Heroic Offaly come back from the dead to deny Louth unprecedented clean sweep

DISPLAYING character and fighting spirit of the highest order, Offaly snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a sensational, almost unbelievable win over Louth in a thrilling Leinster Minor Football Championship final at Newbridge on Monday evening.

Leinster Minor Football Championship final

Offaly 2-20

Louth 3-14

It was a real blast from the past as Offaly's young guns fought for everything, kept firing on all cylinders when things went wrong, when it looked like it was slipping from their grasp and somehow found a way to win it in the last few minutes.

When they scented blood near the end, Offaly were unstoppable, finding the energy and an extra gear almost out of thin air and a shell shocked Louth team had no answer. They were just blown away in an epic Offaly finish and there were scenes of delirious joy as captain Cian McNamee accepted the cup after the final whistle.

It is hard to find the words to describe what happened here. Louth were seeking an unprecedented clean sweep of Leinster senior, U20 and minor titles while Offaly were seeking their first title in this grade since 1989 and only their second since 1965.

It was a huge win for Offaly, a huge boost for the county coming so soon on the heels of the 2021 All-Ireland U20 win and it is one that argues very well for the future of the game. It was an old fashioned against the odds, coming up on the rails win for Offaly, who now face Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final.

It has been some journey for Offaly who endured bad beatings by Dublin and Louth in the group but eventually came good and grew in confidence as the campaign wore on. It meant that they were perfectly primed for this game but it still looked like they would lose well into the second half.

0-11 to 1-6 behind at half time, Offaly's ability to stare down disaster eventually won the day. In an extraordinary second half that was full of twists and turns, a 33^rd minute Tony Furey goal levelled it up at 2-6 to 0-12 but they were dealt a savage body blow when Louth found their net in the next attack – Oisin Reidy was going for point and his dipping shot caught Jack Ryan out off his line.

A 36^th minute goal from Jack Martin after Tomas Carroll took a step forward and lost him gave Louth a 2-12 to 2-7 lead and with them dominating midfield, they looked odds on for the win.

It was 2-13 to 2-8 after 41 minutes but the first of three breathtaking two point frees from Jack Ryan in the second half kept Offaly alive. Tony Furey added a free and very impressive sub Darragh Stewart kicked a delicious point to leave a point in it, 2-13 to 2-12 with 47 minutes gone.

Louth raided again and a 51^st minute penalty goal from Cillian McQuillan, soft looking, gave them a 3-13 to 2-12 lead. Once again, it looked all over and that goal could have broken Offaly but they were like men possessed, refusing to buckle.

They kept doing the right thing, building patiently, drawing fouls and they stayed alive. Furey slotted over two frees and then Eamon Maher brought the large Offaly crowd to their feet with a sensational two point score to level it up, 2-16 to 3-13 with two minutes left.

Connell Kelly edged Louth back in front in the 59^th minute but Offaly were so hungry all over the field, turning over ball in defence, winning ball at midfield that had been falling into Louth hands and driving forward relentlessly. Eamon Maher came good at the right time, Eoin Rouse got on more and more ball and Darragh Stewart contributed powerfully off the bench as a relentless Offaly went for the jugular.

Three minutes of injury time were announced and once again goalkeeper Jack Ryan was Offaly's hero. He had got crucial late two point frees in the wins over Laois, Meath and Kildare and when they were awarded another one well out on the left near the stand in the 61^st minute, the Offaly crowd held their breath., Ryan delivered spectacularly and Offaly were a point to the good.

They showed a maturity that belied their tender years from then to the final whistle, holding onto the ball and winning another two point free in the 63^rd minute, almost in an identical position to the one two minutes earlier – Louth's Conal Mannion was sent off for a high challenge on Ruari Woods. It was the 64^th minute when Ryan slotted it beautifully over and that was that as the final whistle went from the kickout, leading to fantastic scenes in Newbridge. Before that, Cormac Farrell had made a tremendous interception in defence and the composure he showed to work the ball out of a tight corner and his team mates added to as they moved the ball from defence into attack was one of the standout moments of a memorable eveniung.

Offaly gave it a great go from the start and were well in the hunt when trailing by 0-11 to 1-6 at half time. They settled much quicker than they had in their group game in Louth when they conceded 1-7 without reply at the start and a great fourth minute goal from Dylan Dunne gave them the perfect start and a 1-1 to 0-2 lead – Eoin Rouse did very well in the build up.

