Missed Opportunities....

cms88

Seen this somewhere else and thought it was interesting.

a thread on counties in both codes, who have let big opportunites slip away from them, kind of moments in time where they could have led to great or greater success down the line.

Monaghon v Kerry 2007. Monaghan lost by a point on the day and really should have won. Had they got over the line they would have been in a first semi-final in 20 years and then who knows. Took them a while to recover from it.

Roscommon in 1998. A very late free to Galway to draw the Connacht final. Galway went on to win the replay and the All-Ireland.

Galway let the 2000 All-Ireland behinf them the first day out.

Laois from 2003-2007. Should really have won at least another Leinster title, abd could easly have won three in a row from 2003-2005.

In hurling.

Any number of examples of Galway.

The late 80's to mid 90's or so when Antrim and Down were competitive. Antrim got the final of course in 89 but could and probally should have again in 91 when they lost to Kilkenny 2-18 to 1-19. Down also put in some good displays around this time as well.

WesternZulu

No mention of Mayo??

cms88

WesternZulu wrote: »

No mention of Mayo??

That's a subject of its own....

Hammer Archer

I think, had Kildare held on in the first replay against Meath in 1997, they would have gone on to win the All Ireland that year. Indeed, I believe that Kildare and Meath were the two best teams in Ireland that year but, while Meath knocked Kildare out in the 2nd replay, the saga effectively knocked Meath out too due to injuries and suspensions.

You could fill a book with Mayo missed opportunities. Had they attacked Coyles long ball late in the 1996 drawn final or had Liam McHale not gone barreling into the brawl in the replay, they would likely have won.
Donal Vaughan will carry most of the blame for them losing the 2017 final due to his stupid red card.

Limerick footballers had a few near misses in Munster 10 to 15 years ago if I remember correctly. They hammered Cork one year, were unlucky to be taken to a replay by Kerry in the final in another and narrowly lost to Cork and Kerry in the Munster final two years in a row. They really should have managed at least one provincial title in that time.

rpurfield

There has to be loads of these from the pre back door days. As Hammer said if the games in 97 were settled quicker the winners would have probably won that All Ireland. I'd imagine Derry in 94 would be in the same boat considering Down bet them.

The Dubs in 91 might be one too, they really should have had Meath put away in them 4 games. I know a lot of the Meath lads playing at the time feel that was one left behind too, but having looked at it back on Eir recently I'm not so sure myself.

arctictree

rpurfield wrote: »

The Dubs in 91 might be one too, they really should have had Meath put away in them 4 games. I know a lot of the Meath lads playing at the time feel that was one left behind too, but having looked at it back on Eir recently I'm not so sure myself.

A lot of people forget that Meath drew with Wicklow in the following match in the Leinster QF. Meath got a last gasp bounced point to draw it. In the replay Wicklow were beaten by a goal. A definite missed opportunity for the garden county.

C__MC

Limerick footballers 03-10
Waterford hurlers 02-07

They definitely stick out in my mind

I think in terms of counties doubling their success, armagh footballers, sligo footballers and clare hurlers all had near misses.

shockframe

C__MC wrote: »

Limerick footballers 03-10

It was a bit disappointing not to grab a provincial title all right.

We could have won any of our 5 finals. There was some right cruel ones (Cork 2008 semi final is also in the mix). Would say 2009 was the one that hurt us the most.

In saying that we got to be a competitive force for over a decade. When you consider that 6 of the 10 All Irelands won in that time were by Kerry and Cork (and Cork lost twice to Kerry) it was miraculous we ever competed.

The football fraternity in the county is so small despite being a decent sized county and we were facing players from illustrous clubs like Austin Stacks, Dr Crokes, An Gaeltacht, Bantry, St Finbarrs, Nemo Rangers etc. Even some of our more established clubs didn't produce players like the hurling areas of Na Piarsaigh,Patrickswell or KIlmallock.

The players were very close to the fans too. It was like every player knew everyone who was going to watch them. You always got a performance to be proud of from them. Especially in the wake of some dire days at the Hurling.

We made the most of a good minor/under 21 scene from 97-01 in all honesty. It was a right good time all things considered.

Billy Ocean

In hurling Cork, Limerick and Dublin would all see 2013 as a missed chance

PTH2009

C__MC wrote: »

Waterford hurlers 02-07
.

