Promotion the bottom line as happy Offaly football managers take closing defeat on chin

IN some ways, there was a surreal atmosphere on the pitch in Cusack Park, Ennis after Offaly's 2-14 to 2-9 defeat by Clare in their last group game of the National Football League Division 3 campaign last Sunday.

Needing to avoid an eleven point defeat to go up, Offaly did what they had to do but it was downright scary at times. They could very possibly have been 2-5 to no score down after a few minutes as Clare threw the kitchen sink at Offaly.

After weathering that early storm, Offaly somehow went in at the break with a 2-5 to 0-6 interval lead and they were very much on course for the win when they led by 2-8 to 0-12 inside the last fifteen minutes – after a very slow start to the second half when they conceded four quick fire points.

Two soft goals allowed Clare to get away for a late win but Offaly's eleven point breathing space meant that there was no sense of panic whatsoever. It could have been a different story though and this was a game that could have went badly wrong for Offaly.

Joint manager Mickey Harte smiled when this was suggested to him forty minutes after the final whistle.

“It could have, that was always the case because it was the team we were playing that we had the points difference over so every score they got was a double score. Never mind the two pointers, they were closing the gap from both sides. We were losing one and they were gaining one so it was a dangerous one. It wasn't really an eleven point lead at all, it was more like a five and a half point lead.

“With them at home, it gave them a bit of momentum and they created some good chances for themselves at the start of the game. Yes, it would have been very easy for there to be a very different outcome there today.”

The other joint manager Declan Kelly could be seen frowning on the sideline as Clare ripped into Offaly from the start. The Kilclonfert man reflected:

“They started at 100 miles at hour. From our point of view, we actually gave them the ball in three attacks. We kicked three balls in which wouldn't be like us. They just came down the field at us. When we sort of stopped that and got control of it, we played our way back into the game for the rest of the first half but we could have been hit hard. Definitely they had a couple of chances.”

A feature of the game was Clare's eight wides from two point attempts – three or four of them were very scoreable but a few were wrong options from players unlikely to score them.

Harte agreed:

“That temptation is there. People are tempted to go for two point shots when they shouldn't be doing it and maybe it is taking them a while to find that out. At the same time, it is not guaranteed they will get a point out of it either because when they hit those two point shots, they still haven't the ball within the scoring distance. They would have to play a few more passes to get it in there so it doesn't mean to say because they went for two pointers, they would have had eight points.

“If they played on, they still could have put it wide. It is something teams have to learn to live with. Yes, if a two pointer is on and you have the right kicker on it that is very prolific with that kind of shot, let him have it surely but there is a lot of boys who need to take a look and say they are not two point kickers.”

A fisted goal by John Furlong gave Offaly a 1-0 to 0-2 lead that they didn't deserve but it settled them. Kelly smiled:

“It got us a foothold in the game. It put us a point up and for the remainder of the first half, we tagged on a few scores and Cathal (Flynn) got the goal as well. We were five up at half time after playing with the bit of a breeze. They got four points in three minutes at the start of the second half, they were fairly prolific. We got back into it again and we would be disappointed with the two goals we conceded, especially the first one. It was a half block. You might have been better off if it went over the bar and even the second one, they came straight down the middle. We had been fairly solid as regards conceding goals this year. That is something we will look at.”

Above:John Furlong and Jack Bryant celebrates Furlong's first half goal

Offaly may have been able to win if they kept driving forward in the last fifteen minutes but they noticeably reverted back into a shell and invited Clare on. Harte acknowledged that this happened but stressed that the breathing space had to be on players' minds, even if they never spoke about it.

“We didn't consciously decide to sit back but at the same time, it was on the back of players' mind. Players are not stupid, they know what is needed and that they just had to get a result that hadn't a big score difference. Psychologically that seeps into them a bit and you say, we are okay here. It would be nice to win this game but as long as we don't lose by X amount of points, we are still going to be up.

“It is difficult to give it your full pelt at that and again, we were partially to blame for them getting a foothold back in the game because we made bad decisions when we were attacking. We were doing very well and we were taking control of the ball around that front half and trying to suck them out but whenever we went in, we took bad shot options to give them the energy and oxygen to come back at us.

“We will learn from all of that but the bottom line is it was never going to be an easy task coming here with the way the circumstances were and they are a seasoned side. They spent seven or eight years in Division 2 and you wouldn't do that if you hadn't a bit of footballing ability and know-how about ye.”

It all meant that there was a strange atmosphere on the pitch afterwards. Promotion is a fantastic unexpected achievement for Offaly, a richly deserved award for a super campaign but a defeat is a defeat and it meant that the post match celebrations were more muted than they would have been if they went flying up, winning well. The celebrations were more of the quiet satisfaction, pats on the back variety but the enormity of what they have done is still powerful – it is some turnaround for their horrific Tailteann Cup disaster last year.

For Clare, there was no joy in the win as word quickly emerged that Kildare's win over Antrim meant they lost out on scoring difference. It was a hard one for Clare as they beat the two promoted sides, Offaly and Kildare, but any cries about this and being unlucky fall very flat on analysis: Clare lost to both Antrim and Sligo, a point from either of those games would have put them up and those results are why the Munster side are in Division 3 next year.

For Harte and Kelly, the loss in no way took away from what Offaly have done.

Harte: “ It was a commendable enough outcome for us. It was what we needed on the day and we got it.”

Kelly: “If you were told when the league started, we would have the last games in our own hands and would get promotion, that was the aim and we are delighted to be going up and for the group of lads.”

Match report: Below

https://www.offalyexpress.ie/news/gaa/1760330/attacking-efficiency-helps-relieved-offaly-avoid-true-calamity-as-promotion-secured-in-five-point-defeat.html