Unlucky Offaly let golden opportunity slip as Monaghan snatch late win
All-Ireland Minor Football Tier 2 Paul McGirr Cup quarter-final
OFFALY minor footballers will harbour plenty of regrets after missing a golden opportunity of extending their season when they let victory slip from their grasp in the All-Ireland second tier Paul McGirr Cup on Friday evening.
All-Ireland Minor Football Tier 2 Paul McGirr Cup quarter-final
Monaghan 2-17
Offaly 2-15
Playing Monaghan in a hugely entertaining quarter-final at Ballinlough in Meath, Offaly could have had the game won at half time. Playing against the wind in the second half, they were set up to push for home on a couple of different occasions but each time, they allowed Monaghan back into the game too easily and too quickly.
They paid a dear price as they wilted inside the closing few minutes and Monaghan finished powerfully to snatch a very hard earned win. Offaly beat Armagh in a thrilling extra time shoot out the previous Saturday and extra time loomed large until Monaghan sub Mantas Palauskas fired over a hail Mary two pointer just in injury time to send the Ulster team into the semi-final.
Offaly were unlucky to lose and the game was certainly there to be won for them but in a paradoxical way, they can't complain at returning home with their tail between their legs. They weren't ruthless enough when they had their opponents on the ropes while they never came to terms with ace Monaghan forward, Luke Kelly who scored 1-8 from play and was the difference between the teams.
Despite the loss, Offaly end their season with their heads held high. They competed well, despite a heavy Leinster quarter-final beating by Meath when the scoreline was harsh on them, and they showed the right attitude for this second tier competition. They have a lot of very good footballers and supporters will be watching the progress of many of these with anticipation in the coming years.
Offaly led by 0-10 to 1-4 at half time and really should have been home and dry. The sides were level at 0-3 each after 11 minutes but Offaly were outstanding for the next ten minutes as they grabbed a 0-10 to 0-3 lead, Oliver Goulding and Evan Daly kicking two pointers. They should have had a goal on the board by this stage. Dara Waldron was very unlucky to hit the crossbar with a pile-driver in the fifth minute while there were a couple of times when players didn't release team mates who were inside them with a possibility of a goal.
Instead, Offaly fell asleep coming up to half time and Kelly scored a goal and a point in the 26th and 29th minutes to hand the winners a lifeline.
Jamie Harvey had a great third quarter when raiding from wing back and extended Offaly's lead with the first of his two second half points inside the first minute of the restart but three in a row brought the gap down to one for Monaghan, 0-11 to 1-7.
Offaly had a great golden spell from the 39th to 43rd minute with Evan Daly and impressive sub Sean Monahan kicking points and Paddy Burns racing in for an excellent goal after a great break forward by John Carroll.
Suddenly the lead was 1-14 to 1-8 and Offaly were set up but they coughed up their advantage immediately as Kelly and sub Caoilte Kelly kicked two pointers to make it a two point game just two minutes later.
Offaly were in pole position again in the 48th minute when Monahan got a top quality goal after Stephen Murrihy did very well to instigate the attack from defence. Again, they conceded way too quickly with Monaghan getting the next two points within a minute to make it 2-14 to 1-14.
Offaly were now very fragile but Caoilte Kelly was wide with a two point free that was very scoreable with the wind on the back – he had a similar miss a few minutes later. Monaghan equalised with a 53rd minute goal from Phelim Brady, when the Offaly defence was split wide open by a long ball in.
Offaly rallied well and Dara Waldron had a great chance to get a third goal in the 54th minute but was penalised for over carrying. A goal probably would have broken Monaghan's resistance but Sub Donnacha Seery edged Offaly in front a minute later and they tried desperately to hold on from here.
Monaghan exerted fierce late pressure and Offaly were praying for the final whistle too early. The Ulster side were wide with two two point shots before Caoilte Kelly opted to point the equaliser with the goal on his mercy. A big problem for Offaly was that they just couldn't lift the siege late on and that injury time two pointer won the day for Monaghan.
