Predictable defeat as Dublin send Offaly into Tailteann Cup

WITH zero expectations surrounding them and under no illusions about what lay ahead, Offaly were not one bit surprised to be sent packing from the Leinster Senior Football Championship by Dublin in Croke Park on Sunday.

Leinster Senior Football Championship semi-final

Dublin 3-22

Offaly 0-11

The gap between the sides was every bit as big as expected and an honest and hard working display by Offaly was never going to save them from a quick entry into the Tailteann Cup.

The final scoreline of 3-22 to 0-11 does not look good at all for Offaly but it is a small bit harsh on them as Dublin ran in 1-5 without reply in the closing few minutes. The 2-17 to 0-11 scoreline after 66 minutes was a more accurate reflection of Offaly's effort but they ran out of steam and did give up a bit late on.

Yet there was plenty to admire in Offaly at times as they played some decent football, stuck to their plan and were patient. They tried their best but from an early stage, it was clear that this would not be a real contest.

Dublin were just too good, too professional, too clinical and too efficient in their execution of the basics. Offaly knew that gap was there going into this and competed as best as they could but everyone knew that the All-Ireland champions' long reign in Leinster would not be ending here at an early stage.

As Dublin emptied their bench in the second half, it all dwindled out very predictably. It was a bad beating but it could have been worse. It was certainly no worse than we feared, nor was it much better than we hoped for – in fact, it went almost exactly as expected and the challenge for Offaly now is to dust themselves off and pick themselves up for the Tailteann Cup.

Offaly have regularly been guilty of showing contempt for these competitions and there is a responsibility on everyone to give this a genuine, real go. To train hard, don't let interest drift off and to try and win it. As this game proves, Offaly are not a top tier team, the Tailteann Cup is where it is for them and going through the motions is not acceptable any longer.

The game was well and truly up for Offaly went they went in trailing at half time by 1-10 to 0-4. There was never the remotest chance of that gap being bridged and they were on a damage limitation exercise at that stage.

Dublin did not exactly click into top gear in the first half but they were sufficiently wound up to kill the game off early. Offaly struggled to break down Dublin's system and getting the ball into the scoring zone was a huge problem for them. They also made some mistakes that did not help their cause but even if everything went right for them, they could not have won this one.

Offaly only managed two points from play in the first half. Both came from the boot of Keith O'Neill who was one of the bright lights on the day. The Clonbullogue man was a bundle of energy and his first point, Offaly's opener, was a delight as he arrowed it over with the outside of his right boot. He also won and converted a great mark, getting three of Offaly's first half points.

John Furlong was also a big positive in the first half, turning over ball and charging up field when he could. He also got in for a goal chance in the 21^st minute but he was quickly surrounded and his shot smothered.

Dublin were almost flawless early on and had four points on the board before Jack Bryant had Offaly's first wide in the 13^th minute – Bryant showed well for the ball and also had another wide with a good chance just before the interval.

O'Neill's excellent point got Offaly going in the 15^th minute and he added that mark to leave them trailing by three after 19 minutes. Con O'Callaghan, however, dispatched Dublin's first goal in the 17^th minute and Dublin had 1-6 on the board by the time Dylan Hyland got Offaly's third point from a free.

They reached double digits with Cian Murphy's 34^th minute point while Ian Duffy made ammends for fouling the ball and conceding a soft free earlier by making a fine 31^st minute save from Cormac Costello. By half time, the floodgates had not exactly opened but Dublin's place in the Leinster final against Louth was very secure.

Unfortunately for Offaly, water began to get in at an alarming rate early in the second half. Dylan Hyland kicked the first point but Niall Scully got in for a 36^th minute goal and they had 2-12 on the board before Lee Pearson got Offaly's sixth in the 40^th minute.

Offaly often had every player back in the Dublin half in a bid to stop the onslaught and you had to admire their work rate, dilligence and the way they continued trying to do the right thing. They pushed players forward when they did win the ball back but Dublin's control was never less than total. There were very disappointing aspects, times when Offaly broke up field but players didn't sprint hard enough to support the man in possession. This happened in the 42^nd minute when Keith O'Neill and Jordan Hayes raced forward but others went at half pace and it invited Dublin onto them.

It was painful to watch at times but criticism is unnecessary on this occasion and overall, Offaly did work very hard as they set modest targets – trying to reach double figures themselves, score a consolation goal, not concede 20 points and keeping the gap down to fifteen points.

