Heroic Offaly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in tension filled shootout

LIVING on the edge for periods, Offaly dug deep into their reservoirs of courage to qualify for the Leinster Minor Football Championship final with a sensational drama packed win over Kildare in a thrilling semi-final at O'Connor Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Leinster Minor Football Championship semi-final

Offaly 4-9

Kildare 1-16

It was a sensational win for Offaly who made life difficult for themselves but found a way to win it at the death. In a game full of twists and turns, it could have swung anyway. Offaly looked set for the win when they led by 2-4 to 0-3 well inside the second quarter but were in bother when trailing by 1-10 to 2-4 at half time.

The momentum was very much with Kildare when they led by five points, 1-13 to 2-5 after 40 minutes but Offaly showed fantastic character, fighting with everything all over the field and outscoring the losers by 2-5 to 0-3 when it really counted.

It was a very close run thing though as the teams were level going into four minutes of injury time, 1-16 to 4-7. Goalkeeper Jack Ryan showed the fickle nature of football as he switched from a villain of sorts to hero in the blink of an eye. His misplaced kickout had led to Hugh Martin's equaliser for Kildare in the 59^th minute but the Doon man showed his value when he came forward to take a free from over 50 metres out with the four minutes of injury time almost up. He floated it straight over the bar and a stunned Kildare were given one last attack to force extra time but Hugh Martin's attempt at the two pointer they had to get never threatened the posts.

Ryan deserves a special mention. His kickouts were very inconsistent and he had been off target with other two point frees but when it really counted, he delivered once again – he also struck fantastic last gasp two pointers to help Offaly over the line in the big wins over Laois and Meath and that ability is a huge asset to them.

Now Offaly find themselves in a Leinster final after an amazingly topsy turvy year - They now have a chance for revenge against Louth, who beat them well in the group stages, in the final on Monday, May 19.

It didn't look like it was going to happen for Offaly in the group stages as they received bad beatings from Dublin and Louth but they have improved steadily since then, qualifying with a dramatic final group win over Laois. They almost threw the preliminary quarter-final away against Wicklow but were the better team and powered home in extra time. They were better against Meath and this was another pick up, apart from a calamitous spell coming up to half time when they conceded a shocking 1-7 without reply.

The pre-season talk that Offaly had a really good minor team has now proven to be well founded, despite their regular flirtations with disaster – and occasional horror periods in some games, including that few minutes coming up to half time here.

The drive and desire they showed in the closing twenty minutes was heart warming as they hauled in that five point deficit and got themselves back into a winning position.

Tony Furey's free was followed by a 42^nd minute goal out of nothing when Ruari Woods finished very well after Eoin Rouse's two point attempt screwed badly off his left foot but dropped short and broke inside the Kildare cover.

Suddenly the gap was a point and Offaly threw the kitchen sink at their opponents. They did try to throw it away to an extent, missing a couple of chances before Cian McNamee turned down the temptation to go for goal and fisted over the equaliser in the 49^th minute.

Offaly missed other chances before Callum Keaveny put Kildare back in front in the 53^rd minute. Offaly's fourth goal came in the 54^th minute when Eamon Maher tapped and went from a free on the left wing, running straight at a retreating defence. His excellent shot hit the post but fell to sub Cian Duffy who couldn't and didn't miss from the edge of the square.

Offaly were now two points ahead, 4-7 to 1-14, but again, they left the door open. Cian McNamee over cooked a pass to Patrick Duffy in front of the goals when he probably should have fisted over himself. Kildare found another breath and Offaly lived dangerously once again, making mistakes. Two points from Hugh Martin in the 59^th minute levelled it up and extra time was looming until Ryan's remarkable late intervention.

2-4 to 0-3 ahead after 20 minutes, Offaly controlled most of the first half without quite hitting top gear but endured a horrific collapse before the interval as they conceded 1-7 without reply to trail by 1-10 to 2-4 at half time.

It was hard to fathom how Offaly found themselves in that position. There were times in the opening twenty minutes when they held onto the ball a bit much and played too much within themselves but they were easily the better side as two Cian McNamee goals put them in the driving seat. The first was a great finish in the fourth minute after a surging run through the middle by Charlie Duffy to put them 1-2 to no score in front.

The second trumped that in the 20^th minute as he cut in from the left and finished brilliantly to give Offaly a 2-4 to 0-3 lead. Midfielder Charlie Duffy did sustain a heavy knock that clearly hampered him at the quarter way stage and that was a factor in Kildare taking over but the problems were deeper.