Dunne, Cian McNamee and Ruari Woods were all moving well in the Offaly attack while Tony Furey was lively as well – Furey and McNamee got points to put them 1-3 to 0-4 ahead after ten minutes but problems surfaced as the half wore on.

Firstly Louth began to mop up an increasing amount of possession in the midfield zone, both from their own and Offaly kickouts, and this territorial dominance had to yield a dividend.

The group game had also shown Louth's ability to kick long range points and this manifested itself again. Six of their 11 first half points came from two point frees from the deadly accurate Connell Kelly and this was the big difference – one of them came after Aaron Daly didn't get out of the way of a free and while the referee may have been right there, other questionable calls went against Offaly.

The Offaly attack continued to look dangerous but it was on an increasingly limited supply of ball. They could only manage three points from the 12^th minute to half time and two of these was an excellently struck two point free from goalkeeper Jack Ryan.

A two point deficit meant that Offaly was very much in the game at the break but they were sucking air and had it all to do to pull off a famous win.

MATCH ANALYSIS

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MAN OF THE MATCH

Jack Ryan (Offaly): Dylan Dunne got the official man of the match and he had a tremendous game, scoring 1-1 and oozing quality. He almost always did the right thing and his movement was tremendous. He is a real senior star in the making, brilliant throughout the championship, while Eoin Rouse's contribution was also profound. He displayed terrific leadership and was one of the players who kept Offaly going when it looked to be going from them.

My choice, however, is Jack Ryan. He may have got caught with Louth's first goal and he found it hard to place men with his kickouts – Louth pushed up to deny him the short option, meaning he had to go long and their midfielder Tom Magire was magnificent, their best player and he would have been man of the match if they won. Ryan's contribution with those two point frees, however, earns him my selection. He has done it all year in big knockout games and without these, Offaly would not be champions now. His kicking under pressure was unreal for a player so young and those late frees won the day for Offaly, while his earlier one in the second half, kept them in it.

Cian McNamee played a captains' role in attack where Tony Furey had his best game of the year, getting crucial scores from play and frees. There were several other heroes with Tadgh Kelly rock solid in defence and others rising to the challenge at different stages as Offaly grinded out a real backs to the wall win.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Jack Ryan 0-8 (4 x 2pf), Tony Furey 1-6 (5f), Dylan Dunne 1-1, Cian McNamee and Eamon Maher (2p) 0-2 each, Darragh Stewart 0-1.

Louth: Connell Kelly 0-9 (3 x 2pf, 2f), Cillian McQuillan 1-2 (goal from a penalty), Oisin Reidy 1-1, Jack Martin 1-0, Michael McGlew 0-2.

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 – Darragh Stewart (Tullamore) for Weldon (38m), Cian Duffy (Doon) for Daly (42m),

LOUTH: Senon Connolly; Finmn McEneaney, Ciaran Titley, Rian Hickey; Michael McGlew, Tadgh Devaney, Conor Marron; Tom Maguire, Cillian McQuillan; Oisin Reidy, Andrew O'Reilly, Niall McCreesh; Cian Rooney, Jack Martin, Connell Kelly. Subs – Conal Mannion for McCreesh (52m), Senan Hoey for Rooney (56m),

Referee – James Foley, Carlow.

REFEREE WATCH

James Foley gave a few contested frees and some of them were certainly debatable, too many really. They did balance out though and the Carlow man refereed it fairly from that perspective. The referee also got a lot right and was correct in some of the calls that were questioned. The Louth penalty, however, looked very soft on first viewing and the referee did have a definite influence on the outcome – Offaly did get a decent share of decisions.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

A plethora of big moments but the two point free Jack Ryan kicked to edge Offaly in front in the 61^st minute was a pivotal one.

VENUE WATCH

This game captured the imagination of supporters in both counties. With TG4 televising it, the crowd wasn't as big as expected but was still sizeable, with Offaly in the majority and they created a great atmosphere. The renovated St Conleth's Park was in great condition and Kildare hosted the fixture very well.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly play Mayo in the All-Ireland quarter-final while Louthyhave Connacht champions Roscommon.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 5 (2 in first half); Louth – 9 (7 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Tomas Carroll); Louth – 3 (Michael McGlew, Tom Maguire, Cillian McQuillan).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: Offaly – 0; Louth – 1 (Conal Mannion).