Shooting practice sends Offaly into season defining clash in confident mood

WITH one win and one defeat under their belt, Offaly's trip to Trim for round three of the Joe McDonagh Cup on Saturday was all about getting out of there with the win and a minimum of hassle.

All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship Joe McDonagh Cup Round 3

Offaly 5-31

Meath 3-16

And Offaly did this, controlling the game throughout and playing with great efficiency in the second half as they pulled out of sight after the concession of a very sloppy 2-1 coming up to half time. Those late scores meant that Offaly only led by five points, 2-17 to 2-12 but they showed no mercy in the second half.

Offaly's finishing was very clinical, even though they did leave a few scores behind them, as they outscored the home side by 3-14 to just 1-4. The fact that Offaly conceded 3-16 and were still within a couple of scores shows of winning by double scores shows the huge disparity between the sides.

With Meath having lost their opening two games, shipping a ferocious beating from Laois in their last one, and no shortage of turbulence in their camp this season, they were never going to beat Offaly here.

The win was the only thing that mattered for Offaly here as scoring difference from this game won't be counted if three teams do end up tying at the top of the group for the Joe McDonagh Cup final in a few weeks time. That could happen with Laois, Offaly and Kerry depending on results but even if it does, scoring difference will only apply from the games between those three teams and not against other teams.

That rule was changed a few years ago and makes perfect sense as it is much fairer to all teams in a competition. It means that counties aren't under pressure to beat a county like Meath by as much as possible, even if very one sided results will still crop up because of the pure disparity in standards. It happened here for that simple reason and it was not that Offaly went out to do a job on them, just that the gap was so huge that a big winning margin was inevitable.

Offaly still treated this game with the seriousness it deserved and there was no suggestion of resting U-20s ahead of their first big knockout clash with Laois on Wednesday evening. Cathal King, Donal Shirley and Dan Bourke all started here, though King and Bourke were replaced, while Adam Screeney came on as a half time sub, scoring a memorable goal and showing some wonderful skill.

Offaly play Kerry next in Tullamore and this will make or break their season but despite the trauma of their first round loss to Laois, they are in a very good position after three games – it is all very simple for them and if they win their remaining games, they will be in the final.

There wasn't one moment when you thought Offaly would lose this game though there was a palpaple sense of frustration among the visiting support when they went in leading by only 2-17 to 2-12 at half time.

Offaly should have been out of sight at that stage and were twelve points up, 2-17 to 0-11 with the half time whistle approaching but conceded 2-1 late on. The two goals, both scored by Nicky Patterton were very soft as Offaly fell asleep. He got in for his first in the 35^th minute and a minute later blasted a free to the net after Cillian Kiely and Sam Bourke had collided in the build up.

It was a calamatious end to the half and against better opposition, there could have been a dear price to pay but if ever there is a day for that type of stuff, this was it. Prior to that, Offaly had been the better side by a country mile, while only hitting top gear in fits and starts.

They were 0-4 to 0-2 in when Oisin Kelly got in for their first goal in the sixth minute, converting after Charlie Mitchell displayed great ball control to set him up.

They played some quality hurling and took some great scores to lead by 1-14 to 0-9 when their second goal arrived in the 25^th minute – Killian Samspon was allowed way too much lattidude as he ran a long way before finishing.

Charlie Mitchell was on fire in the first half, scoring seven sensational points as Meath gave him way too much space and it looked all over when they led by 2-17 to 0-11 after 32 minutes.

Those late goals gave Meath a glimmer of hope but even with that, there was no cause whatsoever for alarm at half time. Offaly were brilliant at the start of the second half, playing their best hurling of the day in the first few minutes. No doubt Johnny Kelly had a few stern words to say to them at half time and Offaly wasted no time in ending it as a contest. They were ruthless as they scored six points without reply in four minutes to restore an eleven point lead, 2-23 to 2-12.

Meath were never going to battle back into contention a second time. Charlie Mitchell's 43^rd minute goal, after a super build up involving Donal Shirley and Ben Conneely, made it 3-23 to 2-13. Meath got in for another soft goal in the 48^th minute with Tom Shine's shot deflected across the line by Cillian Kiely as he scrambled to keep it out.

