Jekyll and Hyde display sends Offaly hurtling back towards Division 3

AN almost crazily topsy-turvy display saw the curtain effectively come down on Offaly's brief run in Division 2 of the National Football League with a heavy defeat in Dungannon's O'Neill Park on Saturday evening.

Allianz National Football League Division 2 Round 5

Tyrone 0-28

Offaly 2-13

A very good, hard working, encouraging first half display was followed by a very disjointed, almost lethargic second half display as Tyrone got away for an ultimately convincing win – Offaly may possibly have drained the tank in the first half but whatever the reason, they certainly didn't reach the same performance levels in the second with the wind on their backs. Overall, it was much improved from the loss in Derry a weak earlier but it still ended up another demoralising defeat for Offaly, their fifth in a row and there will be a collective circling of the wagons in the coming weeks as pressure mounts on both players and management.

Relegation is virtually a certainty and Offaly just haven't performed well enough to stay up. A heavy injury list has been a big factor in this and has to be mentioned when assessing anything. This is important at a time when the management are beginning to come under scrutiny in some circles and this pressure will only get worse if they go through the programme with seven defeats.

With home games to come against Cavan and Meath, this is now very possible and it was difficult to know what to make of the whole set-up here. Offaly performed very well in the first half against the wind. They were 0-12 to 1-7 down at half time but could very easily have been level or ahead as they exerted a quiet control of a lot of the play.

It was their most encouraging performance in the league, yet it unravelled badly in the second half and the ease that Tyrone pulled away for the win just did not look good for anyone. They added sixteen points to their tally for a 28 point margin and inside the last ten minutes, the only issue at stake was would they surpass thirty points. It looked like they could at one stage and even though they didn't, that is just too many scores to be conceding in football.

The second half display was all a bit calamitous by Offaly. They let the game slip out of reach early on as Tyrone upped the ante considerably, pushing up on everything and not allowing Offaly to hold onto the ball the way they had in the first half. Their score taking was excellent and Offaly struggled to get their hands on the ball.

Tyrone would have won anyway but Offaly helped them on the way. Jack McEvoy picked up a sloppy, debatable black card in the 54^th minute and that really sealed their fate while two of the Tyrone points came from three man breaches. The problem for Offaly is that they were just too far off the pace in the second half. They were beaten too early, their energy levels dipped alarmingly low and the fight did look to go out of them in the closing quarter.

Tyrone turned the screw from the restart, getting three quick points before Harry Plunkett floated over an audacious two pointer. Tyrone got four more before Rory Egan and Keith O'Neill (free) replied for Offaly but it was only plugging leaks. It was 0-21 to 1-11 when McEvoy saw black, 0-27 to 1-12 when he came back on with just five minutes to go and it all drifted out very tamely.

Darragh Flynn got an excellent 69^th minute goal but in a way, the 2-13 to 0-28 final scoreline flattered Offaly a bit and that is a strange thing to say considering their very encouraging first half, when they got into a position to actually win the game and throw themselves a relegation lifeline.

It was clear almost from the throw in that Offaly would perform much better than they had in Derry the previous week.

Playing against the wind in the first half, Offaly hit the ground running from the start but there was much more to be happy with. They closed down opponents much quicker, stopped players running down their throat and were only two points, 0-12 to 1-7 down at half time.

Tyrone's tally included two two pointers from Ruari Canavan and Brian Kennedy but defensively, Offaly were way more solid. They were also better offensively and you had to be very pleased with the way they performed as a unit in the first half.

They were very controlled and patient in their build up, recycling the ball and waiting for the right shooting opportunity, in general. They often held on to the ball for extended periods, over three minutes in one spell and over two in another couple. That all denied Tyrone possession and meant Offaly had a fighting chance at the break.

Offaly could actually have been ahead at half time. They held their own from the off but were 0-6 to 0-2 behind after 14 minutes. The excellent Keith O'Neill was very unlucky to hit the cross bar with a 19^th minute pile-diver. Aaron Leavy was wide with the rebound but crucially Cormac Egan and Harry Plunkett got the next two points.

Cormac Quinn pointed for Tyrone but Offaly levelled it up with a 25^th minute goal, Jack McEvoy tapping home from close range after Jordan Hayes' shot was kept in. It was still level, 1-6 to 0-9 with six minutes to go to the break. Kennedy's two pointer helped Tyrone into a three point lead but Offaly once again retained possession very efficiently late on, Daire McDaid winning a free that Keith O'Neill curled over.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Brian Kennedy (Tyrone): Tyrone had a lot of players performing well in the second half, especially in attack while flying subs drove the nail into Offaly's coffin. Midfielder Brian Kennedy gets the nod as he put in a very hard working display as well as getting an excellent two pointer in the first half.

