Brave display and routine defeat sends Offaly back down

IT was all a bit surreal in O'Connor Park on Sunday as Limerick were pushed hard by Offaly before securing another two points in Division 1 of the National Hurling League.

Allianz National Hurling League Division 1 Round 5

Limerick 2-19

Offaly 0-17

In contention heading into the closing quarter and playing with real heart, Offaly would have gladly taken this position before the start, even if they fell away to a heavy defeat. As things turned out, the defeat wasn't bad at all and was certainly nowhere near as big as Offaly supporters had feared before hand.

There was a lot of positives to take from Offaly's display as they showed real character and they deserve credit for really holding their own against one of the big All-Ireland contenders. Yet, it all comes with a bit of a warning, no one will be getting carried away with or excited at what they saw.

That is down to a very lethargic Limerick performance as they stayed stuck in the lower gears for a lot of the game and only got going in fleeting spells. It was certainly nowhere near the level of performance we have taken as normal for Limerick for so often in the past decade and while they ended up with a handsome eight point winning margin, they were a long way from their best.

It would be wrong to diminish Offaly's role in this. They were highly motivated and they played close to as well as they could. They forced Limerick to work hard and they were dogged but even when they were just three points down in the second half, four points behind inside the closing quarter, we never got that tingle of excitement that always comes when a stunning upset is looming into view.

That was never a realistic prospect for one moment and the impression that Limerick would do just enough to win proved to be a correct one. It meant that it ended up a quite predictable afternoon and both counties headed for their supper quite content.

Collecting the two points was the only requirement for Limerick and the impression that they would not have the desire to do any sort of a job on Offaly was also shown in the way they played. They stepped on the gas for just long enough to make sure they were comfortable.

Offaly held their own for long enough, played well enough, showed the right heart and kept the score down to a sufficient level to be happy with their afternoon's work. It was as good as they could realistically have hoped for and while it does confirm relegation, that was never going to be avoided.

The first half was certainly a strange affair. Offaly played against a swirling wind and from their perspective, a 0-12 to 0-7 half time deficit represented a very solid 35 minutes plus.

They would gladly have taken that before the game and they were pleased with the way they were competing, holding their own.

From a Limerick point of view, it was all very frustrating and you could hear the groans from their supporters as the half progressed. They just seemed off the boil, not fully tuned in and you would wonder did they take Offaly a bit for granted.

From a neutral point of view, there was almost nothing to get excited about. It was pedestrian, several notches below championship type intensity and the half seemed to last an eternity.

Offaly started well, battling for everything and making sure Limerick had nothing easy. Two Adam Screeney points, one free, had them 0-2 up after seven minutes as Limerick struggled to settle. Their most influential first half player Aidan O'Connor got them off the mark in the 8^th minute and levelled it up two minutes later. They were 0-5 to 0-3 up after 15 minutes but points from Ter Guinan and Dan Bourke, an excellent strike, had Offaly back on terms by the 17^th minute. Two O'Connor frees got Limerick two ahead, it was 0-9 to 0-7 after 32 minutes and late points from Cathal O'Neill, Adam English and O'Connor (free) gave them a five point interval lead.

Offaly got three of the first four second half points to bring it back to three, 0-13 to 0-10 with a Screeney free followed by Ter Guinan and Killian Sampson points. Limerick got the next three but once again Offaly got three of the following four as Screeney converted another free and Luke Nolan and Brian Duignan floated over points. That left four in it, 0-17 to 0-13 with 50 minutes gone and just as we were about to allow ourselves to wonder if Offaly could win, Limerick shut the door.

Shane O'Brien got in for a 52^nd minute goal, Aidan O'Connor added a free and then Cathal O'Neill sped through for a 57^th minute goal, Liam Hoare almost keeping it out, to make it 2-18 to 0-13 with 57 minutes gone.

Two things could have happened here – Offaly could have gave in and Limerick could have went for the jugular. Neither emerged. Offaly continued to grind all over the field and Adam Screeney got four late frees while Limerick sat down once they knew they had the points back in the bag. They only managed one point, a Diarmaid Byrnes free, after the 57^th minute as a fairly routine game of hurling drifted to its conclusion.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cathal O'Neill (Limerick): Kyle Hayes had an excellent game in the Limerick defence and Aidan O'Connor's first half scoring contribution, eight points with three from play, helped lay the foundation for victory. The choice is midfielder Cathal O'Neill who handled a lot of ball and scored 1-1 with his goal fully killing Offaly off.

Offaly had a lot of very solid, honest performances. Killian Sampson was immense at times in defence and Ter Guinan moved really well in attack while Donal Shirley had spells of quality and Adam Screeney took his frees well.

THE SCORERS

Limerick: Aidan O'Connor- 0-10 (7f), Cathal O'Neill and Shane O'Brien 1-1 each, Diarmaid Byrnes (1f) and Adam English 0-2 each, Cian Lynch, Colin Coughlan, David Reidy 0-1 each.

Offaly: Adam Screeney 0-9 (8f), Ter Guinan 0-2, Ben Conneely, Killian Sampson, Donal Shirley, Dan Bourke, Luke Nolan, Brian Duignan 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Liam Hoare (Carrig-Riverstown); Patrick Taaffe (Belmont), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's), Sam Bourke (Durrow); Jack Clancy (Belmont), Killian Sampson (Shinrone), Donal Shirley (Tubber); Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Ross Ravenhill (Durrow); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Oisin Kelly (Belmont), Ter Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Luke Nolan (Birr), Brian Duignan (Durrow), Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – Luke Watkins (Shinrone) for Clancy (58m), Eibhin Kelly (Lusmagh) for Spain (59m), Cian Burke (Coolderry) for Nolan (62m), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Taaffe (66m).

LIMERICK; Nickie Quaid; Mike Casey, Dan Morrissey, Sean Finn; Diarmaid Byrnes, Kyle Hayes, Colin Coughlan; Cathal O'Neill, Darragh O'Donovan; Aidan O'Connor, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey; Aaron Gillane, Shane O'Brien, Adam English. Subs – David Reidy for O'Donovcan (22m), Gearoid Hegarty for Morrissey (54m), Matthew Fitzgerald for Coughlan (55m), Fintan Fitzgerald for English (59m), Ethan Hurley for O'Connor (59m),

Referee – Liam Gordon, Galway.

REFEREE WATCH

Liam Gordon had a good game with no big issues.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Shane O'Brien's 52^nd minute goal was a quality strike and ended Offaly's emerging hopes of a shock win.

VENUE WATCH

The O'Connor Park pitch was excellent. There wasn't a big crowd but they were well hosted.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly now have two weeks off before they travel to Cork on March 21.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 9 (6 in first half), Limerick - 13 (8 in first half).

Yellow cards: 0

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0