Defensive master class sends impressive Offaly into provincial final
WITH two of their best players, Adam Screeney and Brecon Kavanagh looking on from the sideline, Offaly produced another fairly sensational performance, a huge win as they qualified for the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship against Dublin in Tullamore on Wednesday evening.
Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship semi-final
Offaly 1-19
Dublin 2-12
They will face Wexford in the Leinster final next Wednesday, an All-Ireland semi-final with the winners going through to the All-Ireland final against the Munster champions. A second All-Ireland final appearance for an Offaly hurling team in two years is now a tantalising possibility and you wouldn't back against a team that is growing in confidence the whole time.
This was a remarkable win considering Offaly were without Screeney and Brecon Kavanagh while Brecon's older brother, Alex was also unable to take his place on the subs bench after damaging a thumb ligament in training during the week. However, cometh the hour, cometh the men and Offaly had players standing up all over the field with a defensive master class keeping Dublin at bay while a clinical attacking display allowed them to amass a winning tally of 1-19: they did make some mistakes, had a few hairy moments but once again, they work rate was huge and it was a top class display.
Offaly's win was even more comprehensive than the final scoreline suggests as Dublin's second goal came almost at the end of six minutes of injury time and the game was well beyond their reach at that stage
Speculation that the Screeney and Kavanagh would not feature after getting heavy belts to the head area in the sensational quarter final win over Galway were confirmed when the Offaly team was finally released late on Wednesday afternoon – Ter Guinan took Brecon Kavanagh's place in the defence while Cormac Egan started in attack instead of Screeney. A lot of deliberating took place during the week with medical staff stating that neither Screeney or Brecon Kavanagh should start and manager Leo O'Connor confirmed afterwards that a final call that they would not be on the panel was made on Tuesday evening.
Dan Ravenhill did come on at half time, replacing Joe Hoctor who had got two excellent first half points but also sustained a belt to the head at one stage. Ravenhill was excellent when he came on, oozing quality and his contribution was crucial in Offaly repelling stiff Dublin resistance.
Over the course of the hour plus, Offaly were the better team by a distance and it was a very impressive win. It was another huge occasion for Offaly hurling with a crowd of near 5,000 people in O'Connor Park – the demand caused the online ticketing system to break down on Wednesday afternoon while many people were late for the match as there were traffic backlogs on the approach roads to Tullamore, particularly from the Birr end.
It was another special occasion, a throw back to a glorious past and the sight of hundreds of excited supporters on the pitch afterwards, youngsters seeking autographs, was one to warm the heart of Offaly GAA supporters.
And they had no shortage of heroes to seek out. James Mahon and Sam Bourke were absolutely brilliant in a superb defence where Luke Watkins put in a serious shift. Colin Spain and Cathal King worked their socks off in midfield while Charlie Mitchell deserves a special word of praise. With Screeney missing, there was a lot of pressure on Mitchell to stand up as a senior county player and he did this spectacularly, finding the range from frees, scoring 1-3 from play and showing for everything. Joe Hoctor had a brilliant opening quarter while Dan Bourke was immense throughout and Cormac Egan's work rate was inspirational as he turned over ball, tracked players and set up the crucial second goal.
The absence of Screeney and Kavanagh was certainly not noticed in the first half as the Offaly attack was absolutely clinical and they defended superbly. It meant that Offaly were full value for their 0-12 to 1-4 lead at half time and they would have been in an even stronger position only for the concession of a soft goal in the 13th minute.
That was batted to the net by Neil Clerkin in the 13th minute after Diarmuid O'Dulaing's half hit point attempt fell into the danger zone and Mark Troy couldn't get to the ball. That goal left Dublin trailing by 0-5 to 1-1 and was the only blemish on Offaly's first half defensive display.
Offaly had started sluggishly as Dublin owned the ball for the first few minutes but their only reward was an O'Dulaing point. However, five on the trot between the third and 11th minutes got Offaly motoring and with the strong wind on their backs, they were clearly the better side from here to the interval.
Their shoot on sight policy yielded a rich dividend as they got some excellent first half points. They had two more runs of three points in a row as Dublin just hung in and a 0-12 to 0-4 half time lead would have been an even more accurate reflection of the way the first half had went.
