Brilliant Hyland ignites great Raheen recovery as Ferbane fall away after bright start

RAHEEN need no one to tell them about the importance of county star Dylan Hyland to their prospects but it was shown in all its glory in Geashill as he led them to a great come from behind win over Ferbane in the first round of the Intermediate Football Championship on Sunday.

Tullamore Court Hotel Intermediate Football Championship Group 2 Round 1

Raheen 0-19

Ferbane 1-11

Managing a very tricky groin injury, the Offaly star came on in the 22nd minute with Ferbane completely dominant and leading by 1-6 to 0-3.

By half time, the game had been turned on its head as Raheen led by 0-10 to 1-6 thanks to five points from Hyland, one of them a sensational two pointer kicked over his shoulder. Their lead at the final whistle was five points, 0-19 to 1-11 and Hyland had nine points to his name, eight of them from play.

The Geashill man is at a different standard and operates on a way higher level than anyone on the field here but that is still a serious return and a magical contribution no matter what criteria you apply.

It wasn't a perfect performance by Hyland. He had a wide in the second half and dropped a couple short into the goalkeeper's hands while he nearly gave the Raheen sideline collective heart failure when he raced in to throw Ferbane goalkeeper, David Dunican to the ground when he charged into Eamon Bolger when coming out with the ball deep in injury time. It was a heavy hit by Dunican and merited a yellow card but Hyland was the third man in and Raheen immediately feared a red. He was on dodgy ground but a yellow was definitely sufficient as there was no real malice in his interaction with Dunican, though he had no business intervening, and fortunately referee Brian Gavin saw it the same way.

A red card there would have ruined Raheen's day and is a warning to Hyland that he needs to continuously watch his discipline, keep his cool. In a funny way, a red card mightn't have been a bad thing as he clearly needs an extended rest from football to get his groin sorted – that would certainly serve Offaly well but Raheen can't afford to be down him and his passion and commitment to his club is considerable.

There is no such thing as a one man team and Raheen would not have won this game without the general work rate and intensity levels of so many but we can say two things with complete conviction: no other team is as reliant on one individual in the top three tiers of Offaly football as Raheen are on Hyland and they would not have won this game in a month of Sunday's without him coming on.

The basic facts back this up. Joe Maher's free put Ferbane 1-6 to 0-3 up after 21 minutes and they were in complete control, playing against a swirling wind. Michael Spillane had punched their goal in the 14^th minute and Ferbane were dictating play in every section with the veteran David Kelly orchestrating things at midfied.

Hyland was just waiting to get in there, throwing regular glances at the management and manager Niall Carty eventually stared the obvious in the face and summoned him. Padddy Rigney had got a great earlier two pointer for Raheen and Shane Hyland kicked a great two point score immediately after Dylan came on. Dylan's two pointer saw Raheen take that one point lead at the break but his influence went deeper than the mere scores.

From the second he stood on the sideline with the slip in hand, you could see an almost perceptible pick up in the body language and work rate of his colleagues. Their spirits soared and they began to go for everything that bit harder with their talisman on the field.

Everything flowed from there and it was a widespread turnaround. With the wind to come, Ferbane still had a chance and with Joe Maher and Ronan McGuire, who played in last year's senior county final on the field, you fancied them to kick two pointers in the second half.

Instead they were a beaten docket and gave a very poor effort in the second half. There wasn't much fight in them and we expected more from Ferbane. They had 31 players named on the programme but they only introduced one sub and it looked like that was all they had present. Ferbane is a big parish with a lot of footballers and you would wonder why they had so few there.

Whatever was going on, the game soon slipped out of reach for them. With Hyland pulling the trigger, Raheen went 0-13 to 1-6 clear before Ferbane ended a 23 minute scoring drought with a 44^th minute point.

They never threatened to get back into it and Raheen played very well in the second half. That was down to a lot more than their chief scorer and they will be very pleased with their overall levels. Fitness is an issue for some of their players – age is the reason with a couple, a couple cramped up late on and some just need to train harder. However, their attitude and approach was spot on as they fought tigerishly for every ball and never gave Ferbane a sniff once they scented victory.

