Extra time heartbreak for devastated Offaly

A SEASON that promised much ended in bitter disappointment for Offaly senior hurlers when they suffered an absolutely heartbreaking defeat to Carlow in a thrilling extra time shoot out in the Joe McDonagh Cup final on Saturday in Croke Park.

Joe McDonagh Cup Senior Hurling Final

Carlow 2-30
Offaly 1-32

Last gasp points from Diarmuid Byrne and Chris Nolan snatched a famous victory from a devastated Offaly's grasp as they missed a great late chance of forcing a penalty shootout but Adrian Cleary's shot from just inside half way drifted agonisingly wide of the target.

It was a bitter pill for a tremendously brave Offaly to swallow as they had shown terrific character to get on the verge of a famous win right at the end. Offaly had played with fourteen men from the 31st minute after corner back Dara Maher was harshly dismissed – 2-9 to 1-7 behind at half time, they somehow forced extra time against all odds, scoring seven of the last eight points and the last four.

They had their full quota of players on for extra time and were a point down at the end of the first period.

In the second period, sensational points from the Sampson brothers, Jason and Killian put Offaly a point in front with four minutes left and a fantastic win was in sight. Instead Carlow rallied and those points from Byrne and Chris Nolan gave them the sweetest of wins.

Over the course of the 90 plus minutes, Carlow may have been marginally the better side and deserved their win but it was all down to very thin margins and this could have went either way. An Offaly win would have been against the head but they were so close to it.

Their fighting spirit and character earned them the height of respect but ultimately Offaly contributed to their own downfall. They lost for three primary reasons – Maher's sending off which handicapped them for much of normal time while their error count and their wide count were way too high. A lot of mistakes were punished but their big downfall was their wides: 26 overall and 20 in normal time. This was way too high and was in stark contrast to Carlow who had just 11 wides and while their forwards did have some poor misses, their shooting was deadly the whole day.

The winners' ability to win all sorts of ball was also a big factor, particularly in the attack and this played a huge role in their win. In contrast, Offaly struggled to hold onto the ball at times, yet they almost pulled it out of the fire.

It means that a bright year ends very disappointingly but once again, Offaly gave it their best shot and there is no shame in losing when you go down fighting.

It was a day when a lot went wrong for them. Chances were missed and mistakes led to scores. Eoghan Cahill missed some first half frees, resulting in the duties being transferred to David Nally, who then went off injured near the end.

It all provided terrific entertainment and Offaly had some fantastic individual displays with Ben Conneely, David Nally and Adrian Cleary three of their standout players. Cillian Kiely, who missed a lot of training after getting a ferocious hit in the win over Kerry, was not at peak fitness and went off before coming back on but contributed powerfully at times. Eoghan Cahill had the rare distinction of not reaching double figures but he was a powerful reason in Offaly going so close, scoring five of his eight points from play.

Eimhin Kelly and Paddy Clancy were excellent off the bench, turning the tide for Offaly, scoring two points apiece while Jack Clancy's heart and battling qualities were typical of this squad of players with several others having fine spells. On the day, Offaly were not quite good enough and some of their limitations were exposed but they were centimetres away from the lottery of a penalty shootout.

Offaly's decision to field a greatly weakened team for their last group game against Carlow added to an intriguing back drop for this final.

Having come through a gruelling series of league and cup games, Offaly decided to field only a few of their established team for that game and as you would have expected, they proved easy pickings for Carlow.

The home side needed to win and sauntered to a run away 1-29 to 0-14 win as they booked their final place. The big losers, however, were Laois with some people there less than impressed at Offaly's less than stellar effort. Offaly's defeat put Laois out but the perception that they would have rathered meet Carlow than them had little factual basis and was immaterial.

Since that group game, Offaly's progress to the All-Ireland U-20 hurling final – they meet Cork next Sunday in Thurles – has created a welter of excitement in the county. Two of that team, Charlie Mitchell and Sam Bourke were selected to start here – Mitchell had played in most of the games this year but Bourke's inclusion for his first start was a susprise.