A two pointer from Hugh Martin put Kildare on six points by the 23^rd minute but the alarm bells didn't ring until the ball was very carelessly gave away on the half back line in the 25^th minute and Pauric Carty got a goal. Offaly fell to pieces after that as Kildare scored four further points, one of them from a free awarded after Jack Ryan delayed kicking it out and a tap over fourteen yard free was then awarded.

Even when they were going well, Offaly had another gear if not two in them and they very much needed to use them at the break – fortunately they did hit fifth gear in the closing quarter as they pulled a great win out of the fire.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cian McNamee (Offaly): Cian McNamee's potential has been obvious for some time but he has really come good for Offaly in the last two games. He has been more of a team player in those, bringing a lot more to his game than taking on his man and going the whole time. He has now discovered the capacity to generally know when to take on his man, when to go for his score and when to give it, and McNamee and his team have yielded huge benefits. He was very good against Meath and brought his game to another level here. His two goals were super finishes, he also got two points and his influence was profound as he worked hard and did the right thing as often as any 17 year old can be expected to.

Offaly's victory was fashioned on tremendous spirit and fighting spirit. It was heart attack stuff at times but that is the way it is at this age group and the way they kept going when the game looked to be slipping from their grasp was so good to see. They fought like tigers all over the field. Charlie Duffy was magnificent at midfield until a heavy knock limited his mobility around the 20 minute mark. Eamon Maher put in a great shift beside him. The defence worked so hard as a unit to tackle and close players down while Ruari Woods and Dylan Dunne gave the best assistance to McNamee up front but again the work ethic of all players was terrific.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Cian McNamee 2-2, Ruari Woods 1-1, Cian Duffy 1-0, Jack Ryan 0-2 (2p free), Cathal Weldon, Dylan Dunne, Aaron Daly and Tony Furey (f) 0-1 each.

Kildare: Hugh Martin 0-5 (1 2p), Pauric Carty 1-2 (1 2p free), Rory Thompson 0-3 (2f), Ollie Deller 0-2, Niall McAndrew, TJ Donoghue, Callum Keaveny, Mark Travers 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Jack Ryan (Doon); Caden O'Beirne (Tullamore), Tomas Carroll (Erin Rovers), Cormac Farrell (Edenderry); Patrick Duffy (Tullamore), Tadgh Kelly (Kilclonfert), Eoin Rouse (Tullamore); Eamon Maher (Ferbane), Charlie Duffy (Edenderry); Cathal Weldon (Bracknagh), Dylan Dunne (Clara), Aaron Daly (Clonbullogue); Tony Furey (Edenderry), Cian McNamee (Rhode), Ruari Woods (Belmont). Subs – Cian Duffy (Doon) for Furey (44m), Darragh Stewart (Tullamore) for Daly (49m), Isaac Ryan for Weldon, inj. (56m), Stephen Byrne (Raheen) for Duffy (62m),

KILDARE: Jamie Wall; Dan Sargeant, Senan Gallagher, Charlie Cullen; Charlie Doran, Niall McAndrew, Mark Travers; Sean Gleeson, Callum Keaveny; Rian Curran, Ollie Deller, TJ Donoghue; Pauric Carty, Hugh Martin, Rory Thompson. Subs – Cillian Long for Curran (22m), Eoghan Lyons for Gleeson (52m), Robbie Milham for Keaveny (54m), Turlough Donnelly for Deller (56m),

Referee – Stephen Fagan, Wicklow

REFEREE WATCH

Stephen Fagan refereed it well for the most part but there were a couple of big calls and debatable decisions. He rightly penalised Jack Ryan for taking too long over a kickout in the first half, awarding a free in. He definitely should have brought up an Offaly free in the second half after Hugh Martin didn't hand the ball back but he didn't give it. The ball was overturned and he then awarded a free to Kildare for a three man breach, all at a crucial stage – Pauric Carty brought it back out and converted the two point kick to put Kildare 1-13 to 2-5 ahead. Ruari Woods may have got away with a push for his goal in the 42^nd minute. He penalised Mark Travers for fielding a kickout inside the arc in the 51^st minute after being informed by a linesman and that was a correct call

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Offaly's third goal from Ruari Woods was probably the most important score of the evening. Offaly were four points behind at that stage, needed a goal to get back into it and that break lit a flame under them.

VENUE WATCH

The O'Connor Park pitch was back at its best and there was a nice crowd here for this. The game did start a few minutes late due to the late arrival of the referee.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly go into the final against Louth on Monday, May 19 while Kildare are in a second tier competition.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 8 (3 in first half); Kildare - 8 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Kildare – 2 (Ollie Deller and Charlie Doran).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0