Relieved Offaly survive 14 man Antrim fright to retain top flight status

THE overwhelming emotion was relief as Offaly made very hard work of retaining their top flight status in the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship with a very nervous, tension filled win over Antrim.

Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Round 5

Offaly 3-15

Antrim 1-16

Over the course of the year and the balance of this game, there is absolutely no doubt that Offaly deserve to stay up and Antrim deserve to go down but the home side danced with danger in O'Connor Park, producing a performance of two extremes.

Excellent against the strong swirling wind in the first half as Antrim had corner back Niall O'Connor sent off after six minutes for what looked to be a stamp on Charlie Mitchell, Offaly were in complete control as they led by 2-9 to 0-11 at half time.

They were set up for a facile win but their performance levels and all round efficiency noticeably dipped from the restart. Offaly didn't play anywhere near as well as they had in the first half and they very definitely flirted with a disastrous defeat and relegation back to the Joe McDonagh Cup.

Balls that had been sticking in the first half began to spin loose and as the half wore on, Offaly were living on their wits and Antrim were not that far away from a sensational come from behind win. There were times when Antrim looked to have the extra man as Offaly didn't put them away and didn't keep the scoreboard ticking over in the way they needed to and would have been expected to with the wind.

The Antrim defence got on top in the second half, cutting out a lot of ball on their half back line and there was a brief few moments when they had all the momentum and it looked like they could take the points.

The alarm bells didn't ring for Offaly for a long time. Even though they were struggling, they were able to keep a bit of a gap as the wind increased and spilling rain added to the difficulty for players.

2-13 to 0-13 ahead after 50 minutes, Antrim scented an opportunity and three frees from James McNaughton brought the gap down to three, 2-13 to 0-16 with seven minutes left.
All of a sudden, Offaly were on a very slippery slope but a sensational point from the magnificent Charlie Mitchell restored a four point gap. Then Antrim got right back into it in the 64^th minute when James McNaughton blasted to the net after a bout of ping pong in front of goals.

The gap was only a point but Offaly responded superbly when those questions were asked. Brian Duignan was denied what looked a certain goal by a Stephen Rooney block after Charlie Mitchell sent him in on goal in the 65^th minute but the winners got the goal they needed a minute later. Killian Sampson's finish was right out of the top drawer after impressive sub Eoghan Cahill sent him in with a great pass and the gap was back out to four. Duignan added a free and this left Antrim chasing goals to salvage it late on and with almost every man back in the Offaly half of the field, these were going to have to come from a break.

They had some dangerous balls into the danger zone but Offaly were able to clear the lines and just hold on.

Offaly's second half display was the polar opposite of their first when the collective excellence of all was matched by the individual brilliance of players such as Ben Conneely, Donal Shirley, Cathal King, Ross Ravenhill and Charlie Mitchell.

The early sending off stacked the odds against Antrim and while their sideline made their displeasure at the referee known as it wore on, they were the architects of some of their own misfortune, tackling hard and high on occasions.

The second half display was thought provoking but there was extenuating circumstances as a number of the Offaly team had been laid up with a virus during the week. Mark Troy, Ciaran Burke, Donal Shirley, Dan Bourke and Brian Duignan were all affected by this and it was a factor in them running out of energy and steam in the second half – Dan Bourke had been excellent in the first half but wasn't as prominent in the second half. Similarly, Brian Duignan went very well early on but his legs went in the closing quarter and for Offaly, the bottom line was the result and nothing else.

Brian Duignan had given Offaly a dream start with a superb first minute goal after Charlie Mitchell sent him in. They were 1-0 to 0-2 ahead when O'Connor saw red and got a second crucial glal in the 13^th minute when Dan Ravenhill blasted home a penalty after Mitchell was fouled. That gave them a 2-1 to 0-4 lead and there was something very impressive about the way Offaly controlled the first half, dictated the pace of play.