1998 also another year where we could of went the whole way. Paul Flynn missed a free at the end to give us the chance too win the Munster championship and the game ended in a draw where we were well beaten in the replay by Clare. We should of beaten Kilkenny in the All Ireland semi final too

2002- Think we over celebrated winning Munster and were caught on the hop in the Al semis

2004- Missed John Mullane big time in the AI semi final in a game which Henry Shefflin played out of his skin (didn't he have an eye injury and was doubtful for the game ?)

2007 was a missed opportunity but Limerick caught us on the hop. Its hard to knw would we have got the game postponed a week if we requested it ?. Great heart to come back against Cork in the AI QFs that year

2010- After winning munster we sadly couldn't get over Tipp in the AI semi finals and really never looked like winning it

2016- we should of won that drawn game against Kilkenny and made it to the All Ireland final but took our eye off the ball. Panic set in when hawkeye disallowed that Kevin Moran point too put us 4 points in the lead going into injury time

2017 was a missed opportunity and the small things cost us in the final In form Jamie Barron been unwell, Moran missing that sitter of a point in the 2nd half and Galway having so much motivation with the sad death of Tony Keady. Our management messed up a bit by delaying coming out for the 2nd half with the Galway team out before us with the image of Tony Keady still on the big screen, (that deff inspired Galway before the 2nd half)

Jesus its frustrating

theoneeyedman

cms88 wrote: »

Seen this somewhere else and thought it was interesting.


Roscommon in 1998. A very late free to Galway to draw the Connacht final. Galway went on to win the replay and the All-Ireland.

.

There ought to be a special place in hell for a certain Leitrim referee after that game!!! Pure robbery!

billyhead

Limerick in 94&96 Enough said

Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean wrote: »

In hurling Cork, Limerick and Dublin would all see 2013 as a missed chance

I was at the 2013 drawn all ireland,if cork had won....it would have been pure robbery




Always felt setanta obailpin going off to oz,cost cork one or two all irelands and would have dented kk invincibility and could potentially seen cody ousted/leave earlier

BQQ

Deleted User wrote: »

I was at the 2013 drawn all ireland,if cork had won....it would have been pure robbery




Always felt setanta obailpin going off to oz,cost cork one or two all irelands and would have dented kk invincibility and could potentially seen cody ousted/leave earlier

I don't know about that.
He was still a bit raw when he left and Cork didn't really miss him - they won the following two All-Irelands

He had potential for sure, but no guarantee he'd train on and even if he did, would that be enough to turn Cork from also-rans to champions in the 2007-2012 years?


I think Limerick losing in 1996 was a body blow they needed a long time to recover from.
Waterford in 03 in particular, just needed the monkey off their back and they could have kicked on.

In football, Louth in 2010
may never have a better chance of a Leinster title and to be denied by a fella throwing the ball in the net. They've hardly won a game since

The_Kew_Tour

Waterford hurlers 2007

Cork footballers 2009

Armagh should have won more AIs

Clare should have added few AIs to their name in 90s-00s

Even last year I think Wexford let a great chance to win the AI

If the Tyrone had 2 footballers in 1995 they have beaten the Dubs

BonnieSituation

cms88 wrote: »

Seen this somewhere else and thought it was interesting.

a thread on counties in both codes, who have let big opportunites slip away from them, kind of moments in time where they could have led to great or greater success down the line.

Monaghon v Kerry 2007. Monaghan lost by a point on the day and really should have won. Had they got over the line they would have been in a first semi-final in 20 years and then who knows. Took them a while to recover from it.

Roscommon in 1998. A very late free to Galway to draw the Connacht final. Galway went on to win the replay and the All-Ireland.

Galway let the 2000 All-Ireland behinf them the first day out.

Laois from 2003-2007. Should really have won at least another Leinster title, abd could easly have won three in a row from 2003-2005.

In hurling.

Any number of examples of Galway.

The late 80's to mid 90's or so when Antrim and Down were competitive. Antrim got the final of course in 89 but could and probally should have again in 91 when they lost to Kilkenny 2-18 to 1-19. Down also put in some good displays around this time as well.

I was living beside Croker at that time and landed in for that Monaghan game within 15min of exiting the scratcher. God they were the days.

Still fume to this day at some of the decisions. Didn't Donaghy score a particularly dubious goal that day?

---

Biggest near miss for me has to be Kerry 1-12 Sligo 0-14.

