WITH their heads in the right place, Offaly fought hard to dig out an encouraging Tailteann Cup win in Ennis on Saturday afternoon.
Tailteann Cup Senior Football Round 1
Offaly 1-17
Clare 1-14
With pessimism the prevailing emotion among supporters in the build up, Offaly produced a result that few expected outside of their camp and they were full value for them, qualifying for a second round tussle with another first round winner and now assured of at least two more games.
You would be stretching things to suggest that this was a season changing result but it was a hugely important one and could ignite things for them. It was their first win in nine league and championship games this season and the players and management were crying out for it.
They had a major point to prove after a horrific malfunction in the Leinster championship defeat to Laois and while doubts remain, this was still an encouraging step forward in the right direction. They performed, they were up for the game, they had the hunger and they played a much more enterprising brand of football than they had in that Laois fiasco.
The jury will have to deliberate more but the Tailteann Cup is there to be won this season and Offaly certainly have the scope to improve much more. Clare were sitting ducks here to an extent. They were missing a couple of key players and their shooting was woeful with a sequence of really poor wides in both halves. Yet it is the type of game that Offaly have often lost in the past, wilted when pressure came on but they didn’t do so here.
We didn’t know where they were when they went in leading by 0-9 to 0-4 after playing with a stiff first half wind. They played in fits and starts in the first half and had to get the last four points for that half time lead.
It didn’t look like it would be sufficient early on in the second half. Kyle Higgins missed an easy chance and Diarmuid Egan blasted wide with a great goal chance after doing brilliant to break in on the goalkeeper. Shane Tierney got bottled up in a good position and Cormac Murray’s 42nd minute goal reduced the gap to 1-5 to 0-9.
A two pointer from Murray put Clare ahead, 1-8 to 0-9, in the 44th minute and we braced ourselves for the familiar Offaly Tailteann Cup capitulation. Brian McNamara ran the show at midfield for Clare for a few minutes but Offaly somehow find a way to change it.
Shane Tierney tapped home a decisive 46th minute goal, set up by Jordan Hayes and Cormac Egan. Very lively in the first half, Tierney had struggled a bit in the second half and it was his final act as Harry Plunkett immediately came on for him, playing a significant role in Offaly’s win.
Clare got back in front with two points from the rampant McNamara – fortunately for Offaly, his radar went askew after this as he had a couple of poor kick and hope wides.
Dylan Hyland, Kyle Higgins and Shane O’Toole-Greene were among the Offaly players who raised the flag of defiance. Hyland kicked a great two pointer from a free and a point from play as the sides were level twice more up to the 57th minute.
Offaly were excellent from, here to the finish line. Nathan Poland had a goal shot blocked but the ball ended up in Hyland’s hands and he pointed. Marcas Dalton, Hyland and Harry Plunkett added points in a great spell of pressure and suddenly the gap was four, 1-16 to 1-12 with six minutes left.
Offaly were now in a position to keep ball and run down the clock. A Mark McInerney two pointer in the 67th minute, just after Marcas Dalton got a well earned black card for pulling down a Clare defender, brought the gap down to two.
With two pointers very possible with the wind on Clare’s backs, it was a dangerous lead but Offaly’s composure and patience commanded huge respected. Harry Plunkett’s excellent finish left Clare needing a goal to survive but Offaly were too professional to concede that, closing out the deal with commendable efficiency.
Offaly looked tuned in from the start but certainly didn’t set the world on fire for a lot of the first half. With a strong swirling wind on their back, they were the more efficient side and used their possession better as Clare kicked seven wides, many of them very poor ones.
Offaly led by 0-9 to 0-4 at half time and would have taken that with both hands five minutes from the break. They were 0-5 to 0-4 ahead in the 29th minute and a one point lead would have put them in a difficult position.
There had been very little between the sides up to that and Offaly were only ahead thanks to Clare’s wastefulness. Both sides spurned good goal chances in the 15th minute. Lee Pearson was blocked after doing well to forage his way through while Cormac Murray blasted across the face of the goal with the net at his mercy seconds later.
Clare finished much better when they got in close enough to fist the ball. Fionn Kelleher and Brian McNamara fisted over in the 25th and 26th minutes to leave them a point behind but Offaly finally opened up late on. Dylan Hyland kicked his second two pointer and Marcas Dalton and Nathan Poland also got points to give Offaly a chance for the second half.
