Impressive Longford put Offaly to the sword

OFFALY had absolutely no complaints as they were well and truly beaten by Longford in their Leinster Minor Football Championship opener in Kilcormac's Faithful Fields on Wednesday evening.

Leinster Minor Football Championship Group 1 Round 1

Longford 2-13

Offaly 1-9

It was a disappointing display by Offaly and they were struggling the whole day but they came up against a very nice Longford team, who played very well on the day. There is never any shame in defeat when you are beaten by a better team and that was very much the case here.

The game was really over as a contest at half time when Longford led by 2-5 to 0-5 after playing against the wind. The home side tried hard in the second half but never looked like hauling in that deficit and interest in the outcome had dwindled from a long way out.

Some of Longford's attacking football was a joy to watch with Cian O'Donnell and James Hagan particularly outstanding for them. They looked very good when moving the ball at pace with Peter Farrell putting in a great shift at midfield for them.

Little went right for Offaly on the day and like the U-20s the previous night, their attack found the going tough. They tried hard and were honest but found it very difficult to break down a solid Longford defence. While Offaly had nine wides, they struggled to create chances and the fact that five of their starting forwards was taken off is telling – one of them was by default as Cian McNamee looked to cramp up late on and he was Offaly's best forward by a distance.

A younger brother of former county stars Niall and Alan, the Rhode man scored three of his five points from play as well as being fouled for the penalty – the penalty may have been in the soft category but he was still heading for the goals with real determination when he went down under pressure from a Longford defender.

Apart from McNamee it was a mixed bag for Offaly. Their defence worked hard with Luke Fitzgerald impressing on the ball but as a unit, they were occasionally opened up. Eoin Rouse and Charlie Burns were very honest at midfield, though Rouse was penalised three times for first half pick ups and Longford had spells of dominance here.

There was striking similarities for Offaly between this and the U-20 game on Tuesday evening. They had first use of a strong wind and were also in dire trouble at half time, trailing by 2-5 to 0-5.

Longford's attack were excellent in the first half. They ran at Offaly with terrific pace and took almost every chance. In fact Offaly were fortunate that they didn't get a third goal as Karl O'Hara and Oisin Kane had the ball cleared off the line in one lethal attack in the 22^nd minute.

Longford made a dream start with Cian McDonnell rounding off a fine move with a clinically taken goal in the third minute. An equally good goal from James Hagan made it 2-4 to 0-1 after fifteen minutes and Offaly settled in the second quarter.

Cian McNamee got their first point from play to make it 2-4 to 0-4 after 22 minutes – McNamee added a super point in the 26^th minute before Cian O'Donnell's quality score left the home side with a mountain to climb for the second half.

In the second half, Longford played very intelligently. They allowed Offaly to have plenty of pressure and ball and pulled men back but they broke regularly and kept the score board ticking over. Again, their attack looked very sharp when they did go forward. They were 2-12 to 0-7 ahead when sub Senan Hanniffy superly converted a penalty, award with five minutes left for that challenge on McNamee.

Subs Lee Moore and Eamon Maher added late points but it was all academic and Offaly now face a tough battle to stay in the championship with Laois next up and then a trip to a strong Dublin side.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cian O'Donnell (Longford): Cian O'Donnell had a super game at the fulcrum of the Longford attack. He top scored with 1-4, 1-3 from play, but brought a lot more to the table than that. He was excellent in open play as well and the quality of his passing commanded attention. Cian McNamee was Offaly's best player and a contender on a day when the home attack had limited opportunities.

THE SCORERS

Longford: Cian O'Donnell 1-4 (1f), James Hagan 1-3 1f), Sean Fagan, James Shannon, Karl O'Hara, Ben Blessington, Keelan Hudson and Liam Greene 0-1 each.

Offaly: Cian McNamee 0-5 (2f), Senan Hanniffy 1-0 (p), Mark Bryant 0-2 (1m and 1`f), Lee Moore and Eamon Maher 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Jack Ryan (Doon); Conor Daly (Ballycumber), Adam Fox (Tubber), Conor Egan (Shamrocks); Luke Fitzgerald (Doon), Patrick Kenna (Tullamore), Tadgh Kelly (Kilclonfert); Eoin Rouse (Tullamore), Charlie Burns (Daingean); Eoghan Cullen (Edenderry), Shane Horkan (Tullamore), Sean Wyer (Bracknagh); Dylan Dunne (Clara), Mark Bryant (Shamrocks), Cian McNamee (Rhode). Subs – Lee Moore (Ferbane) for Cullen (HT), Colm Egan (Ballycumber) for Horkan (HT), Senan Hanniffy (Doon) for Dunne (37m), Eamon Maher (Ferbane) for Wyer (50m), Darragh Sullivan (Kilclonfert) for McNamee, inj. (61m),

LONGFORD: James Ross; Alan Mimnagh, Conor McHugh, Darragh Mulligan; Conor Doherty, Mark Cooney, Cormac Flynn; Sean Fagan, Peter Farrell; Oisin Kane, Cian O'Donnell, James Shannon; Karl O'Hara, Joshua Marsh, James Hagan. Subs - Liam Greene for Kane (29m), Jack Finnegan for Shannon (43m), Keelan Hudson for O'Hara (46m), Ben Blesington for Farrell (52m),

Referee – Enda Kenny.

REFEREE WATCH

Enda Kenny had a really good game. He was consistent, even if Eoin Rouse would feel hard done by as he was penalised for three pick ups in the first half but a couple of them were certainly correct. He was in control and fair. Offaly's late penalty was soft but overall, he was not a factor in the result or game.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Longford's opening goal from Cian O'Donnell after three minutes set the tone for what was to come.

VENUE WATCH

The decent crowd was professionally hosted in Faithful Fields and the pitch was as good as you could expect in this weather and with the volume of use it is getting.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly travel to Laois next Wednesday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 9 (4 in first half); Longford – 4 (1 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Conor Daly); Longford – 2 (Conor Doherty and Karl O'Hara).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.