Offaly's young guns come of age with sensational win over Galway

ON a drama packed day, there were wild scenes of excitement in O'Connor Park for the second successive weekend as Offaly recorded a huge, coming of age win over Galway in the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship quarter-final on Saturday.

Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship quarter-final

Offaly 3-20

Galway 2-17

It was a richly deserved win for Offaly as a huge level of skill was matched by a ferocious work ethic and they eventually got across the line against a county who had won the All-Ireland minor three years ago.

Worrying injuries to star forward Adam Screeney and defensive stalwart Brecon Kavanagh cast a shadow over the day but both look to be okay. Screeney went off in the 23rd minute after getting a knock to the head and came back on at half time. He went off again in the 35th after appearing to get weak and then vomiting on the O'Connor Park pitch. It looked bad but according to manager Leo O'Connor afterwards, he had consumed a good bit of energy drinks at half time as they tried to get sugar into his body and this was responsible for him throwing up – while he did come back out to watch a thrilling second half.

In that five minutes when he was back on the field, Screeney had made an indelible contribution to Offaly's win. 2-8 to 0-9 behind at half time, Galway had levelled up with 1-2 in two blistering minutes on the restart and Offaly looked to be in bother. However, the game changed with an absolutely delightful point from Screeney from way out on the right wing in the 33rd minute. The outstanding Shane Rigney added a beaut and then Screeney set up Charlie Mitchell for a point as Offaly rallied with three in the blink of an eye.

2-11 to 1-11 up after 34 minutes, it was an absolutely extraordinary four minutes and when Screeney went off, Offaly fans feared the worse. Instead, they showed tremendous heart and character, battling for everything when they went into the red in the closing quarter, took crucial scores and kept Galway at bay.

Eight minutes of injury time was played after that injury to Kavanagh in the 41st minute. The Kilcormac-Killoughey man shipped a ferocious hit in a swarm of bodies and there were very anxious scenes as he received lengthy treatment. Kavanagh was in obvious discomfort with his legs flailing and the sight of his mother and father and family members out on the field added to a tangible sense of worry. Thankfully, Kavanagh was able to walk off after receiving medical treatment and he looked shook but fine as he celebrated with team mates and supporters out on the pitch afterwards.

When Kavanagh went off in the 48th minute, Offaly were clinging on for dear life to a 2-12 to 1-13 lead. Galway had opted to send their best forward Liam Collins to Kilkenny with their senior team but they threw everything at Offaly late on. Their subs made a huge difference as Offaly rattled with Liam Leen, Diarmaid Davoren and Oisin Lohan contributing 1-5 between them.

With Offaly out on their feet, mistakes began to creep in and it looked like Galway could mount a salvage act. However, the winners displayed a heartwarming never say die spirit. They got another great run of scores with points from Cathal King, Joe Hoctor and a Charlie Mitchell free to lead by 2-15 to 1-13 with four minutes left – the injuries meant that eight minutes of injury time were announced and there was a long time to go.

A Diarmaid Davoren point reduced it to four points but Mitchell got an excellent free from distance and a super point from Brecon Kavanagh's impressive sub, Ter Guinan put Offaly 2-17 to 1-14 ahead as it went into injury time. A mistake by Ter Guinan when he didn't clear his lines allowed Liam Leen in for a 60th minute goal to bring it back to three points and Offaly were on a tightrope again.

Leen added a point to make it a two point game and there was heart stopping drama in injury time. Shane Rigney was desperately unlucky to hit the post with a goal shot after a great break forward but Charlie Mitchell converted a free to put three in it. Galway got it down to two twice more but crucially couldn't make it a one point game. The winners sealed it in the 67th minute when the very hard working Cormac Egan showed great tenacity to get the clinching goal after Mitchell's shot was saved – Egan had come on both times for Screeney, the first as a temporary sub.

Sam Bourke added a super point and that was that as hordes of very excited Offaly fans invaded the pitch on the final whistle.

While Offaly won the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship last year and were within a hair's breath of victory in the All-Ireland final, this was arguably their biggest win in the last few years. As Leo O'Connor remarked afterwards, it is only a provincial quarter-final but it was a win against one of hurling's marquee counties and it was on complete merit. Galway looked taken aback by the skill and work ethic of the Offaly team and they were chasing the game for most of the way.