Imagine that championship if they'd headed home with the tail between their legs.

cms88

Wexford footballers from 2008 to around 2012 would be another. Got to the All-Ireland semi-final in 2008 of course. But took Dublin to extra time in 2010, lost by a goal to them in the Leinster final in 2011 and lost by a four points in the Leinster semi-final the in 2012. Would have played Meath in the final and you'd think they's have fancyed themselves. Even though they got to Leinster semi-finals again in 2013 and 2014 they never looked like competing like they had after that.

WesternZulu

Going back to Mayo - I firmly believe that if Mayo had beaten Meath in 1996 and that ball hadn't bounced over the crossbar to force a draw that Mayo would have won at least one or two All-Ireland's since.

Looking back, losing against Cork in the final in 1989 wasn't looked on as a missed opportunity or something the county dwelled on. However, losing the 1996 final seemed to have really created the mantra that Mayo were 'nearly men'. The loss against Kerry in the final in 1997 and Galway winning in 1998 seemed to have really reinforce this idea and attributed to many of the All-Ireland losses in the 2000's and 2010's.

FastFullBack

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I was at the 2013 drawn all ireland,if cork had won....it would have been pure robbery

BS.
Cork led by a point with 72:07 on the clock and the allotted 2 minutes of injury time were up. Clare had a puckout and ref somehow found more time to play for a draw and Clare found an equaliser.
A year later; Tipp VS KK, the ref blew up 30 seconds before the allotted injury time was up just to get a draw.

Crap referring and the play for a draw BS cost Cork in 2013.

FastFullBack

FastFullBack wrote: »

BS.
Cork led by a point with 72:07 on the clock and the allotted 2 minutes of injury time were up. Clare had a puckout and ref somehow found more time to play for a draw and Clare found an equaliser.
A year later; Tipp VS KK, the ref blew up 30 seconds before the allotted injury time was up just to get a draw.

Crap referring and the play for a draw BS cost Cork in 2013.

Clare completly and utterly hurled cork off the field and couple of nash goals kept in it....

Surronded by cork fans that day,even they admitted it would been robbery if they had won


The fact that clare team didnt win more all irelands is a pure squandering if talent

FastFullBack

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Clare completly and utterly hurled cork off the field and couple of nash goals kept in it....

Surronded by cork fans that day,even they admitted it would been robbery if they had won


The fact that clare team didnt win more all irelands is a pure squandering if talent

Ya Cork relied on Nashs goals to stay in the game, but ref playing for a draw still cost them at the very end.

And yes that Clare team really should have won more all irelands. That's why it was so frustrating for Cork, they were at the peak of their ability to get there and were unlikely to come back and win it in next year or 2, where as you felt this was the start of a era for the Clare team.

ShyMets

Down in 2010 had a great chance of winning and All Ireland. If I remember only lost by a point to Cork. And then they seemed to disappear of the scene completely.

cms88

ShyMets wrote: »

Down in 2010 had a great chance of winning and All Ireland. If I remember only lost by a point to Cork. And then they seemed to disappear of the scene completely.

They actually got to the Quater-final the following two years, and the Ulster final in 2012. Was after that they fell away

dirkmeister

1998 was Waterford’s big chance.

However Kilkenny managed to win with 1-11 I’ll never know.

Edit: The answer to that question is Willie O’Connor giving an exhibition.

ArnoldJRimmer

Donegal v Galway, All Ireland semi final in 1983, a team packed full of players who won the U21 AI in 1982, including a young and brilliant Martin McHugh. A number of these players would eventually win the All Ireland in 1992

They had never won a match in Croke Park before, but were the much better team on the day, only to concede a late Val Daly goal and lose by a point. And who knows what could have happened in the final if they had broken that hoodoo

Hulk Hands

PTH2009 wrote: »

2017 was a missed opportunity and the small things cost us in the final In form Jamie Barron been unwell, Moran missing that sitter of a point in the 2nd half and Galway having so much motivation with the sad death of Tony Keady. Our management messed up a bit by delaying coming out for the 2nd half with the Galway team out before us with the image of Tony Keady still on the big screen, (that deff inspired Galway before the 2nd half)

Ah cmon now, it's not as if a team is going to need extra motivation in an AI Final? Are you trying to say Galway (how hadn't won in 29 years) wouldn't have given 100% originally but the tragedy of Tony spurred them to the max? If anything the sad loss was probably a distraction that week

That was a very one sided first half and Galway should've gone in 7 pts up. Waterfords second goal that half was the gift of all gifts. I'd take that game out of the notebook anyway. Ye were outsiders going in and the game played out as such

Billy Ocean

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Clare completly and utterly hurled cork off the field and couple of nash goals kept in it....

