Relieved Offaly forced to dig deep to grind out tough win

With a lot of interest in this very talented group of players, it was no surprise that a large Offaly crowd made the journey to Parnell Park for the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship opener on Saturday and they went home reasonably content after a very hard working and earned win.

Leinster U20 Hurling Championship Tier 1 Group 1

Offaly 1-18

Dublin 2-14

It was far from a vintage Offaly performance but they produced flashes of excellent hurling while the real positive was the character and battling qualities they displayed. Dublin played a very hard hitting and defensive game, pulling a man back to double team Adam Screeney and focused on making life very difficult for Offaly.

They certainly did that and asked very serious questions of Offaly, pushing them right down to the wire and the favourites got the winning point over a minute into injury time from Barry Egan. Dublin were very brave in the closing quarter and Offaly would not have complained at all if this had been a draw. They could have been caught very easily and were very relieved to get the win.

Over the hour plus, Offaly were the better side and they did deserve the result but they didn't put their opponents away when they were on the ropes, almost paying the price for this.

With no tier one team bowing out in the round robin series, the stakes were not very high here but you wouldn't have thought that with the way both went about their business. It was fiercely contested with an edge to it the whole way through and this was real championship hurling.

Offaly would have been disappointed if they hadn't got the result as there were a couple of times in the second half when it was set up for them to pull away and they probably should have done so.

1-9 to 0-7 ahead at half time, Offaly were 1-13 to 0-8 clear nine minutes into the second half and it really looked to be all over at this stage.

Dublin got back into it with 1-2 without reply between the 40^th and 43^rd minutes, the goal scored by Ollie Gaffney. Even though there was only three points in it, Offaly were still very much in control and they responded very well. Adam Screeney, who had very uncharacteristic problems with his frees, converted three in a row to put Offaly 1-16 to 10-10 ahead after 48 minutes and for the second time in the second half, it seemed a done deal.

Dublin threw caution to the wind after this and did extremely well to get back into it. A superb individual goal from their best forward David Purcell made it 2-11 to 1-16 with eight minutes to go. Screeney missed his fifth free of the day and Jamie Conroy made it a one point game with four minutes left.

Dreadful Dublin defending set Barry Egan up for an Offaly point but they didn't push on. Donal Shirley was blocked with a chance and Dublin got on level terms with points from a Diarmuid O'Dulaing free and Conn Rock as it drifted into injury time.

You had to admire the way Dublin went at it late on and Offaly lived on their wits in the closing minutes. They just managed to pull it out of the fire with Barry Egan, who finished so well, putting them into the lead in the 61^st minute while Conor Newton was wide with Dublin's final chance of an equaliser.

It was a very good game for Offaly to win and while it was an imperfect display, it was played on a very heavy pitch and they will not be one bit disappointed at receiving such a tough test. With so many of the players that lost All-Ireland minor and U20 finals in the last two years here, there is a lot of hype about this Offaly team and this was shown with the crowd that travelled here, even though they will have a knockout game irrespective of the results in the early stages.

The manner in which Offaly stood up to Dublin's physicality, the way they dug in and the work rate they displayed ensured that the supporters were given value for money here. It was a mixed bag at times but Offaly had several players who played well. James Mahon was a giant for much of it in defence, though he was caught with the second Dublin goal while Ruari Kelly and Brecon Kavanagh also impressed in defence. Cathal King and Ter Guinan worked hard at midfield while Dan Bourke was the outstanding forward, Colin Spain won a lot of crucial dirty ball and Shane Rigney and Barry Egan showed good opportunism with their chances. Offaly would have won easier if Screeney's eye had been in from frees and he missed five that he would score on another day but he still showed some delightful skill in conditions that didn't suit him, won ball that he had no right to win and also got their crucial goal - it may have been a difficult day for freetakers as Diarmaid O'Dulaing also missed a couple of crucial ones for Dublin.

Offaly were a bit hit and miss at times in the first half but they also looked to be the better team. A tough Dublin team adopted a physical approach and clearly wanted to ruffle Offaly feathers but the visitors certainly did not back away from that.

