Heroic Offaly wrestle all resistance out of Laois in second half to win Leinster title

FOR the second year in a row, excited Offaly fans invaded the O'Moore Park pitch in Portlaoise as they county won another provincial title – they won the Leinster U-20 football title here last year. This time it was the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship as Offaly bridged a 22 year gap, snuffing all resistance out of Laois with a tremendously hard working second half.

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship final

Offaly 0-21
Laois 0-13

It was a super win by a very talented team, fully deserved and they were the better side by a distance. Offaly led by 0-9 to 0-7 at half time after playing against the wind and Laois stayed with them for a while in the second half, though it became increasingly clear as it wore on that the winners had their measure.

Laois were just three points behind, 0-15 to 0-12 at the three quarter-way stage but they were hanging on for dear life, losing most of the individual battles and struggling to cope with Offaly's hunger. With the winning post in sight, Offaly were unstoppable as they got six points in a row and their dominance was so pronounced that it was almost an anti-climax in ways – it was a fiercely fought battle but ultimately, it was a comprehensive and very convincing win for Offaly.

It was a truly special occasion with a seething, pulsating crowd of 12,500 creating a fantastic atmosphere and a day that these young players will never forget.

In the first half, it looked like Laois might be able to bring it down to the wire, even though they had played with a stiff wind. However, once Offaly got on top and began to tear into them with everything they had, their resistance ebbed away surprisingly tamely – they were alive and kicking for a long time but never really looked like salvaging it in the closing quarter.

It puts Offaly into an All-Ireland semi-final and this success gives a huge boost to hurling in the county. The prospects of this team have been talked about for some time and they have shown their potential throughout the campaign. Now they have a bit of time to prepare for an All-Ireland semi-final as Laois, Galway and Clare enter a round robin system to decide who joins Offaly and Tipp there.

Offaly's win was fashioned on a tremendous work rate. They set up quite defensively and were clearly focused on not allowing Laois to build up any real momentum as well as keeping their danger man Jer Quinlan out of the game. They did this with great efficiency and collectively, Offaly showed fantastic hunger. Laois were very defensive and that meant that it was not the most open of games but it was all very entertaining with great commitment and hurling.

The Offaly work rate did test fitness and bodies as several players went down with cramp in the second half – manager Leo O'Connor stated afterwards that they will be searching for the reasons for this in the coming days as they reflect on the win

They had heroes all over the field with Cillian Martin putting in a sensational hard working tour-de-force at midfield. The full back line of Caelum Larkin, James Mahon and Ruari Kelly were exceptional, ensuring a very barren evening for the Laois full forward line – a brilliant hook by Larkin to deny Jer Quinlan a shot at goals in the 33rd minute was pivotal. Liam Hoare was rock steady in goals while Brecon Kavanagh had a super game at centre half back, cutting out a lot of dangerous ball. Ter Guinan was excellent while Donal Shirley grew in stature as it progressed. The Offaly defence was brilliant as a unit with a high level of skill and winning ball under pressure while their tactics worked well as they completely kept Laois danger man Jer Quinlan out of the game, offering great protection to the full back line.

It was a strange sort of day for the Offaly attack. They isolated players up front at times and players had to work very hard but 21 points was still an excellent return. Star forward Adam Screeney was tightly marked and carrying his leg in the second half but still had moments of pure, delicious delight and was deadly from frees while Dan Ravenhill came into his own in the second half – the Durrow man dropped back in front of his defence in the first half but pushed forward more in the second and got three superb and crucial long distance points as well as another few shots that tailed wide. Shane Rigney eventually got going in the second half while the work rate of the others was exactly what manager Leo O'Connor wanted of them as they put ferocious pressure on Laois once they warmed into the game after the first 20 minutes.

Offaly got to the break with their noses in front, 0-9 to 0-7 and were happy to be in this position for a few reasons: they had played against the wind, they hadn't clicked fully into gear as they concentrated more on stopping the home side and Laois hadn't punished some loose play from puckouts as they hit nine wides.

It was a compelling, engrossing affair. A fascinating tactical battle as Offaly dropped Dan Ravenhill back into a sweeper's role and opted not to push up on short Laois puckouts. For the first 20 minutes, Laois goalie Brocan O'Reilly (his mother is a Coughlan from Bracknagh) was able to find his man a bit too easily from puckouts though Offaly did tighten up as the half wore on.

It wasn't that Offaly weren't working hard. They were and they turned over some good ball in a tension filled affair. The sides were tied three times in the first eight minutes before Offaly hit a purple patch that yielded three unanswered points, two from Adam Screeney (one free) and Cillian Martin – Screeney's score from play took the breath away as he showed great skill to make space and float it over the bar.

Laois got the next two points and had plenty of play but some very poor wides didn't help their cause. Screeney got two frees to put Offaly back two in front and in the closing ten minutes, Ben Deegan got a free an an excellent sideline for Laois, sandwiching another Screeney free to leave Offaly two to the good at the break.