Offaly did produce flashes of really good football and one such move resulted in them reaching double digits in the 59^th minute. Sub Cathal Flynn sent in a great ball over the top, Jordan Hayes raced onto it and curled over a very nice point to make it 2-16 to 0-10 – Flynn had a bit of a mixed bag when he came on, oozing quality and flair at times, scoring a lovely point and setting up that one but not getting forward quick enough on one occasion and also sending a wayward pass out over the sideline.

Unfortunately for Offaly, that was the only one of those targets they reached. It did get bad for them late on as Dublin ran in that 1-5 without reply from the 65^th to 73^rd minutes – the goal came from Colm Basquel in the 71^st minute as Dublin flooded forward relentlessly in the closing minutes chasing goals and with subs trying to impress.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

MAN OF THE MATCH

Con O'CCallaghan (Dublin): Paul Mannion got the official man of the match award and he was very good in the first half but my choice is Con O'Callaghan. The Cuala man was pure class in the first half and ended up with 1-2 before being replaced in the 52^nd minute – Mannion was replaced two minutes later as Dublin relaxed in the knowledge that the game was won.

Keith O'Neill was Offaly's best player as he oozed quality at times and really took it on – he was replaced in the 65^th minute, somewhat surprisingly, just after winning a free, but he had ran himself into the ground. Lee Pearson, John Furlong in the first half, Cormac Egan, who had a very good second half, David Dempsey, Eoin Carroll, Jack Bryant, Dylan Hyland and sub Cathal Flynn also caught the eyes at different times.

It wasn't nice for them but the performance of some of the younger players was a source of consolation for supporters. Apart from O'Neill, Cormac Egan once again went really well at wing back and is one Offaly player who would fit into most intercounty teams. Furlong showed his potential in the first half in particular while Pearson was so good on the ball covering a lot of ground – he has tended to tire late on in games this year but saw out the full 70 minutes plus here. Bryant looks comfortable at this level and just needs more confidence whle Flynn is a real exciting flair player, capable of unlocking defences.

THE SCORERS

Dublin: Colm Basquel 1-3 (1f), Con O;Callaghan 1-2, Cormac Costello 0-4 (2f), Niall Scully 1-1, Paul Mannion 0-3, John Small and Lorcan O'Dell 0-2 each, Brian Fenton, Sean MacMahon, Cian Murphy, Ciaran Kilkenny, Killian McGinniss 0-1 each.

Offaly: Dylan Hyland 0-5 (2f and 1 '45'), Keith O'Neill 0-3 (1m), Lee Pearson, Jordan Hayes and Cathal Flynn 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: OFFALY: Ian Duffy (Walsh Island); John Furlong (Tullamore), Declan Hogan (Tullamore), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Peter Cunningham (Bracknagh), David Dempsey (Ballycommon); Eoin Carroll (Cappincur), Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue); Dylan Hyland (Raheen), Ruari McNamee (Rhode), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry); Jack Bryant (Shamrocks), Nathan Poland (Erin Rovers), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue). Subs – Cathal Flynn (Ferbane) for McNamee (HT), Rory Egan (Edenderry ) for Poland (HT), Kevin McDermott (Durrow) for Bryant (54m), Cathal Donoghue (Oughterard, Galway) for McEvoy (58m), Jack O'Brien (Durrow) for O'Neill (65m).

DUBLIN: Stephen Cluxton; Sean MacMahon, Michael Fitzsimons, Eoin Murchan; James McCarthy, John Small, Cian Murphy; Brian Fenton, Tom Lahiff; Cormac Costello, Ciaran Kilkenny, Niall Scully; Paul Mannion, Con O'Callaghan, Colm Basquel. Subs – Lorcan O'Dell for O'Callaghan (52m), Killian McGinniss for Costello (52m), Ross McGarry for Mannion (54m), Daire Newcombe for Muchan (54m), Theo Clancy for McCarthy (62m).

Referee – Paul Faloon (Down).

REFEREE WATCH

Paul Faloon had a very good game and was not a factor at all. Unusually, there were no cards shown while he also gave Offaly a bit of leeway late on as he didn't penalise what seemed a couple of fouls.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Con O'Callagan's 17^th minute goal gave Dublin a 1-5 to 0-2 lead and it was all over at that stage.

VENUE WATCH

This game would have been a much better occasion again a provincial venue and it would be much fairer to opposing teams to take Dublin out of Croke Park. At the same time, Offaly players don't get to play in Croke Park to often any more and they welcomed the opportunity to play there. The pitch was excellent while the crowd was no bigger than expected.

WHAT'S NEXT

Dublin play Louth in the Leinster final while Offaly go into the Tailteann Cup.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 8 (3 in first half); Dublin - 8 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0.