Leakage of goals condemn Offaly to unsurprising defeat in first defence of titles

AN opening round defeat was not a particular surprise to anyone in Offaly but they still made life a bit too easy for Galway as they leaked four goals in the Leinster U20 Hurling Championship at Ballinasloe on Tuesday evening.

Leinster U20 Hurling Championship Tier 1 Group 1 Round 1

Galway 4-17

Offaly 0-19

With star players Adam Screeney and Ter Guinan among the injured list, Offaly knew a win was a long shot here – Screeney did make a welcome return to action, coming on for his first game of the year in the 45^th minute but by that stage, Galway were 4-13 to 0-16 ahead and the result was out of reach – the concession of three first half goals saw them go in 3-9 to 0-11 behind at the break and they never looked like salvaging it in the second half as Galway controlled the game very impressively.

Offaly were as good as Galway in a lot of facets for a lot of the evening and were able to match them for scores most of the way but goals was the difference here. Crucially Offaly couldn't manage a goal, though hard working sub Eoin Bailey-O'Brien will be wondering how he didn't find the net in the 54^th minute – Donagh Fahy made a sensational save but the Shinrone man was five metres out and it looked a sure-fire goal.

It would be absolutely wrong to suggest that Offaly were willing to let this game slip and reserve things for later in the year. They were up for the game and went toe to toe with Galway for a lot of the first half but an opening round defeat was widely anticipated in Offaly and it is knockout hurling in a few weeks time that will dictate their year. Galway are now assured of top spot and a semi-final while Offaly will be aiming to beat Laois in Tullamore on Saturday and secure a quarter-final berth.

Offaly's terrific achievement in winning All-Ireland and U20 titles last year meant that there is huge interest in this team once again and they had a large travelling support in Ballinasloe. Having lost out to Tipperary in agonising circumstances in the All-Ireland minor final three years ago, there is also real optimism that they can win back to back titles.

With their injured list also including a certain starter in Daniel Hand, along with defender Caelem Larkin, Offaly had a somewhat experimental team out, though there was a hard core of survivors from the team who set the county ablaze last year.

Liam Hoare, Ruari Kelly, James Mahon, Donal Shirley, Brecon Kavanagh, Leigh Kavanagh, Dan Ravenhill, Conor Doyle and Shane Rigney, fortunately back from a groin injury, all started and provided a very strong back bone for Offaly.

The first half provided a very mixed bag for Offaly who played well for a lot of the way but were in trouble when trailing by 3-9 to 0-11 at half time. That scoreline very much flattered Galway who were in no way the better team by seven points but Offaly paid the price for the concession of three goals, two of them with the interval approaching.

There was nothing between the sides in a thrilling opening ten minutes. They were tied four times before Galway struck for 1-1 in the 10^th minute. Rory Burke floated over the point from a free and while the goal was an excellent finish by Jason Rabbitte, it was a disaster for Offaly as James Mahon had gave an uncharacteristically sloppy pass to help set it up.

Offaly's response was superb as they got five points without reply, three of them Dan Ravenhill placed balls and ones from play from Patrick Lyons and Donal Shirley, to lead by 0-9 to 1-5 after sixteen minutes.

A Burke '65' settled Galway and the sides were level on two further occasions before Galway got in for a decisive 2-1 before the break. Burke got another fine free and the two goals were scored by Ryan O'Donnell, the second a particularly memorable strike, in the 29^th and 30^th minutes, to put them in the driving seat for the second half.

That half time lead gave Galway a nice bit of breathing space and meant that they only had to keep the scoreboard ticking over to keep Offaly at bay, as well as avoiding three pointers.

Galway did that very effectively and were 3-13 to 0-16 ahead when their fourth goal arrived to kill it off in the 43^rd minute, another excellent finish by a rampant Ryan O'Donnell. It all tapered off very tamely from here with Offaly never getting the run of scores they needed and Galway doing a containing exercise. While the introduction of Screeney raised a buzz among supporters, it was never going to pull this one out of the fire and Galway were able to coast into top spot and a semi-final place late on.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ryan O'Donnell (Galway): Johan Donnellan, Conor Lawless – a son of a proud Gracefield and Offaly man living in Athenry, Adge Lawless - and Rory Burke were all brilliant for Galway and anyone of them could be man of the match. O'Donnell's three goal haul, however, was decisive on the day and his finishing was right out of the top drawer.