Playing into the wind in the second half, Offaly still had loads to do and it looked blue when Dublin got three quick points in two minutes to bring it back to two points, 0-12 to 1-7. It was a real test of character for Offaly but just when it was looking like it could unravel, they turned the game with a 38th minute goal. Cormac Egan did brilliantly to win the ball and show a clean pair of heels to the Dublin defence. His shot was saved but the rebound fell perfectly for Charlie Mitchell who stroked to the net. As game changing moments go, this was huge and a 1-12 to 1-7 lead had a dual spin off of giving Offaly the self belief to push on and fatally undermining Dublin's fragile confidence.
Crucially Shane Rigney and Dan Ravenhill followed up with inspirational points to extend the gap to seven. It was eight by the 49th minute following a Ravenhill free and a sensational Mitchell point from the left wing, 1-16 to 1-8 and it was Offaly's to lose.
The manner in which they kept their composure and kept Dublin at bay late on was hugely impressive. Dublin did get four points in a row while Offaly missed a few chances but it was still a two score game and the excellent Dan Bourke got free for a crucial 62nd minute point. Mitchell added another after a great Conor Doyle break, then got a free and Dublin were a beaten docket with Conn Rock's 65th minute goal only of academic interest.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Sam Bourke (Offaly): A choice between Sam Bourke, Charlie Mitchell and James Mahon but Bourke gets the vote. He had a magnificent game at the heart of the defence. Defensively he was brilliant, mopping up a huge amount of ball while his work rate was phenomenal – Offaly's ability to come out of rucks with the ball was a huge feature of their win. His distribution into attack was also top drawer, particularly his placing of pinpoint ball into a fast moving Charlie Mitchell.
THE SCORERS
Offaly: Charlie Mitchell 1-9 (5f and 1 '65'), Colin Spain, Dan Bourke, Joe Hoctor, Dan Ravenhill (1f) 0-2 each, Sam Bourke, Shane Rigney 0-1 each.
Dublin: Diarmuid O'Dulaing 0-5 (3f), Neil Clerkin and Conn Rock 1-1 each, James O'Brien, Sean Gallagher, Ollie Gaffney, Jamie Conroy, Neil Hogan 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
OFFALY: Mark Troy (Durrow); Patrick Taaffe (Belmont), Ben Miller (Birr), James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Luke Watkins (Shinrone), Sam Bourke (Durrow), Ter Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Conor Doyle (Clara); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Joe Hoctor (Carrig-Riverstown), Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – Dan Ravenhill (Durrow) for Hoctor (HT), Barry Egan (Clara) for Guinan (52m), Charlie Bracken (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Taaffe (55m).
DUBLIN: Adam O'Connor; David Lucey, Brian Moorehouse-Carroll, Brian Dunne; Conor Dolan, Jack O'Shea, Conal O'Riain; James O'Brien, Sean Gallagher; Brendan Kenny, Diarmuid O'Dulaing, Neil Clerkin; Ciaran Donovan, Jamie Conroy, Ollie Gaffney. Subs – Conn Rock for Clerkin (40m), Neil Hogan for Conroy (40m), Senan Crosbie for O'Brien (42m), Andrew Keegan for Dolan (49m), Conor Brennan for Kenny (56m)
Referee – Eamonn Furlong (Wexford).
REFEREE WATCH
Eamonn Furlong had a very good game. There were a couple of questionable decisions, frees that could and perhaps should have been given while he didn't punish any dodgy looking handpasses but these all balanced out. He was in control, knew the rules and exuded efficiency.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Charlie Mitchell's 38th minute goal was absolutely crucial. It turned the game back in Offaly's favour and they never looked back.
VENUE WATCH
O'Connor Park was in great nick and a huge crowd created a good atmosphere. There were issues with people being late but that was down to traffic and not an Offaly GAA issue.
WHAT'S NEXT
Offaly play Wexford in the Leinster final next Wednesday.
STATISTICS
Wides: Offaly – 11 (4 in first half); Dublin – 9 (5 in first half).
Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Dublin – 4 (Brian Moorehouse-Carroll, Jack O'Shea, Sean Gallagher and Senan Crosbie.
Red cards: 0