in good spirits.
"In fairness, both sets of players were up for the match and there was a good competitive nature to the game but I don't think there was a dirty stroke pulled in the whole game and still there was three lads put off. At the end of the day it is the referee's decision".
Having played with the wind in the opening half, Offaly trailed 1-5 to 0-6 at the break and the writing was already on the wall. Shane Dooley was the chief scorer with nine of Offaly's 12 points on a day that players, managements and brave supporters will want to park to one side and forget about.
Speaking after the game Offaly manager Ollie Baker was clear in his thoughts and summed it up be saying "You need the ball to hurl and we weren't out first to get the ball. If you don't have the ball in your forward division, you're not going to score. Our forwards have to start gaining more possession and when they do they will give themselves opportunities of scoring".
A frustrating afternoon for all in sundry and as a result a trip to Enniscorthy to face Wexford in the Walsh Cup Shield is in store for Offaly. At the time of going to print the game was fixed for Saturday/Sunday in Belfield, Enniscorthy with a 2pm throw in.
Offaly won the shield competition last summer when they beat Carlow in the final but there won't be much will to regain such a title. Nevertheless its another competitive game for lads in an Offaly jersey and one that Offaly can use to bounce back from Sunday's defeat. The players will be hurting after the loss and the Wexford game is the perfect tonic to clear last Sunday from their minds.
Ollie Baker and company will only look forward from here in and with the first competitive game of his reign out of the way, Offaly's banisteoir says "We will be taking one game at a time now and taking nothing for granted especially after a performance like that".

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