It made no difference at all as Offaly replied with their fourth goal two minutes later, Dan Bourke finishing superbly after Adam Screeney picked him out. The fifth goal came in the 51^st minute when poor defending saw Screeney with all the time in the world to pick his spot and wrong foot Charlie Ennis in the Meath goals.

That made it 5-24 to 3-14 and it all drifted out very harmlessly for here with Offaly returning to second or third gear and Meath making no headway at all.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey): A wonderful display of sharp shooting by Charlie Mitchell. He got seven great points in the first half, a second half goal and had a few assists to his name. He could very easily have reached double figure with points from playonly for a few moments when he relaxed and took his eye off the ball. A mixture of his own intuition and making the right runs and Meath defenders being incredibly loose meant that he often had a lot of space, firing over points with no one within touching distance. The Kilcormac-Killoughey man tends to be either hot or cold, missing out on the middle of the road displays that players also need in their armoury but he was certainly red hot here – on this form, he is a handful for any defence at this level and many at a much higher grade.

There were loads of very good displays by Offaly. Cillian Kiely's distribution was much better than against Westmeath, Cathal King and Eimhin Kelly were immense for much of the first half and Killian Samspon, Brian Duignan, Dan Bourke and subs Adam Screeney and Dara Maher had spells of excellence.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Charlie Mitchell 1-7, Brian Duignan (5f) and Eoghan Cahill (3f) 0-6 each, Dan Bourke 1-3, Killian Sampson 1-2, Adam Screeney 1-1, Oisin Kelly 1-0, David King and Eimhin Kelly 0-2 each, Donal Shirley, Cillian Kiely 0-1 each.

Meath: Nicky Patterton 2-5 (1-5 f), Tom Shine 1-2, David Murtagh, Kris Gorman and Eamon Og O'Donnchadha 0-2 each, Niall McLarnon, James Kelly, Mark Horan 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Mark Troy (Durrow); Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown), Ciaran Burke (Durrow), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh’s); Donal Shirley (Tubber), Cillian Kiely (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Sam Bourke (Durrow); David King (Coolderry), Eimhin Kelly (Lusmagh); Killian Samspon (Shinrone), Brian Duignan (Durrow), Eoghan Cahill (Birr); Oisin Kelly (Belmont), Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Dan Bourke (Durrow). Subs – Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Kelly (HT), Luke Watkins (Shinrone) for Sam Bourke (HT), Dara Maher (Shinrone) for Duignan (52m), Paul Cleary (Shinrone) for Dan Bourke (58m), Jack Clancy (Belmont) for King (66m).

MEATH: Charlie Ennis; Jarlath Ennis, Shane Whitty, Daire Shine; Sean Geraghty, Simon Ennis, Kris Gorman; David Murtagh, Niall McLarnon; James Kelly, Tom Shine, Sean Martin; Mark Horan, Eamon Og O'Donnchadha, Nicky Patterton. Subs – Michael Burke for Ennis, inj. (29m), Sean Quigley for Martin (32m), Domhnail Rogers for O'Donnchadha (57m), Damien Healy for McLarnon (61m), William Gleeson for Murtagh (67m).

Referee – Conor Daly (Kildare).

REFEREE WATCH

It was the ideal game for any referee to officiate in and bar you tried, it would be hard to make a mess of it or find controversy. Conor Daly was very efficient and there wasn't many debatable decisions – Meath's second point came after the ball was a good three inches out over the sideline before Mark Horan kept it in play but that was down to the linesman, who was straight in front of it and the referee didn't have a clear sight.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

There was no big moment as such but the five minute spell by Offaly after half time when they scored six points without reply ended it as a contest and broke Meath's fragile resolve.

VENUE WATCH

Trim was a nice intimate venue for this game. The spectator facilities, especially with covered accommodation, were limited and far from ideal but apart from that, Trim's set-up was impressive.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly now have a badly needed week off before they welcome Kerry to Tullamore for their season defining clash.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 12 (4 in first half); Meath - 6 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Brian Duignan); Meath – 1 (Domhnaill Rogers).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.