Offaly defender Jay Sheerin
OFFALY coasted into the semi-finals of the Leinster U-20 Football Championship with a very easy, very impressive win over a woefully outclassed Carlow in Kilcormac's Faithful Fields on Thursday evening.
Leinster U-20 Football Championship quarter-final
Offaly 4-13
Carlow 0-6
Offaly were in control from the start as they set up a home semi-final in Tullamore against Kildare this day week. The reigning All-Ireland champions can anticipate a much stiffer test here than the one provided by a very mediocre Carlow but their confidence will be flying after two wins.
While Carlow were much poorer than Louth, who ran Offaly close the previous week, this was a step up in performance and intensity by the home side. They were much faster and sharper as they moved the ball forward at pace and they had this game in the bag at half time when they led by 3-9 to 0-4.
Carlow had the use of the wind in the second half but a deficit of that size was irretrievable. Offaly played some fantastic attacking football in the first half.. Their play and imagination was a joy to witness and they ripped a beleagured Carlow defence to shreds every time they got the ball forward.
Offaly hit the ground running from the throw in. Fionn Dempsey had the first point on board after ten seconds, they were three points up after two minutes, 0-6 to 0-3 clear after eight minute. A 9th minute goal fronm Keith O'Neill after Carlow goalkeeper Cian Kavanagh gave the ball away to Darragh Flynn put the icing on their flying start.
Carlow got off the mark with a 12th minute point from a Bryan McMahon free but points from Harry Plunkett and Cormac Delaney put Offaly 1-8 to 0-2 clear by the 15th minute. Delaney's point also meant that all six starting forwards had scored from play by that stage.
Offaly did make a handful of mistakes and should have got another couple of goals with Marcas Dalton drawing a great save from Kavanagh, though it really should have been finishe as he went for power rather than poise. Offaly did hit the net twice more in the closing five minutes of the half as Carlow's heads dropped.
Darragh Flynn finished in the 26th minute after a very well worked inter change with Keith O'Neill while John Furlong punched home a stunning goal in the 28th minute – the finish was routine but the build up was Furlong at his classic best as he made a super catch from a kickout, raced forward at pace and punched home after receiving back from Darragh Flynn for that very handsome half time lead.
Offaly couldn't be caught from here and they were not as good in the second half. They didn't need to be as good either and they still remained in complete control. Carlow had more possession but the poverty of their display was shown with some very poor shooting. You had to feel sorry for their players as they were nowhere near Offaly's level.
Offaly went through the motions a bit more in the second half as they emptied their bench and gave a rest to players like John Furlong and Keith O'Neill who were absolutely flying – however, they remained sufficiently focused to ensure it never got remotely interesting. They didn't get a score until 10 minutes in when Harry Plunkett floated over a beauty. Sub Eoin Murphy punched home a goal three minutes later after a sensational Cormac Delaney ball into Fionn Dempsey to put Offaly 4-10 to 0-4 ahead. It all petered out very tamely from here with Offaly still outscoring Carlow by three points to two in the closing quarter.
It was not a competitive game for Offaly but they will still be very happy with the way they played and moved. Cormac Delaney had a superb game for them while key men, Furlong and O'Neill were fantastic, bouncing off the ground. Morgan Tynan gave some great passes and showed some great composure in open play from midfield, though his shooting was way off as he missed a handful of chances he would expect to convert.
Other players improved significantly from the Louth game. Harry Plunkett was one of those as he showed his quality with a very composed display, shooting four points, three from play and working much harder than the first round when he was calle ashore early in the second half. Tom Hyland, another player replaced early the first day, was also back on his game as he played very well at corner back. Fionn Dempsey was another who improved.
The defence was flawless with Jay Sheerin catching the eye in the first half while Lee Pearson was superb again. Adam Strong had another very effective performance at midfield – the Ballinagar man is very solid and while he can be raw, he is strong and does the simple thing very effectively. The work rate of Marcas Dalton and his ability to break tackles yielded a lot in an attack where Darragh Flynn did a lot of very good things.
Overall, it was a very impressive, convincing Offaly performance. It was not without flaws, things to work on and players who can improve but it sets them up nicely and the real business begins next Thursday evening against Kildare in Tullamore – a 6.30pm throw in,
MAN OF THE MATCH
Cormac Delaney (Offaly): Offaly had several contenders with Keith O'Neill brilliant in the first half whil John Furlongonce again showed his class as he controlled his immediate sector at centre half back, got into the midfield to nake some great catches and his flying runs forward consistently broke the Carlow cover. The choice, however, is Cormac Delaney. It was probably his best ever display and a new role as a roving, playmaking, deep playing forward suited him perfectly. He was much more involved as he got on ball, broke tackles and the quality of his passing and distribution really caught the eye
THE SCORERS
Offaly: Keith O'Neill 1-2, Harry Plunkett 0-4 (1f), John Furlong and Darragh Flynn 1-1 each, Eoin Murphy 1-0, Adam Strong, Fionn Dempsey, Marcas Dalton, Cormac Delaney and Jamie Guing 0-1 each.
Carlow: Fionn McCaffrey 0-2, Fiachra Fitzpatrick, Bryan McMahon (f), Ronan Quinlan and Dylan Hanley 0-1 each.
OFFALY: Sean O'Toole (Shamrocks); Lee Pearson (Edenderry), Diarmuid Finneran (Ballinagar), Tom Hyland (Bracknagh); Cathal Ryan (Daingean), John Furlong (Tullamore), Jay Sheerin (Tullamore); Morgan Tynan (Ballinagar), Adam Strong (Ballinagar); Fionn Dempsey (Bracknagh), Harry Plunkett (Tullamore), Marcas Dalton (Clara); Cormac Delaney (Clara), Keith O'Neill (Clonbullogue), Daragh Flynn (Ferbane). Subs – Eoin Murphy (Tubber) for O'Neill (35m), James Nolan (Raheen) for Dempsey (42m), Jamie Guing (Clonbullogue) for Flynn (42m), Alex Egan (Clara) for Dalton (46m), Geordi O'Meara (Ballinagar) for Furlong ((50m),
CARLOW: Cian Kavanagh; Kieran Nolan, Shane Buggy, Mark Behan; Paraic Deering, Dara Curran, Paddy McDonnell; Billy Lawler, Fiachra Fitzpatrick; Anthony Keating, Conor O'Neill, Luke Ramsbottom; Bryan McMahon, Fionn McCaffrey, Ronan Quinlan. Subs – Jack McCullagh for Keating (21m), Dylan Hanley for Lawler (43m), Cian Leonard for O'Neill (49m), Antony McDonald for Nolan (56m),
Referee – S Mulhare (Laois).
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