Solid Offaly record easy win in emotion filled Adam Mangan shield decider

OFFALY U15 footballers showed plenty of potential as they recorded easy win over Meath in an Adam Mangan Tournament shield final at Kilclonfert on Saturday morning.

Adam Mangan U15 Football Tournament Shield final

Offaly 1-15

Meath 0-7

Billed as a shield final but really a third and fourth placed play off between the two beaten semi-finalists, Offaly scored 1-15 and it could very easily have been 4-20 or higher.

As you would imagine from that scoreline and suggestion, the result comes with a warning notice attached. It was not Meath's strongest team as they experimented with fringe players alongside first team ones as well as availing of the no limit on subs rule by running in players throughout the hour plus.

Whatever team they had out, it was certainly a poor performance by them and Offaly were the better side by a country mile.

Irrespective of all that, and it would not be doing Offaly justice not to mention the strength of the Meath outfit, it was still an encouragingly good performance by the home side.

With county underage football teams, the first thing a lot of supporters look out for is their physicality and athleticism, how they move. Offaly ticked all of these boxes and there was a lot to admire in the way they performed. Some of these players will go straight onto the Offaly minor football panel next year, others will have to wait two years and concentrate on the U16 development squad for the year but you would have to be happy with what is going on with this group.

Their work ethic and application of the fundamentals of football was of a high order and there is a very solid foundation being put in place for them. They were reasonably proficient in their ball retention, patiently probing for openings and creating chances.

There were downsides. Their wide count of fourteen, seven in each half, was too high in the modern game, their shot selection was not always good – there were times when they took on hit and hope shots when the ball perhaps should have been reworked, though players should be encouraged to show their natural flair and have a go at this level, before they become too straight-jacketed up the ranks.

The positives, however, far outweighed any negatives. They were excellent defensively, working hard not to concede soft fouls, and they played their football with real pace and movement, especially in the first half.

It was an emotion filled occasion for the Mangan family and host club, Kilclonfert. The 10^th anniversary of Adam's tragic death in 2015 is approaching and this tournament has grown in popularity since being instigated in his memory in 2016.

Now one of the premier tournaments for U15 football teams in the country, it attracts entries from all over with a very high standard of football.

The late Adam was a gifted sports man, representing Offaly in underage football and playing rugby at a high level. The tournament is a special memorial for his parents, Ray and Jeanette and siblings and this year's one was especially poignant as his nephew Aaron Mangan was on the Offaly side – Aaron is a son of an older brother of Adam, Mark and he had a very good game in defence, doing most things very well, both defensively and offensively.

Offaly have a good squad at this level and were not far off making the cup rather than the shield final, losing out to Mayo in a high scoring semi-final. Offaly could very easily have won that day and it is a pity that they weren't playing Kerry in the following cup final but that doesn't take away from the potential that lies in this squad of players and their capacity for further improvement.

Playing against the wind in the first half, it was clear from the throw in that Offaly were a vastly superior outfit. Darragh Monaghan's eight minute goal put them 1-3 to 0-1 ahead and Offaly could have been out of sight after twenty minutes.

They could very easily have had four goals on the board at that stage but they regularly drove through Meath with real pace and venom – there were times when a player passed to a player in a worse position than him, not taking on the shot himself, while they turned down tap over points to try and work goals.

Still Offaly held a handsome 1-9 to 0-4 interval lead and were never going to lose. They were 1-14 to 0-5 ahead at the three quarter way stage and the closing fifteen minutes was a bit of a non event as both sides ran in subs and gave deserved action to players.

It is also worth noting that this team had a few younger brothers of star men on the Offaly side that won the Leinster Minor Football Championship in such style this year – Liam Woods, Joe Furey, Hugh Kelly and Jack Curley are brothers of Ruari Woods, Tony Furey, Tadgh Kelly and Jason Curley while centre back Keith O'Rourke is a brother of the 2025 Offaly U20 football captain David O'Rourke and there are other strong footballing connections on the squad.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Keith O'Rourke (Offaly): Offaly had a lot of players that performed at a decent level, doing their primary job very well. There was something very impressive about the way Jack Connolly and James Slevin performed at midfield while Sam Heffernan looked a real class player up front and Darragh Monaghan and the very effective Joe Furey scored very well.

The defence commanded respect for their tackling, work ethic, turnovers and focus on the basics with almost every man and subs doing very well. Centre back Keith O'Rourke is the choice as he manned the defensive fort so impressively. He cut out ball, fielded good ball and distributed very well – there were a couple of times when he went for shots that were not really on but he looks to be a fine prospect, as are many of this team.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Darragh Monaghan 1-3, Joe Furey 0-5 (2f), Sam Heffernan 0-4, Donnacha Seery, Hugh Kelly, Oliver Goulding 0-1 each.

Meath: Jamie Quirke 0-4 (3f), James Henry 0-2 (1 x 2pf), Conall O'Reilly 0-1.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Ryan Casey (Tullamore); Noah Tierney (St Manchan's), Niall Lambe (Tullamore), Jake Conlon (Tullamore); Robbie Wynne (St Rynagh's), Keith O'Rourke (Shamrocks), Aaron Mangan (St Vincent's); James Slevin (St Rynagh's), Jack Connolly (Ferbane-Belmont); Liam Woods (Ferbane-Belmont), Hugh Kelly (St Vincent's), Darragh Monaghan (Shamrocks); Donnacha Seery (Edenderry), Sam Heffernan (Tullamore), Joe Furey (Edenderry). Subs used – Conal Minnock (Shamrocks), Oliver Goulding (Edenderry), Conor Fennessy (Edenderry), Robbie Minnock (St Vincent's), Sean Grennan (Ferbane-Belmont), Sam Heffernan, Scott Mannerings (Clara).

MEATH: Sean Behan; Darragh Reynolds, Rian Carolan, Eanna Horgan; Ruari McDermott, Kealan Sheerin, Conor Larkin; Jamie Quirke, James Henry; Charlie Reuter, Oran McKenna, Ciaran Reilly; Isaac McGarry, Liam Fagan, Cillian Fitzsimons.

Referee – Fergal Smyth (Kilclonfert).