Offaly forward admitted he shouldn't have reacted angrily – Declan Kelly

OFFALY forward Dylan Hyland admitted he shouldn't have reacted the way he did after being substituted during Saturday's National Football League defeat by Down as an injury precaution, manager Declan Kelly revealed afterwards.

Hyland reacted very angrily when taken off in the 20^th minute of Saturday's thrilling 4-12 to 2-14 Division 3 defeat in Newry. The Raheen man pulled his hand back when Kelly tried to shake it and then banged a fence with it when he went up to the stand to join the subs.

His early replacement looked strange at the time as he had scored two points, one from play, and was working hard but it emerged afterwards that he had hurt his groin before the game. Some supporters saw him pull up during the warm up while he also seemed to pull up short while chasing the ball a couple of minutes before he was replaced.

Many of the crowd could see Hyland's furious response after he was taken off and it didn't look good but Declan Kelly said afterwards that he was replaced purely as a precaution as they wanted to make sure they have him available for next Sunday's crunch game at home to Wicklow. He has no problem with Hyland's response, citing his influence to Offaly and they spoke about it at half time.

The manager said: “Dylan got an injury before the game, he gave the groin a bit of a twinge. We pulled him with next week in mind. He said at half time, he shouldn't have (reacted the way he did) and that is it. He is keen to play, keen to play, that is all. He wants to play and he missed the first two matches (through suspension). He is a great lad and he gives an awful lot to this team.”

Hyland had also been taken off late on in the devastating defeat to Clare the previous Sunday and this was questioned by supporters as he had been one of Offaly's best players. He had got a yellow card early on in that game but had fouled a handful of times after that, going very close to getting a second yellow and Kelly confirmed that was the only reason they called him ashore that day. “That was the reason, nothing else,” the Kilclonfert man declared.

Edenderry sharpshooter Cian Farrell was taken off before half time against Clare and he also had an angry reaction. He could be seen having words with the manager when he went off and was dropped from the panel for the trip to Down. There was speculation throughout Saturday that Farrell had opted out of the panel as a result but Kelly would only say: “He didn't make the 26 today and that is all I know”. Farrell has been struggling to regain his best form since coming back from a cruciate injury, though he has shown flashes of his previous excellence, and it remains to be seen if he will return to the panel.

Offaly gave a very good account of themselves in Newry, scoring a very respectable 2-14 and missing a handful of goal chances that could have won the game for them. They are now in a very difficult position with four defeats from their opening four games and in a desperate relegation dogfight. They have games to come at home to Wicklow, away to Sligo and at home to Limerick so survival is definitely possible but their margin for error is very small and one horror display could prove fatal – they are always capable of that but encouragingly, they were as good as table toppers Down in almost every aspect on Saturday except the very important one of converting goal chances into three points.

The way Offaly played ensured that some of the gathering dark clouds drifted off a bit but Declan Kelly was candid about the predicament they are in.

“I am happy with the lads and they are putting a big effort in but ultimately it is about winning matches, that is where we are.

“I know we have no points on the board and that is the one thing we have to get. That hasn't changed, the fact that we are where we are but the one thing I will say at the moment is we have 25 lads who have played league football this year in four games. I would like to think that is very important, for the development of Offaly football.”

There were plenty of green shoots in Newry and the displays of some of the younger players, Cormac Egan, who has adapted extremely well to a new role at wing back, John Furlong, Jack Bryant, Keith O'Neill and sub Cathal Flynn, was a big positive.

Kelly agreed: “Looking at a couple of lads that got their starts today, Jack and Keith did very well inside. That is where it is. At this moment we are trying to build lads up and give lads games. We are working hard. That is all I can say. We are working damn hard but it doesn't hide the fact we have no points on the board.”

He was asked about the way Offaly are playing.

“In fairness, one aspect that we are quite good at is turning over opposition ball and getting around them. The transition maybe has been slow at times in some of the games and it is to get that balance right. At the end of the day, you come up against block defences and you have to work around that but if you can get the ball inside the transition quite quick, and with the foot if possible too. . . .”

He spoke about the importance of the remaining three games.

“We have three huge games left. We need points and that is the reality of it. It starts next week but we are going to have to take points in the next three matches.”