In a thrilling first half, the sides were level four times in the opening ten minutes before Offaly got in for an 11th minute goal with Shane Rigney finishing superbly after a clever Screeney lay off, 1-4 to 0-4. Offaly led from here to the finish.

Joe Hoctor should have got a goal in the 15th minute after Charlie Mitchell burst forward but didn't get a clean strike on the ball. However, the Carrig-Riverstown man made no mistake six minutes later. He finished well after a fine move involving Dan Bourke and Charlie Mitchell for a 2-5 to 0-6 lead. Offaly were in a very strong position when leading 2-8 to 0-7 on the stroke of half time. Points from Darren Shaughnessy and Diarmaid Davoren cut the gap to 2-8 to 0-9 at the interval but a five point lead still represented an excellent half's work for Offaly.

It was such a pleasing display by Offaly and their ability to do skilful things at pace shone through. Having come out of the weak group, this was their first real test and they passed it with passing colours. Some of their really skilful players, James Mahon, Sam Bourke, Brecon Kavanagh, Dan Bourke, Shane Rigney and Adam Screeney were immense and Charlie Mitchell finally clicked into gear late on but they wouldn't have won it on skill alone. Cathal King and Joe Hoctor were magnificent, Conor Doyle worked his socks off and got two crucial points and collectively, it was a heroic display.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Joe Hoctor (Offaly): The talent of last year's minors and others such as Charlie Mitchell is well known but this was a day where others also rose to prominence. Cathal King put in a great shift at midfield, chasing everything and scoring two points. My choice is Joe Hoctor. He had struggled a bit in some of the earlier games but he made a huge, pivotal contribution. His work rate, even when tired, inspired others to greater efforts while he scored 1-2 and this had a major influence on the win – it was easily his best game of the year. It was in the 63rd minute when he was called ashore and it was great to see Dan Ravenhill come on after a long lay off.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Shane Rigney 1-3, Joe Hoctor 1-2, Charlie Mitchell 0-5 (4f), Adam Screeney 0-3 (1f), Cormac Egan 1-0, Cathal King and Conor Doyle 0-2 each, Sam Bourke, Dan Bourke, Ter Guinan 0-1 each.

Galway: Rory Burke 0-6 (2 '65's and 4f), Ruben Davitt and Liam Leen 1-1 each, Diarmaid Davoren and Darren Shaughnessy 0-3 each, Colm Molloy 0-2, Oisin Lohan 0-1.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Mark Troy (Durrow); Patrick Taaffe (Belmont), Ben Miller (Birr), James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Luke Watkins (Shinrone), Sam Bourke (Durrow), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Conor Doyle (Clara); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Joe Hoctor (Carrig-Riverstown), Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – Cormac Egan (Tullamore) for Screeney, inj. (35m), Ter Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Kavanagh, inj. (48m), Dan Ravenhill (Durrow) for Hoctor (63m).

GALWAY: Darragh Walsh; Kieran Hanrahan, Michael Walsh, Adam Nolan; Sean O'Hanlon, Cillian Travers, Patrick Burke; Rory Burke, Gavin Lee; Ronan Killilea, Tiarnan Leen, Greg Thomas; Darren Shaughnessy, Ruben Davitt, Colm Molloy. Subs - Diarmaid Davoren for Burke (26m), Liam Leen for Shaughnessy (37m), Oisin Lohan for Killilea (37m), Joshua O'Connor for Nolan (52m).

Refereee – Caymon Flynn (Westmeath).

REFEREE WATCH

Caymon Flynn was very much kept on his toes in a high intensity, physical game that was played at helter-skelter pace. He refereed it well. He gave Offaly one soft free late on and was a fraction slow to stop the game when Brecon Kavanagh went down but play was gone over the sideline and it may have been just out of his line of vision as play had went over to the far sideline. He was fair and neither side had grounds for real complaint.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Adam Screeney's 33rd minute point was a game changer as Galway had just got back on terms with a lightening quick 1-2. Another point or two could have provided them with unstoppable momentum but Screeney's class score stopped them in their tracks, Offaly went on a run and were ahead the whole way to the finish.

VENUE WATCH

O'Connor Park was at its best and it was easy host the small crowd. The stewards and helpers dealt quickly and efficiently with the injuries.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly play Kilkenny or Dublin in the semi-final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 7 (5 in first half); Galway - 12 (7 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 2 (Ben Miller and Colin Spain); Galway – 2 (Kieran Hanrahan and Sean O'Hanlon).

Red cards: 0.