Offaly on brink of promotion after powerful rally leaves neighbours reeling

A GENUINELY exciting attacking display saw Offaly put themselves on the brink of promotion with a huge morale boosting win over Kildare in O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon – a first competitive win over their neighbours since they beat them in a 2006 championship tie that resulted in huge controversy and appeals over Offaly's use of blood subs before the result stood.

National Football League Division 3 Round 6

Offaly 2-17

Kildare 0-17

The win puts Offaly on top of the table with ten points, two ahead of Kildare and Clare, where they travel to next Sunday. Offaly are in pole position and almost in Division 2. They just have to avoid a defeat by eleven points or more in Ennis to be promoted and while they will have to be very focused the whole way through, it would be a calamity if that happened. You never know but if Offaly lose and Kildare win over Antrim with three teams tied on 10 points, then scoring difference those three teams will decide who goes up – any other sequence of results will guarantee Offaly promotion, a draw or win in Clare, or Kildare not beating Antrim.

The scoring applies from all games in the group, even the Leitrim one, despite their absolutely ludicrous walkover to Fermanagh this weekend – the Leitrim results would only be discounted if their walkover involved one of the teams in the tie but they have played Offaly, Kildare and Leitrim so they still stand. If Kildare beat Antrim at home next Sunday, they will get out of jail and go up as their scoring difference is +48 points. Offaly's is +37 and Clare's + 16, a 21 point gap that will be difficult though not impossible to bridge.

No doubt Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte will working hard on ensuring there is no complacency whatsoever next week but they are in a very strong place. This was such a pleasing display by Offaly, who settled down very well after a tentative first ten minute and then found their form again after a very uncertain few minutes at the start of the second half.

After a loss to Fermanagh and less than convincing display in their win over Leitrim, Offaly came into this with question marks hanging over them but they answered them most impressively. Kildare were red hot favourites for promotion at the start of the season and looked to be cantering towards it after a scintillating start to the campaign but a loss to Clare has now been followed by this and leaves them on a knife's edge, though they still should make it.

After playing some great attacking football in their opening games of the league, Offaly had lost their way in the last two outings but rediscovered it quite spectacularly here. They played with great pace but brought some real adventure to the table, delivering in some pinpoint ambitious passes to hungry forwards and Kildare struggled to live with them when Offaly attacked.

It was a close run thing though and Offaly were on sticky ground when they went behind early in the second half but a fantastic breakaway controversial penalty goal gave them a crucial cushion and the winners closed out the deal very impressively from here. It was a very good display by Offaly and apart from a huge collective work ethic, the really big positive for Offaly was the small volume of mistakes and poor option taking. They did have a few poor wides, especially early in the second half when it looked like they would hand it to Kildare on a plate but outside of that, it was pretty close to flawless football. Their ability to not only retain possession but to give it to a man moving forward into an attacking position warmed the heart and Offaly's large watching support were thrilled with this display and win.

The new rules are clearly suiting Offaly, who are very good at moving quickly and getting full advantage of the tap and go rule. They are operating at real pace and this was their biggest win of a very good campaign.

0-11 to 0-10 ahead at half time, Offaly found trouble early in the second half as Kildare got the first three points to lead by 0-13 to 0-11 after 43 minutes. Most worryingly for Offaly, their forwards displayed feet of clay in this period. Dylan Hyland and Keith O'Neill had wides with O'Neill protesting that his had went over. A Hyland free and Ryan Sinkey point left it 0-14 to 0-12 after 48 minutes.

It briefly looked like it could be one of those days for Offaly when Dylan Hyland was wide with a two point free that was ideal for the right footed Paddy Dunican, on the left side and then Dunican was wide with one on the right side, that was perfect for the left footed Hyland. It was the only real example of wrong option taking by Offaly and they did very well to keep their composure and grab control of the game back from here.

A huge turning point was a stunning 53^rd minute Offaly goal. It was a goal that demonstrated all that is so exciting about this Offaly team as they raced forward from defence at blistering pace. Impressive sub Aaron Leavy, Cormac Egan, Lee Pearson and Shane Tierney all handled the ball before Rory Egan sent a low shot in under Didier Cordonnier into the net to give Offaly a 1-12 to 0-14 lead.

They smelled blood and threw the kitchen sink at Kildare. Hyland followed up with a crucial point and then the outstanding Cormac Egan fired over a left footed point, with goal on his mind but the ball floating inches high. Dylan Hyland had another great point to make it 1-15 to 0-14 in the 60^th minute and suddenly Kildare were staring a second devastating defeat in the face.

They dug deep and in a tremendously exciting closing quarter, points from Colm Dalton and Cathal Hagney brought them back to two points and seven minutes left plus injury time. Offaly received the break they needed with a debatable 66^th minute penalty. Daire McDaid brilliantly broke the line and got into advanced danger territory but was struggling to keep control at the time – it looked soft in real time but a second viewing of it later that night indicated that he had been pushed and was fouled. A penalty was awarded and Dylan Hyland brilliantly dispatched it, just to the left of the goalkeeper to give Offaly a 2-15 to 0-16 lead.

Kildare were then penalised for breaching the three man forward rule and Dylan Hyland's tap over free made it a six point game and two minutes left. Five minutes of injury time were announced and went just over this but Offaly were extremely professional in this. They defended well, making sure not to concede a goal and this meant they always had a big enough cushion as Kevin Feely (free) and Cormac Egan exchanged late points.

The first half was a very see-saw affair and while Offaly would have taken a 0-11 to 0-10 half time lead at the break, they were actually disappointed with that when it did emerge.

