Offaly wind curtain down on league programme with heavy defeat in Cork

THE curtain came down at Cork's Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Saturday of a National Hurling League Division 1 campaign that went almost exactly as expected for Offaly but did not deflate them in any significant way ahead of their season's main focus, the Leinster championship.

Allianz National Hurling League Division 1 Round 6

Cork 6-26

Offaly 0-20

A pointless return from their six games was not a surprise to anyone and Offaly hurling is best served by a return to Division 1B where they will be much more competitive next season but there was still a lot of positives to take from their campaign.

Getting promotion last season represented a huge achievement for Offaly and they were never going to be at the races against the country's top teams. Relegation was almost inevitable from before a ball was pucked but Offaly acquitted themselves well in a couple of games, in portions of others and can be satisfied that they are still moving forward in the right direction.

As expected, they returned home empty handed from Cork. With the home side having to win to be sure of a place in the league final, they were never going to put out a greatly weakened team or take a chance on losing. The winning margin was the main issue up for debate here and Cork were able to get away for a comfortable win.

It went more or less according to script with Cork having the points in the bag when they led by 3-10n to 0-7 at half time. That half time scoreline was harsh on Offaly who conceded 2-3 in a disastrous last five minutes of the half after battling with terrific heart to be only four points down after 30 minutes.

They recovered superbly from a nightmare start when they conceded 1-2 without reply in the opening four minutes. Barry Walsh netted the Cork goal but Offaly competed very well after this, holding their own in every aspect of play. They got going with the next three points, the first of them from Brian Duignan who got three first half points. They conceded the next two but super long range points from Dan Ravenhill and Brecon Kavanagh kept them going.

It was 0-6 to 1-5 after 21 minutes and Offaly were motoring very nicely but their was cause for concern. Alan Connolly got five of Cork's first half points from frees which was a positive for the Offaly defence but the home side did look like getting in for goals. Liam Hoare made great saves from Darragh Fitzgibbon and Alan Connolly as Offaly survived. 1-7 to 0-6 down after 30 minutes, Offaly would have taken that deficit at half time with both arms but conceded 2-3 without reply in a game losing spell.

The goals were soft with Brian Hayes getting his stick to a dropping ball from Hugh O'Connor in the 34^th minute and Darragh Fitzgibbon netting the third almost immediately when Offaly were turned over on their half back line.

Brian Duignan got the closing point of the half but that 12 point half time deficit meant they were on a damage limitation exercise in the second half.

Unfortunately it all fell asunder for Offaly in the second half and as we suspected, Cork were hungry for goals, hungry to punish them. Brian Hayes, Darragh Fitzgibbon and Declan Dalton all ran in goals as they opened up a 6-16 to 0-11 lead after 49 minutes.

Offaly kept fighting hard and managed to get five of the next nine points, Adam Screeney firing over two frees and their best player Dan Ravenhill, Sam Bourke and Dan Bourke all pointing. Cork, however, kept pushing to the final whistle. They introduced hungry subs with their bench contributing 1-8 and while the manner in which they kept hunting goals to the final whistle is not a particularly good reflection of them, Offaly can't say a whole lot about this – no team has any right to be shown any quarter in division 1.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Robert Downey (Cork): Cork had a lot of players who performed at a high level. My choice is Robert Downey for the huge body of work he did in the first half when Offaly were competitive.

Cork were very sharp at times. There isn't a whole lot you can say about Offaly, who tried hard but made too many mistakes. Liam Hoare was at fault for Cork's fifth goal but made some outstanding saves while Dan Ravenhill had his best game of the league and Brian Duignan went well in the first half. Ben Conneely also did some great work but the return to Division 1B is no bad thing for Offaly.

THE SCORERS

Cork: Alan Connolly 0-8 (8f), Darragh Fitzgibbon 2-2 (1f|), Brian Hayes 2-1, Declan Dalton 1-2 (1f), Barry Walsh 1-0, Mark Coleman 0-3, Shane Barrett, Robbie O'Flynn, William Buckley, Padraig Power 0-2 each, Eoin Downey, Brian Keating 0-1 each.

Offaly: Adam Screeney 0-7 (4f), Dan Ravenhill 0-4, Brian Duignan 0-3, Dan Bourke 0-2, Brecon Kavanagh, Ross Ravenhill, Sam Bourke, Jack Clancy 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

CORK: Patrick Collins; Niall O'Leary, Ciaran Seoige, Sean O'Donoghue; Eoin Downey, RobertDowney, Mark Coleman; Tim O'Mahony, Tommy O'Connell; Darragh Fitzgibbon, Shane Barrett, Hugh O'Connor; Barry Walsh, Alan Connolly, Brian Hayes. Subs – Declan Dalton for Connolly (HT), William Buckley for Walsh (HT), Robbie O'Flynn for Hayes (47m), Padraig Power for Fitzgibbon (52m), Brian Keating for O'Mahony (58m),

OFFALY: Liam Hoare; Cathal King, Ben Conneely, Brecon Kavanagh; Ross Ravenhill, Killian Sampson, Donal Shirley; Eimhin Kelly, Dan Ravenhill; Ter Guinan, Dan Bourke, Conor Doyle; Oisin Kelly, Brian Duignan, Adam Screeney. Subs – Colin Spain for Eimhin Kelly (HT), Luke Nolan for Oisin Kelly (HT), Sam Bourke for King (45m), Jack Clancy for Doyle (53m), Eoghan Cahill for Guinan (62m).

Referee – Johnny Murphy (Limerick).

REFEREE WATCH

Johnny Murphy had a very good game and was not a factor in the outcome.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Cork's second goal from Brian Hayes in the 34^th minute gave them a 2-10 to 0-6 lead and really broke the Offaly team.

VENUE WATCH

Pairc UiCaoimh is a fantastic stadium and as you would expect for this 7pm Saturday night fixture, there was a small travelling support from Offaly.

WHAT'S NEXT

That concludes the league programme for Offaly.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 12 (7 in first half); Cork - 11 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: Cork – 1 (Declan Dalton); Offaly – 2 (Ben Conneely, Adam Screeney).

Red cards: 0