Unsurprisingly, Offaly very much put their strongest foot forward here and with Wexford staring relegation from the top flight in the face, it was a huge game for them. Offaly have played with tremendous consistency and heart all year, despite operating out of a small pool of players. They won promotion back to Division 1 of the National Hurling League and had done all that was asked of them at every stage, until the last hurdle.

There was, however, a lot of pressure on them here and a crazy, topsy turvy first half emerged. Offaly made a dream start with Charlie Mitchell doing very well toget in for a goal after just forty seconds but by half time, they were in a very difficult position, their promotion hopes on a tight rope as they trailed by 2-9 to 1-7 and were down to fourteen men after a red card for corner back Dara Maher in the 31st minute.

Offaly were the architects of their own misfortune to an extent in the first half as they struggled to cope with Carlow's physicality. They conceded three quick points after that sensational start and had Stephen Corcoran to thank for Carlow not having a major on the board as he made superb saves to deny Martin Kavanagh and Chris Nolan.

Offaly got the next three through Eoghan Cahill (two, one free) and Cillian Kiely to lead by 1-3 to 0-3 after eight minutes but they were in a dogfight for the remainder of the half. Carlow were on level terms, 0-7 to 1-4 after 17 minutes. It was 0-8 to 1-5 four minutes later and then it fell apart for Offaly. First Paddy Boland got a 28th minute goal after brilliantly catching a long delivery when Carlow swept into attack after Cillian Kiely failed to gather what looked a straightforward ball.

Three minutes later, Offaly suffered a dreadful double blow when Dara Maher was sent off for pulling Paddy Boland's helmet and Martin Kavanagh dispatched the penalty to the net. Maher's infraction certainly looked unintentional and innocous but anything with a helmet is open to that censure.

Offaly finished the half with points from Adrian Cleary and Eoghan Cahill but a 2-9 to 1-7 half time deficit left them with a mountain to climb for the second half.

Offaly somehow found the reserves of courage to force extra time against all odds in the second half, as it finished level, 1-25 to 2-22.

On a day when a lot went wrong for them and the sending off loaded the odds against them they battled with every ounce of their being to force extra time. They chased down a lost cause, coming back from the dead late on as they scored seven of the last eight points and the last four to stay alive.

It was a fantastic comeback as it had all the hallmarks of being one of those days for them. They got four of the first five points to bring the gap back to three after 39 minutes but struggled to get the run of scores they needed.

Carlow's ability to pick off points at regular intervals looked like it would win the day. They were back five in front, 2-17 to 1-15 after 49 minutes and were six clearm 2-21 to 1-15 after 57 minutes. Offaly could have thrown in the towel but instead they kept driving, kept trying to do the right thing, even though their error and wide counts remained high.

Three in a row from Charlie Mitchell and subs Paddy Clancy and Eimhin Kelly kept them alive but Paddy Boland put Carlow back four in front in the 69th minute. With a devastating defeat staring them in the face, Offaly rallied sensationally between the 69th and 73rd minutes. Eoghan Cahill (free) and Clancy and Kelly again brought in down to a point and then Cahill stroked over the equaliser in the 73rd minute.

Extra time was a very tight affair as you would expect with almost nothing between them. Cillian Kiely, back in for the sent off Dara Maher, edged Offaly in front but by half time, Carlow had their noses in front, 2-27 to 1-29.

In the second period, it went right to the wire. Offaly got their noses in front and it was there to be won but then Carlow rallied again, snatching a famous victory and celebrating wildly on the final whistle.

MATCH ANALSYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paddy Boland (Carlow): Paddy Boland's ability to win high ball caused consternation in the Offaly full back line. He scored 1-4, was fouled for the penalty and Offaly's inability to deal with him was a big factor in defeat.

