Flying Offaly hit the ground running

Offaly cruised to an enormous victory against Kildare in Newbridge in the opening Leinster Minor Hurling Championship fixture of the season. The away side’s quality was evident from the start and early on you could tell it was going to be a long day for the young men wearing white. 

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship Tier 2 Round 1

Offaly 3-23
Kildare 0-8

A highly rated Offaly side showed their quality from the start as they took early control and never gave Kildare a sniff of an upset. Offaly are in tier 2 along with Laois and Kildare and with all three teams qualifying for the knockout stages, there isn't a whole lot at stake but the quality of performances is important. Offaly certainly set down a marker of intent here as they scored as will, showed impressive fitness and skill levels.

That fast Offaly start came from the hands of corner-forward Adam Screeney who despite a size disadvantage over his opposite number got out in front to catch a long ball into him. Screeney claimed the ball with ease, expertly spun and stuck the ball between the posts from what was a much harder angle than he made it look. Screeney was exceptional throughout and this score set the tone on what was a gorgeous afternoon in Newbridge.

If that didn’t give the home crowd an idea of what type of side was coming to town they had a better idea one minute later when a similar long ball was flown. Full forward Daniel Hand mirrored his team mate’s score to a tee and Kildare were trailing after two wonderful scores in as many minutes.

The first white flag for the Lilywhites came from Charlie Carroll who slotted one between the posts which got the home crowd in strong voice for the first time.

Kildare struggled to build any meaningful attacks throughout the day as the Offaly backline pressed in packs. As soon as a Kildare attacker received the ball it seemed they had three Offaly shirts around them immediately. The pressure was undoubtedly frustrating the Kildare forwards and the Offaly press produced numerous handling errors from their opponents which remained consistent throughout the 60 minutes.

Just inside 10 minutes Offaly got their first green flag of the afternoon when centre forward Dan Ravenhill was sent through on goal and he gave goalkeeper Finn Leach no chance with an expert finish into the bottom right hander corner.

From that point onwards Offaly grew further in confidence and that belief carried through and meant the Faithful County won the majority of the 50:50 and breaking ball. Kildare’s captain Ryan Sinkey looked to lift the home crowd and his side mid-way through the first half when he burst through the heart of the Offaly defence and smashed the ball over the bar.

Kildare continued to put in the effort but were outperformed by a classy side who led by 2-9 to 0-5 at half time.

Offaly racked up the scores in the second half and with some rapid and accurate passing drained their opponents energy. Offaly’s attack lit up St.Conleth's Park again in the second half and forward Shane Rigney evaded multiple challenges and smashed home for the away side’s third and final goal. A tough afternoon for the Lilywhites but nothing to hang their heads about against an Offaly side that will go far this year.

The scorers

Offaly, Dan Ravenhill 1-5, Daniel Hand 1-3, Adam Screeney 0-6, Shane Rigney 1-1, Donal Shirley 0-3, Leigh Kavanagh 0-2, Niall Furlong 0-1, Conor Doyle 0-1, Cathal Robinson 0-1.

Kildare, Charlie Carroll 0-3, Theo Frisby 0-2, Ryan Sinkey 0-1, Oisin Loughran 0-1, Tim Ryan 0-1.

The teams

Offaly: Liam Hoare; Caelum Larkin, James Mahon, Paddy Dooley; Ter Guinan, Brecan Kavanagh, Donal Shirley; Cillian Martin, Leigh Kavanagh; Niall Furlong, Dan Ravenhill, Conor Doyle; Shane Rigney, Daniel Hand, Adam Screeney. Subs: Shane Connolly on for Niall Furlong (44 minutes), Cathal Robinson on for Shane Rigney (51 minutes), Liam O’Riordan on for Daniel Hand (53 minutes), Richard Bracken on for Cillian Martin (57 minutes).

Kildare: Finn Leach; Daniel Malone, Rian Redfern, Niall Cramer; Cormac O’Sullivan, Evan Ó Briain, Conor O’Grady; Ryan Sinkey ©, Cian O’Reilly; Charlie Carroll, Tim Ryan, Theo Frisby; Dara McGlynn, Seán Walsh, Oisin Loughran. Subs: Niall Cullen on for Sean Walsh (Half-time), Matthew Kelly on for Niall Cramer (Half-time),  TJ nolan on for Cian O’Reilly (49 minutes), Paul O’Dea on for Theo Frisby (52 minutes),  Andrew McNiffe on for Dara McGlynn, (56 minutes).
Referee: Owen Beehan (Kilkenny) .