Second half goals decisive as Tullamore win bout of pre-championship shadow boxing
WITHOUT staying in top gear for too long, Tullamore did enough to retain the Division 1 Football League with a deserved win over Ferbane in the final on Sunday afternoon.
Offaly Division 1 Football League final
Tullamore 2-11
Ferbane 1-11
Tullamore were the better team on the day and deserved to win. They were pushed hard by Ferbane but took control with second half goals from defenders, Daire McDaid and Nigel Bracken and that gave them enough of a cushion to get home. Over the course of the hour, the winners moved that bit better and attacked with more menace.
Ferbane's goal came from Joe Maher five minutes into injury time and while they did have one late attack in a bid to salvage it, they would have been very fortunate to get to extra time.
With the sides scheduled to meet in the first round of the championship in a few weeks time, it was no surprise that neither side went at full pelt. Tullamore certainly didn't have their strongest team out there with John Furlong and Cormac Egan not featuring while Offaly senior player Aaron Leavy only came on as a sub. Oisin Martin was named on the subs bench and while he didn't come on, it is good to see him on the way back after missing last year with a cruciate injury.
Ferbane were missing their players on the Offaly senior hurling panel and will also be stronger come championship time.
As you would expect, this was more like a bout of shadow boxing than the real thing but after a remarkably pedestrian opening quarter, things had improved coming up to half time as both began to play with more urgency. The second half was better again, providing decent entertainment and Tullamore will be quietly pleased with their win and the way some of their players showed up.
They didn't go flat out but they did have spells where they played very well and Tullamore look to be in solid health.
The first twenty minutes of so was fairly dreadful with both sides going through the motions and not injecting real intensity. Almost everything was done at a slow pace and the sides were level on three occasions in the first 21 minutes. It was 0-3 each at that stage but Tullamore finally got going coming up to the interval. It was almost an imperceptible pick up but the change was profound as Ferbane suddenly found themselves being opened up.
Harry Plunkett (free), Diarmuid Egan (two), Mike Fox and Luke Egan all got points as Tullamore took a 0-8 to 0-3 half time lead. It was much better from Tullamore as they broke tackles and took good, simple scores.
Ferbane played their best football in the third quarter and did very well to get back into it. After an early exchange of points, they hit a great spell of sustained pressure as points from Cian Johnson – a deadly finisher, Johnson looked reasonably sharp -, Darragh Flynn (two) and Ronan McGuire as they cut the deficit to the minimum, 0-9 to 0-8 after 40 minutes.
A minute later, Tullamore broke through for their first goal with loose defending allowing Daire McDaid in for a well taken score. Ferbane recovered well from that. Points from Joe Maher (free) and Kieran McManus kept them alive and they really should have got a goal as Darragh Flynn was wide with a snap shot from six metres in the 47th minute.
A goal there would have changed everything for Ferbane but instead it was Tullamore who struck gold. Nigel Bracken got their second goal in the 49th minute, set up by Daire McDaid and McDaid and Diarmuid Egan added points – it was Egan's third point and his ability to do the simple thing well and without fuss, take the simple scores, was crucial for Tullamore on a day when he floated in and out of the game.
With a 2-11 to 0-10 lead, it was really all over, though Ferbane rallied again wth a Johnson point and that scrambled goal from Maher five minutes into injury time to bring it back to a score.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Daire McDaid: It was one of those days where a lot of players performed at a similar level with few really putting their head above the parapet. Daire McDaid caught the eye. He defended solidly and made a game winning contribution when venturing into attack, scoring a goal and a point as well as setting up Tullamore's second goal.
THE SCORERS
Tullamore: Daire McDaid 1-1, Harry Plunkett (2f) and Diarmuid Egan 0-3 each, Nigel Bracken 1-0, Michael Brazil, Dan Fox, Mike Fox and Luke Egan 0-1 each.
Ferbane: Joe Maher 1-2 (2f), Darragh Flynn 0-4 (2f), Cian Johnson 0-2, Kieran McManus, David Kelly, Ronan McGuire 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
TULLAMORE: Corey White; Nigel Bracken, Dylan Hensey, Daire McDaid; Cathal Kavanagh, Paul McConway, Jay Sheeran; Aaron Hensey, Michael Brazil; Luke Egan, Diarmuid Egan, Harry Plunkett; Dan Fox, Luke Plunkett, Mike Fox. Subs – Devon Henchy for Dylan Hensey (51m), Liam Dillane for Diarmuid Egan (58m), Aaron Leavy for Brazil (60m).
FERBANE: Adam Nugent; Stephen Wren, Ciaran Cahill, Conor Butler; John Dunican, Leon Fox, Shane Nally; Kevin Nugent, Kieran McManus; Sean Flynn, David Kelly, Darragh Flynn; Cian Johnson, Cathal Flynn, Ronan McGuire. Subs – Mark Wren for Dunican (24m), Joe Maher for Sean Flynn (HT), Eoghan Grennan for Mark Wren (57m), Adam Egan for Kelly (60m).
Referee – Chris Dwyer (Clara).
REFEREE WATCH
Chris Dywer had a good game and was always in control. A few frees were questioned by both sides but these very much balanced out.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Tullamore's second goal from Nigel Bracken really knocked the stuffing out of Ferbane and gave the winners a sufficient cushion to get home.
VENUE WATCH
The scoreboard problems were sorted for this game after not working properly for the preceding Division 2 FL final. There were no issues with hosting this game.
WHAT'S NEXT
The sides meet each other again in the championship in July.
STATISTICS
Wides: Tullamore – 8 (4 in first half); Ferbane – 7 (4 in first half).
Yellow cards: Tullamore – 0; Ferbane – 2 (Darragh Flynn and Cian Johnson).
Black cards: 0.
Red cards: 0.