It resulted in a competitive and very hard fought game. Offaly could have got well ahead early on. An Adam Screeney free and an excellent Dan Bourke point from play had them two points up after five minutes. Only three out of character misses from Adam Screeney frees kept Offaly from pulling clear – they were not that simple but very scoreable, while the one he sent wide early in the second half looked a sure thing.

Dublin levelled it up by the 12^th minute, 0-2 each and were also level at 0-3 each after 16 minutes. Adam Screeney had a goal shot saved in the 17^th minute, brilliantly gaining possession but not getting the power he wanted. It was 0-5 to 0-4 in Offaly's favour after 19 minutes and they finally found something approaching their best form after this.

Dan Bourke had a super first half and got his third point in the 20^th minute. Shane Rigney, Adam Screeney and Cathal King got points from play and Adam Screeney's 28^th minute goal put Offaly 1-9 to 0-5 ahead – he fielded a long clearance, raced into space and drove a powerful shot to the net. Dublin got the closing two points to trail by 1-9 to 0-7 at half time and Offaly still had plenty of work to do.

MATCH A NALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Dan Bourke (Durrow): On a day that was not conducive to good forward play, Dan Bourke hit top form for Offaly. He got four excellent points, three of them in the first half as well as working hard on and off the ball.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Adam Screeney 1-8 (7f), Dan Bourke 0-4, Shane Rigney and Barry Egan 0-2 each, Donal Shirley and Cathal King 0-1 each.

Dublin: Diarmaid O'Dulaing 0-6 (6f), David Purcell 1-2, Ollie Gaffney 1-1, Jamie Conroy 0-2, Eoin Keys, Brendan Kenny and Con Rock 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Liam Hoare (Carrig-Riverstown); Patrick Taaffe (Belmont), James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Ruari Kelly (Lusmagh); Donal Shirley (Tubber), Ben Miller (Birr), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown), Ter Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Dan Ravenhill (Durrow), Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Barry Egan (Clara), Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – Eoin Burke (Coolderry) for Ravenhill (30m +1), Caelum Larkin (Carrig-Riverstown) forTaaffe (57m), Eoin Bailey-O'Brien (Shinrone) for Burke (57m),

DUBLIN: Kevin Hogan; Conor Groarke, Eoin Keyes, Cathal Kennedy; Conor Dolan, Callum Walsh, Brendan Kenny; Jamie Conroy, Senan Crosbie; Ollie Gaffney, Conn Rock, Diarmuid O'Dulaing; Liam Garrigan, David Purcell, Conor Newton. Subs – Joey Kinnane for Crosbie (29m), Ciaran Stacey for Garrigan (46m), Fionn Murphy for Dolan (50m), Neil Hogan for O'Dulaing (60m),

Referee – Matthew Redmond (Kildare).

REFEREE WATCH

Matthew Redmond had a very good game until the last few minutes when he missed a couple of frees for Offaly and gave a couple of questionable ones to Dublin. These may have balanced out over the hour and Offaly were not complaining when he blew the final whistle two minutes into injury time as he certainly could have played another minute without anyone saying anything. It was physical but he dished out cards, both sets of players knew where the line was and he was honest and fair. Dublin did walk on thinner ice than Offaly as they picked up six compared to two yellow cards and were clearly trying to hit the visitors hard.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Barry Egan's injury time winning point was the moment that really mattered here.

VENUE WATCH

The recent bad weather has every pitch heavy and Parnell Park was no different with surface water lying near the sidelines. As usual, Dublin hosted the fixture well and provided a warm welcome to visitors. There was a large Offaly crowd here with plenty of interest in this talented team.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly host Galway in Tullamore next Saturday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 11 (4 in first half); Dublin – 10 (6 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 2 (James Mahon and Dan Ravenhill); Dublin – 6 (Conor Groarke, Cathal Kennedy, Callum Walsh, Conn Rock, David Purcell, Joey Kinnane).

Red cards: 0.