THE SCORERS

Carlow: Martin Kavanagh 1-8 (5f and 1 '65), Paddy Boland 1-4, Chris Nolan 0-4, Jon Nolan and James Doyle 0-3 each, Conor Kehoe, John Michael Nolan and Jack Kavanagh 0-2 each, Diarmuid Byrne and Kevin McDonald (f) 0-1 each.

Offaly: Eoghan Cahill 0-8 (3f), Cillian Kiely 0-6 (2f), David Nally 0-5 (1 '65', 1 sideline and 1f), Charlie Mitchell 1-1, Adrian Cleary 0-3, Killian Sampson, Paddy Clancy and Eimhin Kelly 0-2 each, Joey Keenaghan, Sam Bourke, Jason Sampson 0-1 each

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Stephen Corcoran (Coolderry); Dara Maher (Shinrone), Ciaran Burke (Durrow), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's); David King (Coolderry), Jason Sampson (Shinrone), Killian Sampson (Shinrone); Sam Bourke (Durrow), David Nally (Belmont); Cillian Kiely (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Jack Clancy (Belmont), Adrian Cleary (Shinrone); Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Brian Duignan (Durrow), Eoghan Cahill (Birr). Subs – Eimhin Kelly (Lusmagh) for Bourke (46m), Paddy Clancy (Belmont) for Duignan (49m), Shane Dooley (Tullamore) for Kiely (57m), Joey Keenaghan (Clodiagh Gaels) for Nally, inj. (67m), Paddy Delaney (Kinnitty) for Keenaghan (70m), Joey Keenaghan for Jack Clancy (74m), John Murphy (Ballinamere) for Keenghan (84m).

CARLOW: Brian Treacy; Paul Doyle, Conor Lawlor, Jack Kavanagh; Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Diarmuid Byrne, Jack McCullagh; Conor Kehoe, Kevin McDonald; Jon Nolan, Chris Nolan, James Doyle; John Michael Nolan, Martin Kavanagh, Paddy Nolan. Subs - Fiach O'Toole for JM Nolan (63m), Richard Coady for Kavanagh (72m), Niall Bolger for McDonald (85m), Jack Treacy for Jon Nolan (87m), Ciaran Kavanagh for O'Toole (89m)

Referee – Thomas Walsh (Waterford).

REFEREE WATCH

Thomas Walsh ended up a central figure. Dara Maher's sending off was a huge call and a big turning point but there were a lot more debatable decisions than that. These may well have balanced out but there were too many of them for comfort.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Dara Maher's sending off and Carlow's penalty goal was a huge, game changing moment. Apart from helping Carlow take control, it also helped them hold off Offaly in normal time.

VENUE WATCH

There was mixed opinions about the decision to hold this game in Croke Park. It would have been a great double bill with the U-20 hurling final but with Offaly in both, the underage decider was pushed out a week. As a standalone fixture, the Joe McDonagh Cup final was lost in Croke Park, even though the crowd was bigger than many expected. Portlaoise would have been ideal venue for Offaly and Carlow but authorities would have been fleeced by some if their second tier final was not played at headquarters. The teams would have liked playing here and Croke Park was in splendid condition. A traditional pre match parade and music blaring from the loudspeakers all added to the sense of occasion and there were very justifiable reasons for playing it here, even if there was an eerie feel with only the Hogan Stand open.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly will play the third placed side in Munster in the All-Ireland Series

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 26 (11 in first half, 9 in 2nd half, 2 in first period of extra time, 4 in 2nd period); Carlow – 11 (5 in first half, 5 in 2nd half, 0 in first period extra time, 1 in 2nd period).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Carlow – 4 (Jack McCullagh, James Doyle, Paddy Boland and Jack Kavanagh).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: Offaly – 1 (Dara Maher); Carlow – 0.

Footnote

The scoreboard had the final score down as 2-29 to 1-31 but all the reporters present had it as 2-30 to 1-32