It wasn't that bad of a display for Offaly with Dan Ravenhill's frees deadly while he also went well in general play. Ruari Kelly, Brecon Kavanagh, Shane Rigney and Patrick Lyons all had good spells while Leigh Kavanagh and Niall Furlong went well for a lot of the first half at midfield. Offaly will improve and will have a say in the destination of honours but after this display and defeat, the jury is very much out on their title prospects.

THE SCORERS

Galway: Rory Burke 0-9 (7f and 2 '65s'), Ryan O'Donnell 3-0, Jason Rabbitte 1-2, Donagh Fahy (2f) and Aaron Niland 0-2 each, Paddy MacCarthaigh, Donnaycha Campbell 0-1 each.

Offaly: Dan Ravenhill 0-12 (1 '65' and 9f), Shane Rigney and Patrick Lyons 0-2 each, Donal Shirley, Conor Doyle, Eoin Bailey-O'Brien 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Liam Hoare (Carrig-Riverstown); Ruari Kelly (Lusmagh), Andrew Hogan (Coolderry), James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Donal Shirley (Tubber), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey), James O'Sullivan (Shinrone); Leigh Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Niall Furlong (Tullamore); Dan Ravenhill (Durrow), Cathal Robinson (Kinnitty), Conor Doyle (Clara); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Patrick Lyons (Drumcullen), Conor Egan (Shamrocks). Subs – Eoin Bailey-O'Brien (Shinrone) for Egan (HT), Ajay Cleary (Coolderry) for Robinson (39m), Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Hogan (45m), Mark Mulrooney (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Ravenhill (57m),

GALWAY: Donagh Fahy; Sean Murphy, Ben O'Donovan, Conor Lawless; Ed O'Reilly, Jonah Donnellan, Gearoid King; Cullen Killeen, Paddy MacCarthaigh; Conor Gilligan, Rory Burke, Jason Rabbitte; Ryan O'Donnell, Brian Callanan, Aaron Niland. Subs – Gavin Maher for Killeen (42m), Donnacha Campbell for Gilligan (42m), Vince Morgan for Callanan (53m), Michael Fallon for MacCarthaigh (57m). Thomas Blake for King (58m), Michael Burke for O'Reilly (61m)

Referee – Caymon Flynn (Westmeath).

REFEREE WATCH

Caymon Flynn refereed it well and there were no big talking points. He let play run but flashed cards when needed and consulted well with his officials.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Galway's third goal in injury time from Ryan O'Donnell was a terrific strike and it also put them in control with a seven point half time lead.

VENUE WATCH

Duggan Park in Ballinasloe is a quite dated ground but possesses a charm of its own and was a very convenient venue for the large travelling Offaly support. There is plenty of interest in this Offaly team and with Galway supporters also turning out, there was a crowd of 4000 and a very pleasant atmosphere at this game.

An emerging issue with these fixtures is the location of county stats teams in press boxes. The press box here had a sign outside it saying “Galway stats team” and no direction about where working reporters were to go. It is something that is happening at an increasing number of venues and press boxes must be for reporters first and foremost. In fairness to the Galway personnel, they were very reasonable and were willing to go outside the press box when it became clear that reporters wanted to be there – three reporters including yours truly took seats there (another one found a home in a nearby box) and the Galway stats men only came in when there was clear room available.

There was no issue but if more press reporters were present, it could have been one and stewards would have had to sort things out if there had been a stand off, which was probable if there had been attempts to move reporters out into the general stand. This is something the GAA needs to provide definite direction to counties on and stats teams should under no circumstances be accommodated in press boxes before reporters. Some counties are bringing an increasing volume of stats and analysis personnel to games and they also need to be legislated for but not in small press boxes, whatever about the bigger ones. Another growing trend is people doing social media for counties using press boxes which is fine but again, it should not be ahead of reporters.

Apart from that, the hosts had plenty of stewards and managed the fixture efficiently.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly have a short recovery until Saturday when they meet Laois in round 2 in Tullamore.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 3 (2 in first half); Galway – 6 (2 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Conor Doyle); Galway – 2 (Rory Burke and Aaron Niland).

Red cards: 0