Offaly put to the sword by impressive Cavan

OFFALY were given a fairly big dose of reality when Cavan emphatically put them to the sword in Glenlisk O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon.

National Football League Division 3

Cavan 0-21

Offaly 0-14

It was a thought provoking defeat for Offaly who had started their Division 3 campaign very brightly with wins over Antrim and Fermanagh but have suffered defeats in their last two games. Westmeath and Cavan were always going to give a realistic indication of where Offaly were and new manager Liam Kearns will be under no illusions about this now.

While there is a lot of football to be played yet, Offaly's real aim now is to secure Division 3 status and promotion is very much a long shot. With four points on the board, they have a great chance of staying up but that is far from guaranteed. This defeat means that next Sunday's trip to Longford takes on a new level of importance as three consecutive defeats will really pile the pressure on and damage morale.

They now have a week to regroup and reflect on a comprehensive defeat here. Offaly worked hard, and they were honest but it was nowhere near enough against a very impressive Cavan, whose pace, direct running and score taking had the home side in all sorts of bother.

They competed very well for twenty minutes but with the wind on their backs, it was obvious that they were up against it as Cavan set the tempo with Offaly hanging on. Offaly never got in front in the first half, even though they were level on four occasions and four late points gave Cavan a 0-11 to 0-7 half time lead.

That was more or less a fair reflection of the way the first half as went as Offaly were never quite good enough. It was Cavan's to lose at half time and three quick points early in the second half pushed them 0-14 to 0-7 clear.

Offaly were never going to overturn that as Cavan won with a real degree of comfort. In fairness to Offaly, they kept going the whole way. They got on top when Cavan were reduced to fourteen men for ten minutes following a 48th minute black card for Jonathan McCabe – who needsly hauled down Anton Sullivan in the middle of the field. Half time sub Bernard Allen did inject life into the attack and Offaly were far from humiliated. They did get on plenty of ball, had their spells of dominance and played some good football but it was at a superficial level.

Apart from briefly in the first quarter, they were never near being good enough to win this game and Cavan were deserving winners. Even when Offaly kept them at bay for long periods in the second half, Cavan had enough of a cushion to afford to sit back and the Offaly attack never threatened the goals they needed. In fact, Cavan could have got a few goals and won much easier as they breached the Offaly defence on a handful of occasions.

Their defence with work hard with Ian Duffy, David Dempsey, Ciaran Donnelly and Lee Pearson doing well but as a unit they were never truly comfortable and 20 points was a big tally to concede. When Cavan attacked, it was at pace and Offaly were shown were they need to get to. They never gained a foothold at midfield and apart from Dylan Hyland early on, Anton Sullivan for the most part and Bernard Allen in the second half, it was a day to forget for Offaly's attack.

The writing was on the wall for Offaly at half time when they trailed by 0-11 to 0-7 after playing with the wind.

The first half provided a feast of fast, attacking football and Offaly contributed powerfully to the entertainment levels in the opening twenty minutes in particular. However, as the half wore on, it became clear that Cavan were a very good team and that the home side had their work cut out.

It was real end to end stuff in the opening quarter. The sides were tied on three occasions in the opening six minutes before Cavan got three clear via Jonathan McCabe and Paddy Lynch (2 frees).

Offaly responded really well and were back on level terms, 0-6 each by the 21st minute with Dylan Hyland and Ruari McNamee converting frees and full back Declan Hogan lofting over an unlikely equaliser, kicking as he fell under a heavy hit.

From here to the interval, however, Cavan were the better team and Offaly struggled to break out of their half. The sides were level at 0-7 each after 25 minutes but Cavan got the final four points and it could have been worse for Offaly – Conor McNamee made a fantastic block to deny David Brady a 29th minute goal and Ian Duffy made a great save from Killian Clarke on the 35th minute.

A four point half time deficit left Offaly needing a massive second half to pull it out of the fire and Cavan quickly extended the lead to five with a Ryan O'Neill point seconds after the restart. They could have killed the game off a minute later but Duffy rescued Offaly again, saving smartly from Cian Madden who should have done better. They almost got in again in the 37th minute as Jonathan McCabe couldn't place David Brady who was standing in front of the goals and Offaly were creaking at the knees.