Offaly were leading by 0-11 to 0-8 in injury time but conceded two late points to Kevin Feely, one from a free, and those very much changed things. They certainly shouldn't have coughed up the ninth point, Feeley's free but there was still a lot of positives to be taken from the first half.

The key one was that they started well unlike their previous two games and this was absolutely crucial. Kildare were marginally the better team early on and led by 0-3 to 0-2 after eleven minutes. However, Offaly played very well after this and had eight points on the board by the time Callum Bolton got Kildare's fourth in the 24^th minute.

Two of Offaly's points were quality two pointers from Dylan Hyland and they had Kildare in regular trouble when they ran at them at pace. After Bolton's point, it was nip and tuck to the interval but John Furlong and Cormac Egan broke forward for crucial points but Offaly's deserved three point lead became one just before half time.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Daire McDaid (Offaly): Offaly had several contenders all over the field. Dylan Hyland had his best game of the campaign and his 1-9 haul included two two pointers and two points from play. He was back to his brilliant best, though he also had a few wides but he was so up for this game and showed his value to the Offaly team.

In a different game, he would be an automatic choice for man of the match but Offaly's defence was so excellent that it deserves to be acknowledged. Cormac Egan was once again brilliant, contributing three crucial points and very close to man of the match once again. Rory Egan is really back to his best form after a stuttering 2024 and he was super here, making some crucial tackles in the danger area as well as being very good on the ball. John Furlong was more or less at his best and Paddy Dunican, Lee Pearson and Aidan Bracken scarcely put a foot wrong.

My choice is Daire McDaid. He was such a bundle of energy, cropping up all over the place, defending tenaciously but bringing so much to the table when moving forward. He loves attacking, he carried so much ball forward and was pivotal to Offaly's win.

Jordan Hayes is another player back at his best and he put in a powerful shift at midfield while you had to admire the honesty and graft of Jack McEvoy and, in an almost understated way, Aaron Leavy really steadied the ship when brought on. He didn't do anything spectacular but was so solid and influential at a stage when Offaly were struggling to win primary ball at midfield.

When he replaced the injured Keith O'Neill in the 48^th minute, it looked like Offaly were replacing a fast, creative one with a more physical, work horse type one but it was the right call at that stage and worked. It was noticeable that Offaly didn't use their bench much with O'Neill's departure forced on them while there was just two minutes left plus injury time when the very effective Nigel Dunne came on for Shane Tierney.

Cathal Flynn came good in the second half after a quiet first half while Jack Bryant did a lot of very solid, efficient work.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Dylan Hyland 1-9 (goal from a penalty, 2 2pts, 3f), Rory Egan 1-0, Cormac Egan 0-3, Keith O'Neill (2f) 0-2, John Furlong, Shane Tierney and Jack Bryant 0-1 each.

Kildare: Kevin Feeley 0-4 (2f), Cathal Hagney 0-3, Callum Bolton, Colm Dalton, Jimmy Hyland (1f) and Ryan Sinkey 0-2 each, Ben McCormack, Alex Beirne 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Paddy Dunican (Shamrocks); Lee Pearson (Edenderry), Aidan Bracken (Ballycommon); Daire McDaid (Tullamore); Rory Egan (Edenderry). John Furlong (Tullamore), Cormac Egan (Tullamore); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry); Kyle Higgins (Ferbane), Cathal Flynn (Ferbane), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue); Dylan Hyland (Raheen), Jack Bryant (Shamrocks), Shane Tierney (Daingean). Subs – Aaron Leavy (Tullamore) for O'Neill, inj. (48m), Nigel Dunne (Shamrocks) for Tierney (68m).

KILDARE: Didier Cordonnier; Ryan Burke, Mick O'Gready, Brian Byrne; Harry O'Neill, James McGrath, David Hyland; Callum Bolton, Cathal Hagney; Ben McCormack, Alex Beirne, Colm Dalton; Ryan Sinkey, Kevin Feely, Jimmy Hyland. Subs – Brian McLoughlin for McCormack (44m), Jack McKevitt for Burke (44m), Aaron Masterson for Sinkey (51m), Darragh Swords for Beirne (56m), Niall Kelly for Hyland (66m).

Referee – Paddy Neilan, Roscommon.

REFEREE WATCH

Paddy Neilan had a very steady game, communicating well with his officials and he was in full control. The Offaly penalty was questionable but that was the only real talking point with the refereeing display and footage of it on RTE that night suggested that he got it right.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Both Offaly goals came at the perfect time. Rory Egan's gave them the lead at a stage when they were looking like they could lose and Dylan Hyland's penalty knocked the stuffing out of Kildare's recovery.

The two 2 pointers Dylan Hyland kicked in the first half were also crucial. While Offaly had started much better than they did in Fermanagh and Leitrim, they hadn't fully ignited and it took Hyland's kicks to finally settle them. His willingness to take them on was in stark contrast to Kildare who were in shooting position a number of times in both halves but almost always rejected the opportunity – there were times when the ball was probably in the wrong hands but there were were also occasions when it was in the right ones, yet their default position was to recycle the ball or bring it forward inside the arc for a closer shot.

VENUE WATCH

With Spring sunshine, O'Connor Park was in immaculate condition and both teams had a big support, creating a very good atmosphere. It was great to see so many youngsters out on the field at half time. That is a more regular occurrence at hurling games and even when it does occur at football games in Offaly, a lot tend to have hurls. Here they were all kicking football and this and the crowd at the game was a terrific endorsement of the new rules.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly travel to Ennis for a crunch game against Clare next Sunday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 9 (4 in first half); Kildare – 5 (2 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Kildare – 2 (Callum Bolton and Cathal Hagney).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.