Offaly began to find momentum in the second half, getting the first three points with Dan Ravenhill coming into his own as he hit two huge ones from distance and the hard working Leigh Kavanagh also pointing. Ben Deegan got Laois off the mark with a free to make it 0-12 to 0-8 and then cancelled out Donal Shirley's fine score with another free, 0-13 to 0-9.

Laois got to within three points 0-15 to 0-12 after 45 minutes but Offaly took complete control after that. Without opening full throttle as they adopted a “what we have we hold” type game, Offaly began to open daylight and they completely snuffed the resistance out of Laois.

They were winning most of the individual battles and keeping Laois well away from the danger zone. Amazingly Laois didn't score again until a Deegan free deep in injury time. By that stage, Offaly had 21 points on the board and the game was over as a contest as Screeney got three frees and Dan Ravenhill, Cathal Robinson and Shane Rigney fired over excellent points.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Liam Hoare (Carrig and Riverstown); Caelum Larkin (Carrig and Riverstown), James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Ruari Kelly (Lusmagh); Donal Shirley (Tubber), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Ter Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey); Leigh Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Cillian Martin (Tullamore); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Dan Ravenhill (Durrow), Conor Doyle (Clara); Cathal Robinson (Kinnitty), Niall Furlong (Tullamore), Adam Screeney Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – Shane Connolly (Coolderry) for Martin (59m), James Liffey (Shinrone) for Doyle (60m),

LAOIS: Brochan O'Reilly; Bobby Murphy, Ciaran Flynn, Joseph Pearson; Thomas Brennan, Tom Cuddy, Cormac Hogan; Andrew McDonagh, Kevin Byrne; Ben Deegan, Liam Kirby, Jack Breen; Eoghan Cuddy, Jer Quinlan, Cormac Byrne. Subs – Eoghan Murphy for McDonagh (36m), Aaron Carroll for Kirby (36m), Rory Kelly for Cuddy (50m), Justin Duggan for Breen (59m),

Referee – Caymon Flynn (Westmeath).

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cillian Martin (Offaly): Several Offaly players staked a claim with James Mahon, Caelum Larkin, Brecon Kavanagh and Dan Ravenhill all in contention. My choice is Cillian Martin, whose performance summed up all that this Offaly performance was about. He got through a mountain of unseen work, putting his body on the line, making hard hits and covering the hard yards. He also got a crucial first half point. There were others who were on the ball more and looked better hurlers but the heart and guts of the Tullamore man was central to the win. He was just so effective, so honest and scarcely put a foot wrong – he is a son of 1990s hero, Kevin Martin.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

There was no big moment as such that defined this match, rather a succession of remarkable chasing, blocking and hooking by Offaly that combined to make a very big thing. Dan Ravenhill's point at the start of the second half will remain in the memory as he sped into space and fired over a majestic score from midfield. It gave Offaly a three point lead and it was also the signal for Ravenhill to stamp his class and authority on the evening.

REFEREE WATCH

It was a very clean but physical game played at breakneck pace. Caymon Flynn was a busy man. There was the odd debatable decision here and there but these balanced out and he controlled it well.

TALKING POINT

Offaly hurling was crying out for a boost and this certainly provided it. Once again it showed the tremendous work being done in the Offaly development squad system. The clubs are crucially important and where it all starts but the development squads are where the elite players truly begin to separate themselves from the more ordinary ones. Almost every county senior player in both codes will come through this system in the future and the days of late developers and undiscovered talent in different clubs are numbered.

VENUE WATCH

O'Moore Park was a seething, throbbing mass of humanity as supporters from both counties attended in their thousands. Both County Boards warned of possible traffic congestion as well as delays getting in during the day on Monday with the result that most made the trip in plenty of times. There were delays but that was inevitable with people finishing work at 5.30pm or later and Laois managed the fixture well with great back up from gardai, though the throw in was delayed for 10 minutes. There were queues at turnstyles and some complaints at the delays but this was unavoidable and it was all handled very efficiently. Parking was an issue but it is the same in every town ground and Portlaoise is no worse than Tullamore, Mullingar, Newbridge or a host of venues in this regard. The start of the second half was delayed for a minute or so as it took a bit of time to get a group of young supporters off the sideline. That should have been handled better but it was great to see thousands of children pucking about on the pitch at half time.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly now have a few weeks to wait for an All-Ireland semi-final while Laois go into a round robin system with Galway and Clare.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 13 (3 in first half); Laois – 10 (9 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Dan Ravenhill); Laois – 0.

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: 0.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Adam Screeney 0-10 (9f), Dan Ravenhill 0-3, Shane Rigney 0-2, Donal Shirley, Ter Guinan, Leigh Kavanagh Cillian Martin, Conor Doyle and Cathal Robinson 0-1 each.

Laois: Ben Deegan 0-9 (6f and 1 sideline), Jer Quinlan, Andrew McDonagh, Jack Breen and Cormac Byrne 0-1 each.