Rebels’ early blitz enough to withstand brave Offaly fightback

Allianz National Football League Division 2 Round 3

Cork 3-15

Offaly 0-19

A CLINICAL first-half masterclass from Cork proved just enough to secure a 3-15 to 0-19 victory over Offaly in Tullamore on Sunday, though the five-point margin at the whistle wasn’t much of a reflection of the Rebels' earlier dominance.

Driven by a brace of goals from the tireless Colm O’Callaghan, John Cleary’s men carved open the Faithful defence at will during a one-sided opening period. By the time Mark Cronin added a third green flag shortly after the restart, the contest appeared settled, with Cork operating on a different clinical plane than their hosts.

However, what looked like straight forward turned into a genuine test of character as Offaly staged a spirited final-quarter rally.

Refusing to fold, the Midlanders took advantage of a late Cork malaise, with Harry Plunkett and Keith O’Neill leading a charge that saw the gap narrowed to just five by the final whistle. While the points head back to Leeside, Cork will leave O'Connor Park with plenty to ponder after allowing a commanding nine-point half time lead to be whittled away by a resilient Offaly outfit that simply refused to quit.

An outstanding first half from the Rebels set the stage for a decisive victory. Colm O’Callaghan's two goals in the opening period propelled them to a nine-point lead at halftime, and they maintained control from that point onward.

Chris Óg Jones kicked off the scoring just three minutes into the match, with Offaly quickly answering back as Cormac Egan launched a spectacular two-point effort to put them on the board.

However, this would be the only time Offaly led as Cork dominated thereafter.

READ NEXT: Offaly man takes over as President of GAA Handball

Offaly struggled to weather the Cork storm and Cork were at their ease in that first half period, hitting 1-4 without reply, thanks to points from Dara Sheedy, Sean McDonnell, and two frees from Steven Sherlock.

The game’s first goal came in the 9^th minute when Chris Óg Jones’s smart handpass found O’Callaghan and the Eire Óg man made no mistake, rifling past Conor Melia to give Cork a significant lead.

Offaly attempted to mount a comeback with two points from Harry Plunkett, briefly reigniting their hopes before the break but the Cork momentum was far too strong

A well-executed sequence involving Jones, Ian Maguire, and O’Callaghan culminated in a second goal for Cork, sealing a dominant display as they reached half time.

Offaly performed much better in the second half, but the first half lead was a mountain too far to climb.

They started well and Shane O’Toole Greene did well in front of the Cork goal to draw a free which Plunkett duly converted.

The game all but ended as a contest three minutes into the second half and it was once again, a real team goal. Chris Óg Jones, Ian Maguire, Sean Meehan all combined to send Cronin through and his well-placed shot left Melia with no chance of denying the Nemo Rangers man.

Despite this, Offaly never gave in. Plunkett caused the Cork defence a lot of problems in the second half, with O’Neill also offering plenty of hope for the Faithful.

Substitute Niall Furlong’s point, followed by points from Plunkett (0-2) and one from O’Neill briefly narrowed the gap to seven and there were a few optimistic shouts from the Offaly Faithful.

O’Callaghan increased the gap once again to eight and it looked as if Cork would pull away.

However, Offaly’s final quarter was much better and they finished the stronger of the two teams.

Jordan Hayes’ left footed curler was a beauty and Cormac Egan finished the day’s scoring with another left footed effort to leave the margin of defeat just five points in the end.

READ NEXT: Offaly locals urging community to 'Go all in against cancer this Daffodil Day'

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH: Mark Cronin (Cork). Cronin finished the day with 1-4, and 1-3 from play. He was everywhere, and the Nemo Rangers man was involved in everything good that Cork did. His pace caused Offaly huge problems on a day where there was very little pressure put on him.

Harry Plunkett and Keith O’Neill did well for Offaly, particularly in the second half, but the Cork man gets the nod.

THE SCORERS

Cork: Colm O’Callaghan 2-1, Mark Cronin 1-4 (0-1F), Steven Sherlock 0-5 (0-2F), Chris Óg Jones 0-2, Sean Mc Donnell, Dara Sheedy, Sean Walsh, 0-1 each.

Offaly: Harry Plunkett 0-8 (0-4f), Keith O’Neill 0-5 (1 x 2P), Cormac Egan 0-3 (1 x 2p), Jordan Hayes, Niall Furlong and Daire McDaid 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

CORK: Patrick Doyle; Maurice Shanley, Daniel O’Mahoney, Sean Meehan; Matthew Taylor, Rory Maguire, Luke Fahey; Colm O’Callaghan, Sean McDonnell; Ian Maguire, Dara Sheehy, Paul Walsh; Mark Cronin, Chris Óg Jones, Steven Sherlock. Subs: Ruairi Deane for Walsh (46), Sean Walsh for Maguire (51), Cathail O’Mahoney for Óg Jones (52), Michael. Aodh Martin for Doyle (59), Conor Cahalane for McDonnell (65).

OFFALY: Conor Melia (Bracknagh); Shane O'Toole-Greene (Shamrocks), David Dempsey (Ballycommon), Daire McDaid (Tullamore); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Diarmuid Egan (Tullamore), Rory Egan (Edenderry); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Aaron Leavy (Tullamore); Marcus Dalton (Clara), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue), Harry Plunkett (Tullamore), Ciaran Murphy (Skerries Harps), Eoin Sawyer (Castleknock). Subs: Niall Furlong (Tullamore) for E Sawyer (H/T), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane) for Murphy (48) Eoin Dunne (Clodiagh Gaels) for Dalton (56), Dan Molloy (St.Brigids) for Leavy (66).

REFEREE WATCH

Sean Lonergan had a very good day at the office. He was consistent and fair. There were two three-man breaches for either side in the first half and they were correctly pulled. He did not have a bearing on the end result.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Cork’s third goal. Offaly needed a strong start to the second half to give them any hopes of a comeback, and while they did get the first point of the half, Cronin’s 38^th minute goal was a sucker punch the damage at that stage was irreparable.

VENUE WATCH

O’Connor Park was in decent condition. The ground was heavy which would be expected given the heavy rain overnight. However, it did seem to hold up well. Stewards were plentiful and there were no issues for the 1,260 people who were present.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly travel to Derry next Saturday evening while Cork will welcome Meath to Pairc Ui Rinn on Sunday next.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 10 (5 in first half); Cork- 4 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly 1 (Jack McEvoy), Cork 2 (Chris Og Jones and Ian Maguire)

Black cards: Offaly – 0, Cork – 1 (Rory Maguire).

Red cards: 0

READ NEXT: Iconic school on Offaly-Tipperary border sets sight on rare hurling success