Kelly puts focus on Westmeath after great come from behind Croker win

DELIGHTED but honestly reflective about Saturday's great come from behind National Hurling League Division 1B win over Dublin in Croke Park, Offaly manager Johnny Kelly wasted to time in putting feet back on the ground and concentrating on the next big challenge – a home game against Westmeath in Tullamore next Sunday, where a win will almost certainly secure promotion to Division 1A.

Offaly overturned a four point half time deficit and mounted a stunning injury time rally to beat Dublin by 0-27 to 1-23. It was a huge result for the visitors and Kelly admitted that they needed a big second half after being outplayed in the first half.

“We are really delighted to get the win, really happy with the way they responded in the second half after a fairly lack lustre first half, that is the most pleasing aspect of it.”

The Portumna man was keen to pay tribute to the spirit Offaly showed while acknowledging that the dismissal of Dublin midfielder, Conor Burke with over five minutes left was a huge help to them.

“A great performance but lets not get carried away. Dublin had a man sent off with five minutes to go and it probably changed the game in our favour but we are very happy with the second half display in particular. We would be lying to say we were happy with the first half. I think we may have got it wrong by not pushing up a bit sooner on the Dublin puckout but then to be fair, they played very well in the second half and we couldn't be prouder of their display.”

He admitted that Offaly found it hard to cope with Dublin's powerful running and quick handpassing in the first half. Asked what changed in the second half, he confessed:

“Possibly a better attitude from some of our guys. They didn't realise they were letting Dublin out too soon or too early. I thought the puckouts were let go very quickly. We have been saying there should be a second whistle. We were struggling with that in the first half but in the second half, it was basically a change of attitude, a bit more fight in them but the sending off for Dublin had a bearing on the final result.”

Kelly was asked could Offaly have been reduced to fourteen men themselves after Cillian Kiely let the hurl back at one stage following his introduction.

“Cillian Kiely was pulled going through on a number of occasions and in the act of trying to break through, he let back his hurl and if he did catch the Dublin fellow, there was no intent there. I can't say about the sending off at the other end, it was off the ball and the umpire spotted that. The referee has a decision to make on the spur of the moment and those are the decisions you make. For us, we do know that Dublin going down to 14 men was a massive help to us so we are not getting carried away with ourselves. We just take the points and move on to Westmeath next Sunday.

Offaly showed great character to pull the win out of the fire after Brian Hayes looked to have got a match winning goal for Dublin near the end.

“Brian Hayes putting the ball away, I thought he picked the ball up off the ground but he put a great shot away past Mark. At that stage, there was two points in it but there was nothing lost. We knew there was five minutes of added time and maybe possibly another minute. Fair play to the guys, they got their puck outs away and retained possession. They put the shots off and thankfully it paid off.”

Kelly also spoke about calls to limit or change the handpass rule in hurling – the status quo was retained at Congress earlier that day.

“Certain teams have more of a possession based game and rely on the handpass a lot more than other teams. Predominantly, Offaly do a lot of stick passing and longer passing and running at teams whereas the likes of Dublin do use that possession game to get out. It is very hard for refereees to call it. It is the right decision to go with not banning the handpass or to only pass it off with the hurl because the game is good but yes, the referees have to get those calls and they are very difficult to be fair. Maybe police it that little bit better and maybe players will cop on.”

While not getting carried away, he acknowledged that Saturday was a very significant win for Offaly.

“We do know that Dublin are a very powerful running team and they have a lot of experience at Liam McCarthy level for the last number of years. They have a new management in place and have been very successful so we are well aware of the stern challenge Dublin presented today.”

At half time, his only focus was on Offaly improving and not what Dublin were doing.

“It wasn't about Dublin at half time, it was about how we were playing and we weren't really at the pace of the game. That was the most pleasing aspect of the second half. Yes the win was vital and it gives us a great chance to look for two points next week but the change in attitude in the players and willingness to fight to the bitter end and not give up. . .”

Offaly also used their bench well and he remarked:

“It is a 75 minute game and these lads are still getting fitter. There is a bit to go and we need those subs to come in and make an impact. Thankfully, to be fair to them, we have a panel now and a bit more depth in strength. That is no disrespect to the panels that have gone in the past but right now we do have a good mix of some really key players that have pace and that is important in the modern game.”

Dan Ravenhill scored a spectacular winning point from a free way inside his own half – even though club mate Brian Duignan was striking frees very well, Ravenhill converted two ones in the second half.

Kelly smiled:

“Young Dan Ravenhill has a belt of the ball and we have seen that in the past, he really has that in his locker. It was probably the right decision at that stage. Brian had been taking the frees pretty well and from distance too but when you realise the range Dan has, he has that extra ten yards of range and that is why he took those frees.”

The initial focus after the final whistle on Saturday was recovery and now it is all eyes on Westmeath in Tullamore.

“What is important now is to get the guys home, get them assessed for injury, look at their training schedule for the week. There is a lot of sore bodies after that, that will test them. Get their feet back on the ground and look at Westmeath. That is a midland derby, they will throw everything at Offaly, we will take that minute by minute and hopefully at the end of it, the best team wins.

“Get our feet back on the ground and back to training. Work out a plan for Westmeath and we are not taking anything at all for granted.”