New rules trauma leaves Offaly's promotion charge on knife edge

A MIXTURE of self infliction and events way out of their control saw Offaly suffer their first defeat in Division 3 of the National Football League last Sunday when Fermanagh edged a thrilling game by a solitary point. As they prepare to travel to Leitrim for round 5 next Sunday, the loss places Offaly's promotion hopes on a knife edge, though their fate is still very much in their own hands and wins in their final three games will still put them up – they also have a home game against Kildare and a trip to Clare to come.

After a flying start to the campaign with three very impressive wins over Sligo, Laois and Antrim, Sunday's defeat in Fermanagh provided their first road block. It ended up a very unlucky, controversial one and Offaly deserved a draw, despite leaving themselves with a mountain to climb when trailing by 1-10 to 1-1 at half time after playing with the wind.

The new rules were certainly under scrutiny as Offaly were the victims of what looked a very wrong call near the end. It was all very bizarre as Kevin Faloon penalised Offaly for not having three men inside the Fermanagh half with four minutes left – awarding a 14 metre free that Fermanagh slotted over for a crucial two point lead.

Dylan Hyland had been the furthest up field of the three men forward when the ball broke in front of him and stopped just centimetres inside the Offaly half of the field. The Raheen attacker hesitated for a couple of seconds, clearly aware of the stakes, before pulling the ball back with his left foot and he was immediately penalised by the referee. By the time, he had put his foot to the ball, however, Keith O'Neill had certainly raced forward and another man may have got into the Fermanagh half and Offaly seemed to have enough men forward.

The referee spoke to at least one linesman when he became aware of Offaly's protests before awarding the free and it had a huge bearing on the outcome as Daire McDaid's injury time point reduced arrears to the minimum. Even after that, the referee was handed a get out of jail card when Keith O'Neill looked to be pushed as Offaly mounted one desperate late attack but he waved play on and blew the final whistle moments later. At that stage both Offaly and Fermanagh would have very gratefully walked away with a point and those big decisions cost Offaly very dearly.

Apart from that, they encountered other new rules trauma that was of their own making. Three times, twice in the first half and once in the second half, Offaly brought frees back outside the 40 metre arc to go for two points. Dylan Hyland was wide with the two first half ones while Paddy Dunican was agonisingly close with his 69^th minute strike – Offaly were trailing by two points at that stage and he went for the equaliser.

There was logic in the decision on each occasion. With the wind on their backs in the first half, Hyland's two attempts were well within range and were the type he is more than capable of scoring. Dunican brought the ball back just a few metres for his late strike and had the distance, though it may very well have went over if in closer.

Those frees showed the type of dilemma that the new rules present for teams. Had Offaly got even one of them, they would have won the match but if they had settled for the one point with one, they would have got a draw, and that would have left them in a much stronger position.

Hyland ended up a central figure in the game. Things didn't happen for him in the first half when he was also penalised for not handing the ball back to his opponent after fouling and another Fermanagh point resulted. In the second half, his battling qualities was inspirational and his early goal, a rebound from a penalty, got Offaly back into it – a foot block on him had resulted in the initial award. He also got a very good important point as Offaly rallied powerfully and he was desperately unfortunate with that late free. While some supporters argued that play may have went on if his initial hesitation hadn't drawn attention to the men forward, it is definitely true that his delay allowed others to get forward and that he may have done the very right thing. Irrespective of that, it was a wrong call and you could also wonder if Hyland infringed at all – while he did put his boot to the ball, he didn't put it on ground in the Offaly half and this is one of those type of grey areas that were inevitable with the new rules.

In the wind up, Offaly lost because of their first half malfunction. 1-1 with the wind, a 9 point deficit and failure to point from play until the 56^th minute all stacked the odds against them and as well as reflecting on the performance of match officials, Offaly also have to look very seriously at themselves.

They were off the boil early on but the real damage was done in the second quarter. Offaly were 1-4 to 1-1 behind after sixteen minutes, should have been level and were holding their own – the concession of a first minute goal did Offaly a lot of harm, even if Cillian Bourke quickly cancelled it out.

In the second quarter, however, Offaly conceded six points without reply and ultimately lost the game in this period. The hurlers had struggled in the first half against Dublin on Saturday but kept working and kept the scoreboard ticking over to keep the half time deficit down to four points – the deficit could have been close to the ten point mark and they would have been unlikely to have come back from that. Offaly footballers didn't get any settling scores in that second quarter while their work rate was questionable and it took a phenomenal, stirring second half rally for them to get back into it but they left themselves with an awful lot to do.

They did very well to go so close, despite the regrets. At half time, you would have put money on the deficit going in the wrong direction and the fact that they are now complaining about the referee speaks volumes about the way they played.

There was a sense of gloom after the game and the devastation on the face of players told its own story but Offaly are still in a very good position. Kildare have been the outstanding team so far with four wins out of four. They are marching towards promotion but Offaly are second with six points from four games. Laois and Antrim have four points from four while Clare have reached that tally with three played. Fermanagh have just two points from three games but Sunday's win brings them back into the equation while Sligo and Leitrim are pointless, from three and four games, respectively.

It is still all to play for and the key for Offaly is to bounce back quickly. The first half display on Sunday was an aberration on their form so far and overall, they are still playing very well, moving very well and making definite progress.

Some of their outstanding young talent are coming to their milk. Cormac Egan, Keith O'Neill and the exceptional Cathal Flynn are flying; John Furlong wasn't at his best in the first half in Fermanagh but really got going in the second half and will improve with every game after his return from injury. Jack Bryant was taken off on Sunday but is very close to playing very well and just needs to find consistency.

Jordan Hayes is playing the best football of his career at midfield while Shane Tierney is contributing really well after spending time away in Australia. Tierney is a real livewire, is showing very well for the ball and taking his man on every time. Cillian Bourke is a tremendous addition to the panel – he was also replaced on Sunday but his goal was brilliant and he gives Offaly such options at midfield and on the half forward line.

The glass is certainly half full at the moment but Offaly need to quickly get back on the saddle with Sunday's trip to Leitrim. This is likely to be played in Ballinamore and it is a tricky one for them. Leitrim have been going very poorly with a -73 points scoring difference but any complacency will be punished. Offaly will have to start much better than they did last Sunday but this represents an ideal opportunity for them to bounce back.

They are likely to be without Ruari McNamee, David Dempsey and Diarmuid Egan who are all recovering from hamstring injuries. It looks like they will miss the next two games and that is a pity. They would all be a big help and it is particularly unfortunate for Diarmuid Egan. While David Dempsey and Ruari McNamee are no mystery to anyone, Egan had really been growing into himself on the half back line. The older brother of Cormac looked every inch an intercounty footballer in the first two games and the games would have brought him on further.

On the plus side, Kyle Higgins and Daire McDaid did very well off the bench on Sunday and Offaly have other players there mad keen for a chance to impress.

Sunday is a big test and will tell a lot more about Offaly and the improvements they look to be making. It is the type of game where Offaly would have been very vulnerable in the past and there is pressure on now to perform. Win and it is game back on, lose and you can more or less forget about promotion anyway. The stakes are big and while the form book suggests that it will be an away win, Offaly have to go and do it now.