Impressive Offaly take league title

OFFALY 3-12

LIMERICK 4-4

Limerick brought a lot of positive attributes to last Sunday’s National League final against Offaly in Birr, particularly in terms of their pace and their goal threat. What they couldn’t match was the home side’s balance and all-round footballing ability, and it was that superior ability to execute all the basic skills of the game that earned Offaly their first league title in seven years last Sunday afternoon. 

When Offaly were last on the podium in 2015, Limerick were the opposition back then too. Offaly prevailed in that Parnell Park fixture thanks to three goals from Mairéad Daly, and despite not putting her name on the scoresheet this time around, she was no less influential last Sunday. 

The Faithful women had a lot of the key ingredients in place before the St. Rynagh’s player came onto the field. Eimear Evans has been a significant addition to the group in 2022 and both she and her full back line can take a lot of credit for their performance in this fixture, despite Limerick’s four-goal tally. 

Róisín Ennis was superb at wing back in her battle with Cathy Mee, Emma Maher and Amy Gavin Mangan held their own against a highly-rated Limerick duo in the middle, and by half-time, five of the starting six forwards for Offaly had registered a score. Ellee McEvoy was the fulcrum at full forward while the sixth player, Saoirse McGuinness, could be forgiven for struggling to play her best game, given that she had emptied herself for Moate Community School in their All-Ireland final defeat in Bruff less than 24 hours previously. 

Daly’s introduction in place of McGuinness was transformative. Without ever holding the ball for anything more than a few seconds, she ensured that everything was done at a sharper pace, opposing defenders were taken out of the game, and she had a key role to play in two of Offaly’s three goals, all three of which were scored in the third quarter. 

Limerick gave themselves a lifeline when a lucky bounce off her shin gave Cathy Mee a goal to reduce the gap to four, but Offaly monopolised possession for the last ten minutes and while they didn’t score until Róisín Mealiff put her name on an insurance point in stoppage time, they did control the ball and starve Limerick of possession, with Daly again central to that effort. 

There was no stage during the hour of football when Limerick looked like the better side from general play, but their superior goal threat still gave them a one-point half-time lead over the home side. 

A point from Mairéad Kavanagh – a Walsh Island native - on the opening attack was followed up by a well-worked goal that saw Cathy Mee and Iris Kennelly set up Catríona Davis from close range, but the next 15 minutes were dominated by Offaly, in no small part because of a leading role from Ellee McEvoy. 

McEvoy was the only Offaly player on the field at this stage of the game who also featured when these two counties met in the corresponding fixture seven years ago, and she led by example in this spell, kicking some excellent points herself while also bringing Fiona Dempsey and Ciara Walsh into the game for some key scores. 

Offaly captain Róisín Ennis was playing a key role under the Limerick kickout, while some of Limerick’s deliveries into the full-forward line were poorly chosen, allowing the Offaly backs to hoover up any number of handy clearances. 

Yet the game turned in a flash when Limerick added two more goals, both from Iris Kennelly. The first was a good finish inside the near post of the Offaly goalkeeper, set up by Catríona Davis, while the second saw the Old Mill player time her run into the small square perfectly before flicking Cathy Mee’s handpass into the net. 

3-1 to 0-9 in front at half-time, Limerick were unfortunate that the breeze picked up a little for the second half, when it would blow into their faces. However the key shift in momentum wasn’t the breeze, it was the improvement in the pace and precision of Offaly’s attacking play. 

Ciara Walsh, Emma Hand and Ellee McEvoy all found the net as Offaly suddenly found it much easier to open up their opponents, while Amy Gavin Mangan could have added another but for an excellent goal-line block. 

At the other end Róisín Ambrose blasted one goal chance over the bar and a couple of other good opportunities were butchered by misplaced passes within 25 metres of the Offaly goal, but those rare forays forward for Limerick were becoming increasingly rare as Offaly were taking control of the game at midfield and half-back. 

Limerick were handed a lifeline when Cathy Mee scrambled the ball over the line from close range, getting a large slice of luck when her initial effort was parried by Eimear Evans, only for the ball to crash into the shin of the Ballylanders player and spill into the net. 

It could have set up a tense finish, but Limerick couldn’t score without the ball, and Offaly did a wonderful job of ensuring that they didn’t give their opponents any chance to once again show their goalscoring acumen. 