Surronded by cork fans that day,even they admitted it would been robbery if they had won


The fact that clare team didnt win more all irelands is a pure squandering if talent

maybe that Clare team wasn't/ isn't good enough, outside of 2013, 2018 is only other year in the decade they got to the last 4

Billy Ocean

Billy Ocean wrote: »

maybe that Clare team wasn't/ isn't good enough, outside of 2013, 2018 is only other year in the decade they got to the last 4

That clare was designed and built to beat the kk team of early 10s

Big strong ball winners,skilful,but not exceptional stickmen,able to rack up massive scores........i honestly taught they would dominate the rest of the decade and looked at our minor team that day,and wondered would we ever be able to compete with them,if they had 3 or 4 all irelands under their belt

Realt Dearg Sec

[Deleted User] wrote: »

Always felt setanta obailpin going off to oz,cost cork one or two all irelands and would have dented kk invincibility and could potentially seen cody ousted/leave earlier

Hahahahaha

Oh, wait you're serious

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

cms88

Deleted User wrote: »

I was at the 2013 drawn all ireland,if cork had won....it would have been pure robbery




Always felt setanta obailpin going off to oz,cost cork one or two all irelands and would have dented kk invincibility and could potentially seen cody ousted/leave earlier

It's a lot like with Tommy Walsh going off to OZ after Kerry winning in 09. Would he have been the difference in say 2011? Who knows. Both of them could have been all time greats, but just as easly could have gone off the radar a few years after.

DVDM93

Galway hurlers alright, where to begin

PTH2009

DVDM93 wrote: »

Galway hurlers alright, where to begin

at least ye eventually won an All Ireland

Us in Waterford still waiting on a championship win, one we didnt get since the All Ireland semi final in 2017

lillielad

Kildare 2009, 2010 and 2011

2009 we scored 18 points from play in a Leinster final and lost by 2 points against the Dubs, could have beaten Tyrone as well in the Quarter final.

2010 Lost to Louth but got to the semi final against Down and were a crossbar/finger tips away from the all Ireland, what might have been if we didn't lose Earley in the quarter final against Meath, lost Daryl Flynn in the semi final as well.

2011 Brogan Free, and Donegal square ball.....

Ceist_Beag

Donegal in 2014. After beating Dublin in the semi final I really felt we would go on to win the final. We just didn't play well on the day but I think 2 All Irelands would have been better reward for that bunch of players.

Ray Donovan

In the 21 seasons from 1980 to 2000 Offaly won the hurling All Ireland or got knocked out by the team that did in 18 of them. Makes you think they could have picked up another 1 or 2 All Ireland's to add to the 4 they got.

tanko

Ceist_Beag wrote: »

Donegal in 2014. After beating Dublin in the semi final I really felt we would go on to win the final. We just didn't play well on the day but I think 2 All Irelands would have been better reward for that bunch of players.

Possibly but i’m sure Mayo see 2012 as a huge missed opportunity also. If it wasn’t for their naive defensive tactics on the day maybe they would have won it.

The great Armagh team of the late nineties/early noughties only won one All Ireland and that by a single point, all Irelands are hard won.

Sure if Martin McHughs 45 in Breffni Park in 92 had gone wide there’s no doubt that Cavan would have won the All Ireland that year!!!

MfMan

theoneeyedman wrote: »

There ought to be a special place in hell for a certain Leitrim referee after that game!!! Pure robbery!

While Galway were indeed fortunate that day, in fairness to Ros' I strongly doubt that they were good enough to progress much further. Simply didn't have the class that Galway subsequently showed in Croker.

Clareman

Ray Donovan wrote: »

In the 21 seasons from 1980 to 2000 Offaly won the hurling All Ireland or got knocked out by the team that did in 18 of them. Makes you think they could have picked up another 1 or 2 All Ireland's to add to the 4 they got.