Raheen were 0-18 to 1-8 ahead with seven minutes left. Joe Maher got a two point free for Ferbane in the 56^th minute but a home victory was never in doubt late on and that was a remarkable transformation from where they were after 21 minutes.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Dylan Hyland (Raheen): There is a temptation to bypass Dylan Hyland and go with one of the foot soldiers who performed really well on the day, dug so deep. The veteran Conor Carroll was very much in this category, working his socks off, fielding great ball and inspiring his colleagues with the fire in his belly. David Carthy had an excellent game in defence and Rory Grehan was also a contender – he was one of the players that stood out when Raheen were at nothing early on and he did the simple thing very well.

Dylan Hyland, however, was the man of the match and the result would have been very different without his contribution. Adam Kelly and Paddy Rigney also went very well for the winners who had a lot of players who performed in the second half in particular. Shane Hyland also put in a very productive shift for Raheen at midfield, really coming into it in the second half. He kicked an excellent two pointer to get Raheen going just after his first cousin Dylan came in and moved very well when he hit top gear – he is also a first cousin of Bracknagh and former Offaly star, Peter Cunningham on his maternal line.

David Kelly was excellent for Ferbane for 35 to 40 minutes and other players had bright spells but it ended up a very poor day at the office for them.

THE SCORERS

Raheen: Dyland Hyland 0-9 (1f and 1 x 2p), Shane Hyland 0-4 (1 2pf and 1 x 2p), Paddy Rigney 0-3 (1 x 2p), Conor Carroll, Brian Crombie and Lee Mulpeter 0-1 each.

Ferbane: Joe Maher 0-5 (1 x 2pf, 1f), Ronan McGuire 0-4 (2f), Michael Spillane 1-0, David Kelly and Donal Flynn 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

RAHEEN: Keith Kirwan; David Carthy, Brian Corcoran, Aidan Pierce; Eamon Bolger, Adam Kelly, Mikey Buckley; Conor Carroll, Shane Hyland; Rory Grehan, Brian Crombie, Paddy Arnold; Paddy Rigney, Jack Keogh, James Nolan. Subs – Dylan Hyland for Nolan (22m), Lee Mulpeter for Keogh (45m), Danny Gorman for Arnold (50m), Mikey Keogh for Buckley (60m).

FERBANE: David Dunican; Ruari O'Neill, Liam Browne, Saran Flynn; Gavin Egan, Shane Nally, Michael Spillane; David Kelly, Bernard Corcoran; Donal Flynn, Joe Maher, Conor Kenny; Daniel Kelly, Ronan McGuire, Sean Flynn. Sub – Paddy Moore for Donal Flynn, inj. (21m).

Referee – Brian Gavin (Clara).

REFEREE WATCH

Brian Gavin refereed it very well, letting play run but keeping control. He showed black cards to Lee Mulpeter and Conor Kenny when they threw each other to the ground in a second half altercation and was correct here while he gave other players the benefit of the doubt.

There was no linesman on at least one side as the referee adjudicated on this. That is never good but is the one down side of home and away arrangements as the host club can't provide neutral officials. Neutral linesmen are appointed for senior and senior B games but they don't simply have the numbers for lower grades. One Raheen mentor complained in the second half that intermediate was being treated shabbily in this regard but there is nothing else Offaly GAA can do and the higher grades have to take priority over the lower ones.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

We have often heard of a game of two halves. This was a game of the first 22 minutes and second 38 minutes plus. The game before and after Dylan Hyland's introduction were two entirely different affairs.

VENUE WATCH

The Geashill venue was very well prepared and Raheen managed it very well.

WHAT'S NEXT

Raheen travel to Edenderry and Ferbane host St Brigid's in round 2.

STATISTICS

Wides: Raheen – 7 (2 in first half); Ferbane – 8 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Raheen – 3 (Brian Corcoran, Mikey Buckley, Dylan Hyland); Ferbane – 1 (David Dunican).

Black cards: Raheen – 1 (Lee Mulpeter); Ferbane – 1 (Conor Kenny).

Red cards: 0.