The tests get a lot tougher from here, both in the Leinster championship and in the TG All-Ireland series, but for the first time in a long time, Offaly are preparing for summer with a spring in their step. 

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Eimear Evans; Nicole Buckley, Emer Nally, Becky Bryant; Annie Kehoe, Michelle Mann, Róisín Ennis; Emma Maher, Amy Gavin Mangan; Fiona Dempsey, Emma Hand, Saoirse McGuinness; Marie Byrne, Ellee McEvoy, Ciara Walsh.  SUBS: Mairéad Daly for McGuinness (half-time), Róisín Mealiff for Dempsey (55 mins), Dawn Hannon for Bryant (55 mins), Nicole Farrelly for Byrne (60+4 mins). 

LIMERICK: Sophie Hennessy; Kristine Reidy, Sarah O’Sullivan, Maeve O’Halloran; Meadhbh McNamara, Leah Coughlan, Amy Ryan; Loretta Hanley, Róisín Ambrose; Cathy Mee, Mairéad Kavanagh, Rebecca Delee; Gráinne McKenna, Catríona Davis, Iris Kennelly. SUBS: Katie Heelan for McKenna (half-time), Niamh Ryan for A Ryan (half-time), Anna O’Dea for Hanley (53 mins), Rebekah Daly for O’Sullivan (53 mins), Noelle Curtin for O’Halloran (58 mins). 

Referee: Mel Kenny (Mayo) 

PLAYER OF THE MATCH: Róisín Ennis (Offaly)

The official award went to Ellee McEvoy and to be fair, there was very little to call between the two club colleagues. This paper’s vote narrowly goes to Ennis for her incredible performance under the kickout, which was hugely significant in terms of loading the bullets for McEvoy to fire, not to mention her brilliant marking job on a key Limerick attacking threat, Cathy Mee. Nonetheless, a case could certainly be made for either player. 

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

In between two Offaly goals in the second half, one each for Ciara Walsh and Ellee McEvoy, Limerick had a glorious goal chance of their own for Róisín Ambrose. The O’Connor Cup winner with UL fired the ball inches over, which ensured Offaly remained on the front foot. 

REFEREE WATCH

It’s rare to go to any ladies football match and be completely happy with the referee if you also tend to watch men’s football, purely because of the different rules. Mel Kenny certainly gave one or two decisions where it looked like contact was minimal, and certainly in the first half, Offaly benefited on a couple of occasions when it looked like calls might have gone the other way. Nonetheless that balanced out a fair bit as the game went on, and by the end the Mayo referee wasn’t really a factor in the game, which is what players and supporters want. Certainly relative to Gavin Finnegan’s performance that completely ruined the Division Three final after this game, Kenny put in a good showing.  

TALKING POINT

Players know the difference between accommodating players who have genuine reasons for their absence, and showing too much tolerance for those who aren’t committing to a cause like they should. It’s understandable for a management team to want to show loyalty to players who have been there at every training session, but to leave Mairéad Daly off the starting team is clearly taking that sentiment too far. The St. Rynagh’s player has absolutely nothing to prove in terms of her commitment to Offaly or her ability, and the only reason for her absence this Spring was to fully commit to winning an All-Ireland with her club, something that every county player all across the country would love to do. The improvement in Offaly’s attack once she came onto the field was glaringly obvious and while her absence for half the game didn’t matter in the end on Sunday, it might have. 

VENUE WATCH

The weather was good, the game was well-stewarded, and a good-sized crowd flocked to the terrace in St. Brendan’s Park to mop up some Vitamin D, creating a nice atmosphere. Both managers remarked prior to the game however that the pitch was a little bumpy in spots, particularly on the southern end. It didn’t affect the game, but it’s something that the Birr club will want to address before the summer, given the rocky relationship between Offaly GAA and Tullamore GAA right now. 

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 6 (4 in the first half); Limerick - 9 (6 in the first half) 

Cards: Offaly – None; Limerick – None.   

SCORERS

Offaly: Ellee McEvoy 1-4, Emma Hand 1-2 (0-1f), Ciara Walsh 1-2, Fiona Dempsey 0-2, Marie Byrne 0-1, Róisín Mealiff 0-1.  

Limerick: Iris Kennelly 2-1, Catríona Davis 1-1 (0-1f), Cathy Mee 1-0, Mairéad Kavanagh 0-1, Róisín Ambrose 0-1.