Paddy Lynch (free) and Brandon Boylan made it a double scores game, 0-14 to 0-7 after 41 minutes and the game was up for Offaly. It didn't get any worse for Offaly and that seven points remained between the teams at the end but they never threatened to salvage it, even when Cavan were down to fourteen men for that ten minutes.

Offaly couldn't get the run of scores they needed to cause Cavan anxiety. They only managed to get two points on the trot once in the second half and those frees from Dylan Hyland and Anton Sullivan only got the gap back to five, 0-17 to 0-12. A goal at this stage would have changed things but the Cavan defence were outstanding as they sauntered home in third gear.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paddy Lynch (Cavan): Paddy Lynch had a masterful game for Cavan. He top scored with ten points, three from play and he was superb in general play. His footballing intelligence shone through as he teased and probed the Offaly defence.

THE SCORERS

Cavan: Paddy Lynch 0-10 (7f), Ryan O'Neill, Jonathan McCabe and Eamon Boylan 0-2 each, Ramond Galligan ('45'), David Brady, Gerard Smith, Cian Madden and Conor Madden 0-1 each.

Offaly: Dylan Hyland 0-6 (4f), Anton Sullivan 0-2 (1f and 1m), Declan Hogan, Peter Cunningham (f), Jack McEvoy, Joe Maher, Ruari McNamee (f), Bernard Allen 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Ian Duffy (Walsh Island); Ciaran Donnelly (Bracknagh), Declan Hogan (Tullamore), David Dempsey (Ballycommon); Rory Egan (Edenderry), Peter Cunningham (Bracknagh), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Conor McNamee (Rhode); Joe Maher (Ferbane), Ruari McNamee (Rhode), Cian Donohue (St Brigid's); Cian Farrell (Edenderry), Anton Sullivan (Rhode), Dylan Hyland (Raheen). Subs – Bernard Allen (Tubber) for Maher (HT), Luke Egan (Tullamore) for Ruari McNamee (45m), Jack O'Brien (Durrow) for Hogan (50m), Jack Bryant (Shamrocks) for Farrell (56m), Jamie Evans (Gracefield) for Donohue (66m),

CAVAN: Raymond Galligan; Evan Finnegan, Padraig Faulkner, Niall Carolan; Ciaran Brady, Dara McVeety, Tiarnan Madden; David Brady, Killian Clarke; Gerard Smith, Cian Madden, Jonathan McCabe; Paddy Lynch, Ryan O'Neill, Brandon Boylan. Subs – Jason McLoughlin for Finnegan (53m), Stephen Smith for McCabe (59m), Conor Madden for Boylan (60m), James Smith for Brady (60m), Conor Rahill for Madden (64m),

Referee – John Gilmartin (Sligo).

REFEREE WATCH

John Gilmartin was very impressive. He was in control, displayed a real knowledge of the rules, awareness of what was going on and neither side could fault him. He correctly showed Jonathan McCabe a black card for pulling down Anton Sullivan and could very easily have shown another couple of Cavan players ones for similar looking fouls after this.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Paddy Lynch's free in first half injury time gave Cavan a four point interval lead, 0-11 to 0-7. After playing against the wind, it was a huge advantage at that stage.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park looked really well with the pitch back close to its best and a good crowd creating a good atmosphere.

TALKING POINT

This was a big game for Offaly and it means that their big focus now is on staying in Division 3. Promotion is not off the table but next Sunday's trip to Longford is now a six pointer.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly are away to Longford next Sunday while Cavan have a trip to Belfast.

STATISTICS

Wides: Cavan – 6 (3 in first half); Offaly – 4 (2 in first half).

Yellow cards: Cavan – 4 (Padraig Faulkner, Ciaran Brady, Tiarnan Madden and David Brady); Offaly – 0.

Black cards: Cavan – 1 (Jonathan McCabe); Offaly – 0.

Red cards: 0.