It was 2-1 to 0-6 after seventeen minutes and three points on the run from Dan Ravenhill, Duignan (free) and Donal Shirley pushed Offaly 2-4 to 0-6 clear. Antrim did well to level it up at 0-10 to 2-4 after 29 minutes – a draw match or even a deficit of two or three points would have been a satisfactory first half for Offaly with the wind to come but they found another gear coming up to half time. Shirley got a second super point, Dan Ravenhill, Brian Duignan (free) and two breathtaking scores from Charlie Mitchell gave them that 2-9 to 0-11 half time lead.

While it ended up a lot tighter than it perhaps should have been, Offaly's win ensures that 2025 has been a very good year for GAA in the county. The hurlers also got promoted to Division 1, the footballers got promoted and won Division 3 as well as qualifying out of their Tailteann Cup group, the minor footballers won a :Leinster title and while the minor hurlers and U20 footballers performed poorly and the U20 hurlers didn't retain their titles, Offaly are moving in the right direction in both codes.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Charlie Mitchell (Offaly): Charlie Mitchell's return to form in recent weeks has been instrumental to Offaly surviving. He had been struggling for his best form for a big part of the year and was hanging onto his place on the team by a thread but he has turned it around spectacularly in recent weeks. He started to turn the corner against Kilkenny, raised it another notch in Wexford and the impression that he could produce a man of the match performance here proved correct.

The Kilcormac-Killoughey man was superb, scoring three points, drawing the foul for the sending off and penalty and having several other assists. Some of his stick-work took the breath away and he had a great game.

Donal Shirley, Ross Ravenhill and Cathal King were superb in a defence where Ben Conneely showed his value with some great old fashioned heart and defending. The defence were very good as a unit, despite the inevitable hairy moments here and there. Colin Spain put in a great shift at midfield while Oisin Kelly's work rate and ball winning was instrumental in the attack. Dan Ravenhill had a great first half and was a big loss when he went off injured at half time while Killian Sampson found his form late on and Eoghan Cahill did very well when introduced.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Brian Duignan 1-7 (7f), Dan Ravenhill 1-2 (goal from a penalty), Charlie Mitchell 0-3, Killian Sampson 1-0, Donal Shirley 0-2, Dan Bourke 0-1.

Antrim: James McNaughton 1-8 (8f), Keelan Molloy and Gerard Walsh 0-2 each, Paddy Burke, Ryan McCambridge, Nigel Elliott, Scott Walsh 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Mark Troy (Durrow); Ciaran Burke (Durrow), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's), Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown), Ross Ravenhill (Durrow), Donal Shirley (Tubber), Sam Bourke (Durrow); Killian Sampson (Shinrone), Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Brian Duignan (Durrow); Oisin Kelly (Belmont); Dan Ravenhill (Durrow), Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Jason Sampson (Shinrone), . Subs – Jack Clancy (Belmont) for Dan Ravenhill (HT), Eoghan Cahill (Birr) for Jason Sampson (63m)

ANTRIM: Ryan Elliot; Conor Boyd, Paddy Burke, Niall O’Connor; Conal Bohill, Joe Maskey, Stephen Rooney; Gerard Walsh, Nigel Elliot; Scott Walsh, Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McCambridge; Eoin O’Neill, James McNaughton, Keelan Molloy. Subs – Rory McCloskey for McCambridge (54m).

Referee – Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).

REFEREE WATCH

Michael Kennedy ended up a central figure because of the early red cards and subsequent yellows showed to Antrim but they were the architects of their own misfortune as they tackled hard and sometimes high. Antrim were not happy with the referee but he was not the reason they lost.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The early sending off was crucial while Killian Sampson's super 66^th minute goal eased Offaly's nerves at a stage when they were very vulnerable and on the ropes.

VENUE WATCH

The O'Connor Park pitch was back to its very best, looking the most pristine it has this year. The County Board had plenty of stewards and managed the fixture with their usual professionalism.

WHAT'S NEXT

This concludes the season for both counties.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 8 (3 in first half); Antrim - 8(5 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 2 (Cathal King and Charlie Mitchell); Antrim – 4 (Conal Bohill, Gerard Walsh, Ryan McCambridge and James McNaughton).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: Offaly – 0; Antrim – 1 (Niall O'Connor).