Gutted Offaly denied by late heartbreaker

Antrim 3-22

Offaly 2-24

A GUTTED Offaly had a morale boosting win snatched from their finger tips when an Antrim goal deep in injury time denied them in the Joe McDonagh Cup at Corrigan Park, Belfast on Saturday afternoon.

Offaly had come back from the brink to get their noses in front in injury time. Trailing by 2-22 to 1-20 inside the last five minutes, Offaly, who were down to fourteen men from fifteen minutes into the second half, were heading for a disappointing defeat. However, they staged a great fightback as sub Luke O'Connor and Eoghan Cahill (free) pointed to bring it back to a score.

The 70 minutes was just up when another sub Paddy Clancy tapped home a goal after Luke O'Connor broke forward and Joey Keenaghan passed to him. A minute later, Cahill tapped over a free after Paddy Clancy was fouled and it looked like the worse result Offaly would get would be a draw. Instead, an attack broke down, Antrim swept down field, the visiting defence were way too loose as they left Conor Johnston inside on his own and he finished very well to the net when the ball found its way to him.

Offaly had one last free seven minutes into injury time and had to go for goal. It was nearly thirty metres out and Eoghan Cahill's strike flew a couple of feet too high with the final whistle blown immediately.

It was a devastating way for Offaly to lose and they were unlucky in some ways, not so much in other ways as Antrim had been clearly the better side for much of the second half when playing against the wind. Still Offaly had shown tremendous character to get into a winning position so close to the end and they deserved something from this game – a draw would probably have been a fair reflection of the way both sides played over the entirety.

Offaly deserve full credit for the way they came back as they odds had been stacked against them from the moment Jack Screeney was sent off for a second yellow card fifteen minutes into the second half. Screeney had been playing very well in a sweeper type role and was a big loss apart from the numerical disadvantage. He had no complaints at his second yellow – his tap on the head of Joe Maskey was in no way malicious but it was a yellow card offence.

Offaly were 1-14 to 0-14 behind at that stage and Antrim exerted a definite control on proceedings until the visitor's late rally. Within moments of Screeney's departure Conal Cunning and James McNaughton had put them five clear 1-16 to 0-14. David Nally rallied the forces with two opportunist points but then Antrim struck for home with a Ciaran Clarke point followed by an excellent opportunist goal from Conor Johnston in the 56th minute. Offaly got back into it immediately with a very soft David Nally goal after a bad mistake by Antrim keeper Ryan Elliott.

It gave Offaly a lifeline that looked just out of reach as Antrim's lead alternated between four and five points until those dramatic, pulsating last few minutes.

Offaly can be proud of the way they performed as they gave a vastly improved display from their complete malfunction against the northerners in the Division 1 relegation play off a few weeks ago. Offaly were much better, intense and competitive here, though there were times when their touch deserted them, made mistakes and they lost their way.

They had started very poorly and you had to fear the worse as Antrim got three quick fire points in three minutes. Offaly settled down after this and were soon more than holding their own. They were against a strong wind that blew straight down the field in the first half and they fought back to level terms, 0-5 each after 12 minutes.

They were level twice more before Eoghan Cahill's “65” put Offaly in front for the first time in the 23rd minute – Ryan Elliott did very well to save from Jason Sampson though the Shinrone man should have goaled after doing well to break inside. Leon Fox and Cahill (free) put Offaly three points clear and that was an excellent position to be in against the wind. An excellent Conor McCann goal in the 33rd minute levelled it up and Adrian Cleary and Keelan Molloy swopped points to make it a draw match at half time, 0-11 to 1-8.

The odds favoured Offaly at this stage but they really lost their way in the second half. There were two factors in this. Antrim were better, playing with more intensity and they had a handful of powerful, physical players who Offaly struggled to cope with. Midfielder Joe Maskey and centre forward Domhnail Nugent were particularly good at breaking tackles – Nugent's fitness levels would not survive in the top tier but he was a big factor in Antrim getting on top in the second half.

Offaly were also simply not as good as they had been in the first half. They played a possession game but it often broke down and with the wind on their back, there was a case for horsing in at least some long, more direct ball and mixing things up more. Even before Screeney walked, Antrim had got on top. Offaly were relieved when a Conal Cunning goal was disallowed in the 38th minute for an earlier infraction while Stephen Corcoran made a stunning save to deny Sean Elliott in the 45th minute.

Eoghan Cahill's free had put Offaly in front but they floundered badly for a few minutes, making errors and Antrim got four on the trot to go 1-12 to 0-12 ahead. Cunning pointed the “65” after Corcoran's save to put them four clear and after a good Adrian Cleary point, Screeney's dismissal changed the goalposts completely.

Antrim pushed for home and Offaly were just hanging in there before they got back into a winning position in injury time, very much against the odds.

There were plenty of positives for Offaly to take from the game and they now know that they can compete with Antrim – anyone at Navan for that relegation play off did not have high hopes here. There is scope for further improvement and these sides could very well meet for a third time in the final but Offaly now have no real margin for error and have to win their remaining games.

Their play was a bit scrappy, sloppy at times and there is plenty of things to work on but overall, it was a decent and very honest display. On theday, Offaly had good displays from Stephen Corcoran, Joey Keenaghan, David King, Jack Screeney, Eoghan Cahill and David Nally while Paddy Clancy did well when introduced, scoring the equalising goal and being fouled for the free that saw Cahill put them in front.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Conor Johnston (Antrim): Antrim did have the best players on the field with Paddy Burke outstanding at wing back while Conor Johnston's clinical finishing earns him man of the match. Johnston was tightly marked at times but still got 2-3 from play and that was a pivotal contribution.

THE SCORERS

Antrim: Conal Cunning 0-9 (7f and 1 '65'), Conor Johnston 2-3, Conor McCann 1-1, Ciaran Clarke 0-3, Paddy Burke 0-2, Ryan McGarry, Keelan Molloy, Sean Elliott and James McNaughton 0-1 each.

Offaly: Eoghan Cahill 0-14 (11f, 1 '65' and 1 sideline), David Nally 1-3, Paddy Clancy 1-0, Adrian Cleary 0-2, Leon Fox, Jason Sampson, Eimhin Kelly, Brian Duignan and Luke O'Connor 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

ANTRIM: Ryan Elliott; Ryan McGarry, Gerard Walsh, Stephen Rooney; Paddy Burke, Eoghan Campbell, Scott Breatnach; Joe Maskey, Keelan Molloy; Sean Elliott, Domhnail Nugent, Conor McCann; Conal Cunning, Ciaran Clarke, Conor Johnston. Subs – James McNaughton for Molloy (HT), Phelim Duffin for Rooney (57m), Matthew Donnelly for Walsh (66m), Daniel McKernan for Elliott (64m), Conal Bohill for Nugent (68m).

OFFALY: Stephen Corcoran (Coolderry); Joey Keenaghan (Clodiagh Gaels), David King (Coolderry), Padraig Cantwell (Shamrocks); Eoin Parlon (Coolderry), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's), Eimhin Kelly (Lusmagh); Jack Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Leon Fox (Belmont); Adrian Cleary (Shinrone), Eoghan Cahill (Birr), Brian Duignan (Durrow); Sean Cleary (Shinrone), Jason Sampson (Shinrone), David Nally (Belmont). Subs – Luke O'Connor (St Rynagh's) for Sean Cleary (47m), John Murphy (Ballinamere) for Fox (52m), Killian Sampson (Shinrone) for Duignan (53m), Ciaran Burke (Durrow) for Parlon (63m), Paddy Clancy (Belmont) for Adrian Cleary (67m).

Referee – Chris Mooney (Dublin).