Demoralising defeat for relegation bound Offaly in Derry

WHEN the fixtures for Division 2 of the National Football League were released late last year, the back to back Saturday night trips to Derry and Tyrone stood out like a sore thumbs as ones fraught with danger, presenting the possibility of a morale damaging beating. That was before Offaly's prospects of survival were devastated with a string of injuries to key players and it was not a huge surprise that their worse nightmare unfolded in Derry's Celtic Park on Saturday evening when they were unmercifully put to the sword by a very impressive, fast moving, high scoring home side.

Allianz National Football League Division 2 Round 4

Derry 2-25

Offaly 0-8

With so many players out, Offaly were sitting ducks here but no one anticipated the scale of what emerged here in the first half as a lethal Derry led by 2-17 to 0-3 at half time. They had played with the wind but the game was well and truly up for Offaly who were on a damage limitation exercise in the second half and didn't manage to achieve that as their attack struggled to convert chances.

The absence of key players provides extenuating circumstances and has to be considered when analysing this. It is pointless to look for scapegoats but this was a nightmare evening for Offaly who are well down the road back to Division 3 with four consecutive defeats. No one was under any illusions about the possibility of Offaly suffering a really bad defeat up north and management now have a huge task to pick things up ahead of next Saturday's journey to Dungannon.

They made life way too easy for Derry in the first half, defending poorly and unable to stop the home side breaking tackles and opening them up. Having said that, they could have been closer at half time. They had enough play in advanced forward positions to have hit six-seven points themselves while ten of Derry's 17 first half points came from five two pointers.

Offaly made a dreadful start, allowing Derry to get a quick foothold on the game. They led by 2-4 to no score after ten minutes and it was all over. Niall Loughlin and Matthew Downey got in for the goals as Offaly missed tackles and just didn't stop Derry creating overlaps. It was relentless pressure with Jordan Hayes 11^th minute point only a brief reprieve. Paul Cassidy had got their first two pointer in the tenth minute and they then began to float them over with alarming ease. Offaly were too slow to close down players as Cassidy, Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan and Brendan Rogers all added to their two point haul in the first half.

Keith O'Neill got two nice points for Offaly and they did have a decent amount of possession but their shot selection was poor, taking on unlikely attempts while other misses were down to the strength of the wind.

It did not make for pleasant viewing for the visiting support and the second half was not as whole lot better as Offaly kicked three poor early wides and Jordan Hayes was short with a two point attempt while Derry got two points in the first five minutes. It all drifted out very harmlessly from here with Derry controlling the game and never in any danger.

In the first half, Offaly defence was all at sea but the attack lifted some of the weight of their shoulders in the second, having five wides and Eoin Sawyer having a goal shot blocked before Jordan Hayes got their first point twenty minutes in. Derry had 2-23 on the board at that stage and it was just very poor by Offaly, though it was understandable that their heads should drop, energy levels dip.

At half time, we had hoped that Offaly would reach double figures but as the half wore on, it became clear that this modest target was out of reach. As Derry finally eased off inside the closing quarter, Offaly had more play but it was all at a superficial level, though they managed to get five of the last seven points.

This defeat will generate plenty of comment at Offaly and some people will focus on the management. Even with a full strength team, Offaly would probably still have lost this by over ten points, though it would have been a different game and a better start would have changed things. It is not Offaly's first time to experience a really bad beating in the six counties and while it was not nice to see, it was always possible that it would emerge here – all Offaly can do is take this on the chin, circle the wagons and move forward.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Shane McGuigan (Derry): Shane McGuigan's quality is known far and wide but he had a huge impact on this game. You could pick anyone of several Derry players but McGuigan's class commanded complete respect.

There were very few positives for Offaly to grasp on. Cormac Egan, Jordan Hayes and Keith O'Neill were three players who did show commendable battling spirit, even when the game was gone from them. Egan and Hayes carried the ball forward well, kept going to the end and Keith O'Neill was hungry for action, though his conversion rate was not as high as normal. Apart from them, some players had bright moments – Harry Plunkett got an excellent late two pointer and Diarmuid Egan is worth giving more game time to in a new role at centre half back, even though Derry came at waves at the Offaly defence - but it was very much a collective failure as Offaly were taught a real lesson.

THE SCORERS

Derry: Shane McGuigan 0-7 (1 x 2p, 2f), Niall Loughlin 1-4 (1 x 2p, 1f), Matthew Downey 1-2, Paul Cassidy 0-5 (2 x 2p), Ethan Doherty and Brendan Rogers (1 x 2p) 0-2 each, Jack Doherty, Niall Toner, Niall O'Donnell 0-1 each.

Offaly: Keith O'Neill and Harry Plunkett (1 x 2p, 1f) 0-3 each, Jordan Hayes 0-2.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Conor Melia (Bracknagh); Shane O'Toole-Greene (Shamrocks), David Dempsey (Ballycommon), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Diarmuid Egan (Tullamore), Rory Egan (Edenderry); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Aaron Leavy (Tullamore); Marcas Dalton (Clara), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue); Harry Plunkett (Tullamore), Niall Furlong (Tullamore), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane).. Subs – Daire McDaid (Tullamore) for Dempsey (HT), Eoin Sawyer (Castleknock, Dublin) for Flynn (42m), Eoin Dunne (Clodiagh Gaels) for Dalton (47m), Conor Dunican (Ferbane) for Pearson (52m), Cathal Ryan (Daingean) for O'Toole-Greene (63m).

DERRY: Ryan Scullion; Diarmuid Baker, Ruari Forbes, Shea Downey; Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan; Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty; Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan, Paul Cassidy; Niall Toner, Jack Doherty, Matthew Downey. Subs – Ruari O'Mianain for McGuinness (HT), Sean Young for Rogers (42m), Niall O'Donnell for Ethan Doherty (47m), Mark Doherty for Baker (52m), Charlie Diamond for Shea Downey (57m)

Referee – Fergal Kelly (Longford).

REFEREE WATCH

Fergal Kelly was not a factor in the outcome and had a good game.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Niall Loughlin's fifth minute goal came way too early for Offaly and Derry were on the road to victory very early.

VENUE WATCH

Derry gave a typical northern welcome to the visitors from Offaly, several of them staying overnight in the city or nearby Letterkenny. They were friendly to the Offaly fans, joking about getting a poor exchange rate as they accepted the same price in euros as sterling for programmes and tickets for their half time draw. Their pitch looked good and a decent sized crowd created a nice atmosphere.

Derry's facilities were good and their press box deserves a mention – it is the closest to O'Connor Park that I have come across at one of those middle of the road provincial venues, with plenty of room and it indoor.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly have another dangerous trip up north next Saturday, albeit a shorter one to Tyrone. These trips are a bit of a nightmare for the team who travelled up on Friday evening for this one and are planning on the same next weekend. It is better than a four hour plus bus journey on the day of the game but with a 6pm throw in here, there was a long day to punch in while the expense on the County Board is considerable.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 14 (6 in first half); Derry - 7 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Shane O'Toole-Greene); Derry – 0.

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0