By my reckoning they were knocked out by non-champions in 6 seasons in that time frame

86 knocked out by Kilkenny, Cork champions.
87 knocked out by Kilkenny, Galway champions.
89 knocked out by Antrim, Tipp champions.
90 knocked out by Galway, Cork champions
91 knocked out by Dublin, Tipp champions
97 knocked out by Wexford, Clare champions

ArnoldJRimmer

Clareman wrote: »

By my reckoning they were knocked out by non-champions in 6 seasons in that time frame

86 knocked out by Kilkenny, Cork champions.
87 knocked out by Kilkenny, Galway champions.
89 knocked out by Antrim, Tipp champions.
90 knocked out by Galway, Cork champions
91 knocked out by Dublin, Tipp champions
97 knocked out by Wexford, Clare champions

You missed one, in 98 they were beaten by Clare in the semi final, who didn't end up champions

doc_17

I was gonna set up a free taking “project”
and charge a fortune but someone beat me to it.

Clareman

ArnoldJRimmer wrote: »

You missed one, in 98 they were beaten by Clare in the semi final, who didn't end up champions

Don't mention the war :pac::pac::pac:

CBear1993

doc_17 wrote: »

I was gonna set up a free taking “project”
and charge a fortune but someone beat me to it.

Ha, he'll get his market for it. Daddy moneybags will send the son aged 8-14 to Deano Rock and fair play to Deano.

Same son is overweight and nowhere near the team, will prob have no interest in football in another few years.

But sure didn't my lad do a session with Dean rock?? unreal stuff!!

BonnieSituation

doc_17 wrote: »

I was gonna set up a free taking “project”
and charge a fortune but someone beat me to it.

So you won't be signing up then?

Burkie1203

CBear1993 wrote: »

Ha, he'll get his market for it. Daddy moneybags will send the son aged 8-14 to Deano Rock and fair play to Deano.

Same son is overweight and nowhere near the team, will prob have no interest in football in another few years.

But sure didn't my lad do a session with Dean rock?? unreal stuff!!

Nearly 1k for 5 sessions.

The global pandemic and subsequent job recession obviously doesn't register with Dean Rock

KevRossi

Fermanagh 2004.

I doubt they would have beaten Kerry in the final, but they wouldn't have lain down.

padd b1975

Burkie1203 wrote: »

Nearly 1k for 5 sessions.

The global pandemic and subsequent job recession obviously doesn't register with Dean Rock

You'd need a few lessons in blindside punching from daddy thrown in to part with that kind of coin.

Edgware

CBear1993 wrote: »

Ha, he'll get his market for it. Daddy moneybags will send the son aged 8-14 to Deano Rock and fair play to Deano.

Same son is overweight and nowhere near the team, will prob have no interest in football in another few years.

But sure didn't my lad do a session with Dean rock?? unreal stuff!!

Fools and their money etc etc

Kevhog1988

ShyMets wrote: »

Down in 2010 had a great chance of winning and All Ireland. If I remember only lost by a point to Cork. And then they seemed to disappear of the scene completely.

Robbed Kildare with a Square Ball in 2010

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

MfMan wrote: »

While Galway were indeed fortunate that day, in fairness to Ros' I strongly doubt that they were good enough to progress much further. Simply didn't have the class that Galway subsequently showed in Croker.

If Roscommon had won that, we were in a semi-final with Derry and if they won, final with Kildare. 2 good teams, but that '98 Roscommon team would have been more than a match for either.

We'll never have a better chance to win an All-Ireland in the current format.

Another missed opportunity would have been 2010 for Sligo to win a second Connacht in 4 years. Beat Galway and Mayo and then turned up to collect the cup only to be basically jumped by a Roscommon team who had been relegated to Division 4 that year. If memory serves me correctly, Sligo were murdered by Down in the qualifiers a week later and that was the end of that.

Hammer Archer

Kevhog1988 wrote: »

Robbed Kildare with a Square Ball in 2010

To be fair, if I remember correctly, Kildare's goal that day should also have been disallowed due to a ridiculous number of steps taken.

Hulk Hands

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

If Roscommon had won that, we were in a semi-final with Derry and if they won, final with Kildare. 2 good teams, but that '98 Roscommon team would have been more than a match for either.

For that year, and the couple either side 96-00, Kildare beat Dub x2, Meath, Kerry (AI Champs), brought 97 champs Meath to 2 replays and won 2 provincials. Roscommon's best result in that period was a replay win over Sligo. I don't think there's anything to suggest Ros would've been more than a match for them