Impressive Offaly march into quarter-finals with emphatic win

OFFALY Schools turned in a very impressive afternoon's work as they ruthlessly disposed of North Dublin to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship on Saturday afternoon.

Leinster Colleges Senior Hurling Championship Combined Schools final

Offaly Schools 3-25

North Dublin 0-11

A combined outfit of all Offaly schools except Colaiste Choilm, Tullamore, who didn't make their players available, the home side ran riot in Faithful Fields for a win that was every bit as convincing and as good as the final scoreline suggests.

It was a really pleasing performance by Offaly Schools. They played some excellent hurling on the day, their stick work and skill levels were of a high order but equally as importantly, it was matched by a ferocious work ethic and honesty as they turned over a huge volume of ball.

This was a final for all combined schools teams with the winners now going into the knockout stages where they will compete against some of the traditional standalone schools – Offaly will play St Peter's of Wexford in the quarter-final and on the basis of this display, they have very good prospects at this level.

If Offaly were to win the Leinster title, they won't be allowed to compete in All-Ireland competition as that is reserved for individual schools. That is fair enough but this standard of hurling will serve Offaly very well and bring these players on. With this year's Offaly minor hurling manager Leo O'Connor, now the U-20 surpremo and selectors at the helm, this is being used as a development exercise for the 2023 Offaly U-20 side.

They will certainly be happy with the way their charges are moving and Offaly Schools' victory was never in the slightest of doubt. Indeed in the second half, a rapidly descending and heavy fog was a far bigger threat to their victory prospects than the North Dublin side – visibility dimmed at an alarming rate in the second half and within ten minutes of the final whistle, the referee would have had no option but to abandon proceedings.

As it was, he took the wise option of not playing any injury time, though there would certainly have been 3-4 minutes justified. No side was complaining at this and it would have been a travesty if the weather had let North Dublin off the hook.

It was a really good all round performance by Offaly. Their all Kilcormac-Killoughey full forward line of Adam Screeney, Daniel Hand and Alex Kavanagh cut loose, scoring 3-16 between them. That was a sensational return and this trio were magnificent, mixing some breathtaking skill and pace with a tremendous work rate but there was a lot more to Offaly's display than this.

With a lot of this year's Offaly minor hurling team on board, they were in control all over the field. Shane Rigney had a super game at wing forward and was particularly influential early on while Ben Miller, Brecon Kavanagh, Leigh Kavanagh, Cathal Robinson and Conor Doyle all excelled in a fine all round team performance where every player played his part.

It was clear from the throw in that Offaly were in a different class than North Dublin. They made a flying start and were 0-6 to 0-1 ahead when the brilliant Adam Screeney got a super 10th minute goal after a flowing move. They led by 1-11 to 0-2 after 20 minutes and briefly eased off coming up to half time but a 1-14 to 0-8 half time lead still represented a very good return for a half hour's work.

Daniel Hand got a superb goal three minutes into the second half, set up by Ben Miller, to give Offaly a 2-15 to 0-8 lead and it was all over. Offaly were comfortably in control from here to the final whistle – North Dublin finished with fourteen men when Senan Mulrooney got a deserved yellow card for a foul on Conor Doyle with nine minutes left but at this stage, both sides were thinking of the comfort of the dressing rooms and warmth.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Daniel Hand (Offaly Schools): You could pick any of the Offaly full forward line of Adam Screeney, Alex Kavanagh and Daniel Hand and stand over it while Shane Rigney and Ben Miller also made claims. Screeney's skill levels, his intuition and magic again took the breath away but he did miss a few chances while there is a case for giving long range frees to someone else. Hand is my choice on this occasion. He was brilliant early on as Offaly laid down early markers, he never relented as he tracked back, turned over ball and 1-4 from play was an excellent return.

THE SCORERS

Offaly Schools: Adam Screeney 2-9 (4f), Daniel Hand 1-4, Shane Rigney 0-4, Alex Kavanagh 0-3, Leigh Kavanagh and Conor Doyle 0-2 each, Cathal Robinson 0-1.

North Dublin: Joey Kinnane 0-5 (4f), Cian Moran 0-2 (2f), Ben Gaughran, Stephen Williams, Joe Kavanagh, Nathan Fitzgerald 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY SCHOOLS: Liam Hoare; Patrick Taaffe, Ruari Kelly, Ben Miller; Barry Egan, Brecon Kavanagh, Kieran Daly; Leigh Kavanagh, Cathal Robinson; Shane Rigney, Dara Tierney, Conor Doyle; Daniel Hand, Alex Kavanagh, Adam Screeney. Subs – Colin Spain for Tierney (39m), Peter King for Kelly (49m), Stephen Gilligan for Robinson (52m),Kieran Coonan for Hoare (55m).

DUBLIN NORTH: Daniel Joyce; Sean Mulrooney, Chris Loftus, Niall Hickey; Senan Crosbie, Dylan Clarke, Finn McDonald; Ben Gaughan, Ryan McGurk; Nathan Foster, Stephen Williams, Joe Kavanagh; Joey Kinnane, Dylan Duggan, Evan O'Brien. Subs – Cian Moran for Hickey (21m), Darren Gorman for Clarke (21m), Ollie Gaffney for O'Brien (HT), Nathan Fitzgerald for Kinnane (HT).

Referee – Jamie McDonnell (Laois).

REFEREE WATCH

Jamie McDonnell is a very good referee. Considering the one sided nature of this game, he had more to do here than might be expected. There was a niggle and a couple of brief flare ups. North Dublin were the main culprits as they made a few dangerous swipes at the ball and Sean Mulrooney really should have got a red instead of a yellow for the chop at Adam Screeney as he raced through for his first goal. In a tighter game, things could have got out of hand but fortunately they didn't.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Adam Screeney's 10th minute goal was worth the journey to Kilcormac. It also gave Offaly a 1-6 to 0-1 lead and left North Dublin with a mountain to climb.

VENUE WATCH

There was a nice crowd here while the Faithful Fields pitch held up well despite an earlier game. It was amazing to see the floodlights having to be turned on at half time but it was that type of game. The lights were actually a bit of a hindrance in the fog but were necessary too.

TALKING POINT

It is great to see Offaly Schools fielding a team at this level. The absence of Colaiste Choilm players will be debated and they would have four to five players who would easily make this. Their reasons for not fielding are valid as player burnout is a huge issue for young players and most of their hurlers are also playing schools football. Apart from that, it is no harm that Offaly are not fielding a full strength team – they could be too strong if they were, it would be unfair to the individual schools and it also gives other players a chance.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly Schools play St Peter's of Wexford in the quarter-finals.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly Schools – 7 (2 in first half); North Dublin -5 (3 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly Schools – 1 (Conor Doyle); North Dublin – 5 (Sean Mulrooney 2, Senan Crosbie, Finn McDonald and Nathan Fitzgerald).

Red cards: Offaly Schools – 0; North Dublin – 1 (Sean Mulrooney 2 yellows).