Below par Offaly crash out as goal hungry Westmeath make final

A VERY patchy, disjointed display saw Offaly's O'Byrne Cup campaign end when they were resoundingly beaten by Westmeath in the semi-final at Mullingar on Saturday.

O'Byrne Cup Senior Football semi-final

Westmeath 5-10

Offaly 2-8

A hungry Westmeath were fully deserving winners and could have won by more. Offaly battled hard and the defeat is not the end of the world. They have got three games in the O'Byrne Cup and got plenty of game time into players. This was particularly crucial for new players but this was a bridge too far for them.

The heavy schedule of three games in a week did take a big toll on Offaly. They were leggy, a bit stiff and their energy levels were not that high. Westmeath had only two games in the week as their game against Longford did not take place last Saturday and they went through on a toss. That made a definite difference but that is as far as the mitigating factors go for Offaly.

They just didn't play well on the day. You wouldn't mind the defeat at all, that is neither here nor there but Offaly contributed to their own woes. They just gave away too much ball on the day and a high percentage of this was down to themselves, rather than Westmeath pressure.

The real important business begins for Offaly in two weeks time when Louth come to Tullamore for the league opener and that is infinitely more important for them than a win here and an O'Byrne Cup final next weekend.

This defeat and performance will serve a purpose and Offaly now have a real sense of where they are, what needs to be done and who needs to step up. It remains to be seen how all of this will go but this was a poor day at the office for Offaly

The first half was dispiriting for Offaly in many respects yet this was not reflected in the half time deficit of 2-7 to 1-3 which could have been a whole lot worse.

Offaly's error count was too high with too much ball given carelessly away while their defence were exposed when Westmeath lofted in ball over the top. The home side could have scored more than two goals and the ten point lead they held in injury time more accurately summed up the half than the seven point one they headed to the dressing room with.

Offaly made a nightmare start and were 1-5 to no score behind after 12 minutes. The Westmeath goal was scored by Danny McCartan in the fifth minute and Offaly were at nothing early on. They didn't have a wide until the 7^th minute and they handed hard won possession to Westmeath with alarming regularity.

They missed frees with both Jack McEvoy and Jordan Hayes off target before Darragh Flynn got them off the mark with a 15^th minute free. His 24^th minute free made it 1-6 to 0-2 and Offaly's first point from play was from Eoin Sawyer in the 27^th minute. Westmeath broke down the Offaly defence for Brandon Kelly to net a 28^th minute goal and it was all nightmare stuff for the visitors but they got a lifeline in injury time.

Ciaran Murphy pounced for a 31^st minute goal when Jack McEvoy's free dropped short but Offaly's dissatisfaction with their first half showing was demonstrated with three half time substitutions with Eoin Sawyer, Aaron Leavy and Marcas Dalton all called ashore.

The second half was a very mixed bag by Offaly. They pushed hard from the restart but four poor wides kept them in the starting blocks. They went for two pointers and there was nothing wrong with that but they rushed things a bit and were off target. Offaly had a handful of wides from two point attempts in the second half and needed at least three of those to have any chance but it didn't happen.

As often happens in these cases, it was the under pressure side who drew first blood with Ronan Wallace pointing for Westmeath but Offaly responded well. Ciaran Murphy got in for a good goal and Jack Bryant (free) and Diarmuid Egan pointed to bring the gap down to three, 2-8 to 2-5 after 40 minutes.

There was a definite chance for Offaly but they undid their good work in the blink of an eye. Jack McEvoy conceded a sloppy free in midfield and Westmeath attacked for Senan Baker to score a 44^th minute goal. Danny McCartan added a goal straight away and it was all over.

Westmeath added two points and Brandon Kelly's 55^th minute goal made it 5-10 to 2-5. That scoreline did not look good for Offaly but they finished well with the closing three points from Harry Plunkett (free), Jack Bryant and Cormac Egan to secure a small measure of scoring respectability.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Ronan Wallace (Westmeath): Ronan Wallace oozed class for Westmeath. He defended superbly and attacked brilliantly, scoring three points in an excellent display.

Jordan Hayes and Ciaran Murphy were among Offaly's better players while Jack McEvoy put in a lot of work at midfield and Cormac Egan moved the ball well up front.

THE SCORERS

Westmeath: Brandon Kelly 2-1, Danny McCartan 2-0, Senan Baker 1-0, Ronan Wallace and Luke Loughlin (2f) 0-3 each, Matthew Whittaker, Brian Cooney and Robbie Forde 0-1 each.

Offaly: Ciaran Murphy 2-0, Darragh Flynn (2f) and Jack Bryant (1f) 0-2 each, Diarmuid Egan, Cormac Egan, Eoin Sawyer, Harry Plunkett (f) 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Sean O'Toole (Shamrocks); Daire McDaid (Tullamore), Ed Cullen (Clara), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); David Dempsey (Ballycommon)), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry), Rory Egan (Edenderry); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Aaron Leavy (Tullamore); Ciaran Murphy (Skerries Harps, Dublin), Diarmuid Egan (Tullamore)), Marcas Dalton (Clara); Cormac Egan (Tullamore). Eoin Sawyer (Castleknock, Dublin), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane). Subs – Harry Goulding (Edenderry) for Cullen, inj. (27m), Jack Bryant (Shamrocks) for Sawyer (HT), Dan Molloy (St Brigid's) for Leavy (HT), Sean Conway (Ballycommon) fot Dalton (HT);. Nathan Poland (Erin Rovers) for Flynn (39m), Conor Dunican (Ferbane) for Mc|Daid (46m), Harry Plunkett (Tullamore) for Diarmuid Egan (51m),

WESTMEATH: Jason Daly; Boidu Sayeh, Charlie Drumm, Tadgh Baker; Ronan Wallace, Danny Scahill, Matthew Whittaker; Jonathan Lynam, Kevin O'Sullivan; Brian Cooney, Robbie Forde, Brian Guerin; Brandon Kelly, Luke Loughlin, Danny McCartan. Subs – Jack Duncan for Cooney (37m), Senan Baker for Forde (37m),, Harry Niall for Guerin (37m), Tom Molloy for O'Sullivan (46m), Darrgh O'Keeffe for Sayeh (46m), Keelan Connell for Wallace (56m),

Referee – Lee Moore (Kildare).

REFEREE WATCH

Lee Moore had a good game,. He let it run and was consistent in his application of the advantage rule.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Senan Baker's 44^th minute goal ended the game as a contest and summed up Offaly's display. They gave the ball away while attacking just after getting the deficit down to three points. Westmeath were on the back foot, crying out for a score and that goal lifted the siege.

VENUE WATCH

Cusack Park, Mullingar was in good condition with the cold weather contributing to a small crowd. Offaly joint managers Declan Kelly and Mickey Harte have adapted an early season policy of playing the team that is selected unless enforced changes cropped up and lining them out in the positions they are named in. It remains to be seen if that continues for the league but it is the way to go.

WHAT'S NEXT

Westmeath go into the final.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 11 (4 in first half); Westmeath - 3 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Aaron Leavy); Westmeath – 1 (Tadgh Baker).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0