MATCH ANALYSIS
SEE NEXT: Tales of missing number and Offaly jerseys in Armagh outlined at big Offaly football celebration
MAN OF THE MATCH
Dylan Hyland (Offaly): Dylan Hyland was a real match winner for Offaly and an easy choice as man of the match. He scored nine points, two two pointers from play, a two point free and three points from free. He was also excellent in open play, carrying the ball from deep and giving an almost flawless display.
Shane O’Toole-Greene, Marcas Dalton and Kyle Higgins also gave terrific shifts, full of heart and honesty while Cormac Egan, Aaron Leavy and Keith O’Neill were among the players who performed well and Harry Plunkett made a crucial impact off the bench – the Tullamore man has scored well in his appearances to date but despite his earlier scores, this was his most productive intervention, a coming of age display in some ways.
Brian McNamara was a contender for Clare but the home support were very disappointed at their overall display.
THE SCORERS
Offaly: Dylan Hyland 0-9 (2 x 2p, 1 x 2pf), Shane Tierney 1-0, Keith O’Neill, Marcas Dalton, Harry Plunkett 0-2 each, Jordan Hayes and Nathan Poland 0-1 each.
Clare: Cormac Murray 1-2 (1 x 2p), Aaron Griffin and Brian McNamara 0-3 each, Mark McInerney 0-2 (2p), Fionn Kelleher, Cillian Brennan, Alan Sweeney. Joe Rafferty 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
OFFALY: Conor Melia (Bracknagh); Shane O’Toole-Greene (Shamrocks), David Dempsey (Ballycommon), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Diarmuid Egan (Tullamore), Marcas Dalton (Clara); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry); Kyle Higgins (Ferbane), Keith O’Neill (Clonbullogue), Aaron Leavy (Tullamore); Dylan Hyland (Raheen), Shane Tierney (Daingean), Nathan Poland (Erin Rovers). Subs – Harry Plunkett (Tullamore) for Tierney (46m), Rory Egan (Edenderry) for Diarmuid Egan (64m), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane) for Poland (67m),
CLARE: Tristan O’Callaghan; Alan Sweeney, Ronan Lanigan, Manus Doherty; Brendy Rouine, Cillian Brennan, Fionn Kelleher; Brian McNamara, Josh Vaughan; Conor Meaney, Ikem Ugwueru, Gavin Murray; Mark McInerney, Cormac Murray, Aaron Griffin. Subs – Joe Rafferty for Kelleher (51m), Daniel Walsh for Gavin Murray (56m), Shane Griffin for Vaughan (61m), Jamie Stack for Sweeney (64m),
Referee – Brendan Griffin, Kerry.
REFEREE WATCH
Brendan Griffin refereed it well and consistently.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Shane Tierney’s 46th minute goal changed the game. It was Offaly’s first score of the second half, Clare had just got in front and were well on top.
Another equally key moment was a sensational tackle by Cormac Egan to deny Manus Doherty a clean shot on goal in the 61st minute. Offaly were leading by 1-14 to 1-12 at that stage and Egan came almost from nowhere to whip the ball off his feet – it was text book defensive play by a man whose work ethic and general play was a great example to all young, aspiring players.
VENUE WATCH
The home support made up the bulk of the crowd at a sparkling Cusack Park in Ennis. As usual, the ground was meticulously prepared. The poor travelling support was down to a couple of things. Disillusionment with their performances and pessimism about their ability to turn things around in the Tailteann Cup was one factor. Another big one was the fixing of club league football games in Offaly on Saturday evening. Rhode and Shamrocks were fixed for Mucklagh on Saturday evening and games like this just should not have clashed with a big county football game – even if they were fixed before hand, they should have been pulled and that was just not good enough by the County Board. Even if clubs wanted them to go ahead, that should not have been facilitated and alternative arrangements should have been made,
WHAT’S NEXT
Offaly now play a first round winner while Clare are in a knockout game against a first round loser.
STATISTICS
Wides: Offaly – 6 (2 in first half); Clare – 13 (7 in first half).
Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Aaron Leavy); Clare – 1 (Manus Doherty).
Black cards: Offaly – 1 (Marcas Dalton); Clare – 0.
Red cards: 0