It was a jekyll and hyde display by Offaly. Cormac Egan and Keith O'Neill did their utmost to carry the game to Tyrone and are very much Offaly's two main men at the moment. Darragh Flynn had his best game of the league, scoring 1-2 and showing well while an improving Harry Plunkett once again showed very good opportunism and is grasping his opportunity – he had been taking frees but for whatever reason, he didn't take them here with Keith O'Neill taking the close in ones and goalkeeper Conor Melia coming up to take a late '45': as a unit, Offaly had too many players blowing hot and cold and too many of these were on the cold side.

THE SCORERS

Tyrone: Ruari Cavanan 0-5 (1 x 2p, 2f), Seanie O'Donnell, Ronan Cassidy, Matthew Donnelly, Darren McGurry 0-3 each. Niall Devlin and Brian Kennedy (1 x 2p) 0-2 each, Aidan Clarke, Cormac Quinn, Ben Cullen, Ciaran Daly, Michael McKernan, Ruari McCullagh (f), Lorcan McGarritty 0-1 each.

Offaly: Darragh Flynn 1-2, Keith O'Neill 0-4 (2f), Jack McEvoy 1-0, Harry Plunkett 0-3 (1 x 2p), Cormac Egan 0-2, Rory Egan and Marcas Dalton 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Conor Melia (Bracknagh); Shane O'Toole-Greene (Shamrocks), Rory Egan (Edenderry), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Diarmuid Egan (Tullamore), Daire McDaid (Tullamore); Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry); Marcas Dalton (Clara), Aaron Leavy (Tullamore), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue); Harry Plunkett (Tullamore), Niall Furlong (Tullamore), Darragh Flynn (Ferbane). Subs – Ciaran Murphy (Skerries Harps) for Furlong (52m), Eoin Dunne (Clodiagh Gaels) for Dalton (59m), Conor Dunican (Ferbane) for Pearson (61m)

TYRONE: Oisin O'Kane; Aidan Clarke, Peter Teague, Cormac Quinn; Ben Cullen, Niall Devlin, Michael Rafferty; Brian Kennedy, Conn Kilpatrick; Seanie O'Donnell, Ronan Cassidy, Ciaran Daly; Lorcan McCarthy,, Matthew Donnelly, Ruari Canavan. Subs – Darren McCurry for McGarraity (51m), Joey Clarke for Cullen (51m), Michael McKernan for Daly (59m), Frank Burns for Devlin (62m), Ruari McCullagh for Canavan (65m),

Referee – James Molloy, Galway.

REFEREE WATCH

James Molloy had a very solid game with no big issues, though the black card for Jack McEvoy did look questionable in real time.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

The black card Jack McEvoy got in the 54^th minute sealed Offaly's fate. Offaly were trailing by 0-21 to 1-11 at that stage and just could not afford to be down a man at this stage. It was sloppy more than anything else by McEvoy, looked a bit harsh and the Tyrone man may have invited it on but Offaly were attacking at that stage and it was a game ending moment – they probably wouldn't have wouldn't have won it anyway but the score was 0-27 to 1-12 by the time he came back on.

VENUE WATCH

O'Neill Park in Dungannon provided a nice venue for the game. Tyrone were welcoming hosts and older Offaly supporters had fond memories of this venue as hundreds made the journey to Dungannon in November 1997 when a Ciaran McManus goal helped Offaly to a 1-10 to 1-8 win on their way to a historic National Football League triumph in 1998 – the league was split pre and after Christmas at that stage. That was just months after Offaly won the Leinster Senior Football Championship in 1998 and there was a welter of excitement and anticipation about football in the county.

Things were much different now with a descending mood of pessimism, though a nice few Offaly fans did journey north – with a number of them staying in the very nice hotel belonging to former Tyrone star, Peter Canavan outside Ballygawley.

A growing problem for County Boards is the provision of facilities for stats personnel etc. Many of these make a beeline for press boxes, attempting takeovers in some cases. Some of the Offaly backup people came into the O'Neill Park press box – they were very respectful, enquiring if it was okay and there was no issue but it would be a problem with more press personnel present. Radio 3 did not have their usual commentator and expert present and if they did, it would have left very room for anyone else.

Press boxes have to be for media personnel firstly and County Boards really have to start addressing this whole issue – there has been confrontations at some grounds around the country, it is in no one's interest and stats people need appropriate facilities as well. The injured David Dempsey was among the Offaly personnel and it is just not ideal. A player and people involved with the team shouldn't be hearing what a radio commentator is saying in real time, the off the cuff remarks by journalists and the media should not be privy to what back-up personnel is telling the sideline, observing their frustrations, critical comments or whatever – from a journalistic point of view, that comment is a bit like a turkey looking for Christmas but both media and stats people deserve and need privacy and separate facilities, even though they did help each other out with identifying players etc.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly have a week off before they welcome Cavan to O'Connor Park.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 6 (4 in first half); Tyrone – 7 (2 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0

Black cards: Offaly – 1 (Jack McEvoy); Tyrone – 0.

Red cards: 0