MATCH ANALYSIS
MAN OF THE MATCH
Luke Kelly (Monaghan): Luke Kelly was the standout player on the field. 1-8 from play was a huge haul and Offaly left it too long before they made switches to try and curb his influence – even then, Kelly continued to do damage and in fairness to all the men who were on him, he was just a real class forward.
Offaly had several players who played well with the Tullamore duo of Stephen Murrihy and Jake Harvey impressing in defence – Harvey was a man of the match contender and was very effective going forward, though he was caught defensively a couple of times.
John Carroll and Patrick Duffy had very effective periods at midfield while Paddy Burns was their star forward, displaying great power on the ball. Dara Waldron is an exciting talent and is one of a number of this team with the potential to play senior – he was almost a match winner here and while that didn't happen for him, he is a very cultured player. Sean Monahan made a huge impact off the bench.
THE SCORERSMonaghan: Luke Kelly 1-8 (1 x 2p), Phelim Brady 1-0, Caoilte Kelly 0-3 (1 x 2pf), Mantas Palauskas 0-2 (1 x 2p), Aodhan Lawless, Cillian McKenna, Adam Borsje, Alex McGinnitty 0-1 each.
Offaly: Paddy Burns 1-3 (1 x 2pf), Sean Monahan 1-1, Oliver Goulding (1 x 2p) and Evan Daly (1 x 2p) 0-3 each, Jamie Harvey 0-2, Patrick Duffy, Darragh Stewart and Donnacha Seery 0-1 each.
THE TEAMS
OFFALY: Ryan Casey (Tullamore); Cormac Staunton (Clodiagh Gaels), Oran Kenny (Ferbane), Stephen Murrihy (Tullamore); James Slevin (St Rynagh's), Cathal Carroll (Erin Rovers), Jamie Harvey (Tullamore); John Carroll (Clara), Patrick Duffy (Tullamore); Evan Daly (Ballycumber), Darragh Stewart (Tullamore), Dara Waldron (Ferbane); Oliver Goulding (Edenderry), Paddy Burns (Daingean), Joe Furey (Edenderry). Subs – Sean Monahan (Edenderry) for Staunton (41m), Donnacha Seery (Edenderry) for Slevin (45m), Sean O'Shea (Shannonbridge) for Goulding (59m).
MONAGHAN: Shane Moloney; Cormac MacCionnaith, Niall Fanthorpe, Ciaran Farrelly; Darragh Feeney, Aodhan Lawless, Phelim Brady; Cillian McKenna, Peter Gilmartin; Conor McCloskey, Adam Borsje, Paddy McDonald; Alex McGinnitty, Sean MacCinna, Luke Kelly. Subs – Caoilte Kelly for McDonald (HT), Mantas Palauskas for McCluskey (41m).
Referee – Patrick Coyle, Meath.
REFEREE WATCH
Patrick Coyle had a good game. Both teams could have got frees at different stages and Dara Waldron certainly seemed to have been fouled over near the left sideline late on but these balanced out. He was hard on players for over carrying but applied this very consistently.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Monaghan's injury time winner was the big moment here.
VENUE WATCH
There was a lot of haggling over this fixture during the week as Monaghan bid to have the game on Sunday evening. It was originally pencilled in for Saturday and eventually, a Friday evening at a neutral venue was agreed as a compromise.
Ballinlough were excellent hosts. They had top class facilities for a junior club and have clearly invested huge money in recent years. They were friendly and welcoming to all visitors and their pitch was in great shape.
Offaly GAA had published a match programme on their social media accounts before the game but there was none available at the venue. That was just as well as the Offaly numbers were all over the shop and you would wonder what they were at with this? Maybe it was an attempt to confuse Monaghan, however, the Offaly team lined out more or less as published but with wrong numbers on their back. For example, forward Dara Waldron wore number 7, defender Jamie Harvey wore number 9, centre forward Darragh Stewart sported number 15 and midfielder Patrick Duffy had number 12 – Waldron and Harvey were certainly never going to play in defence or midfield, Duffy was always going to be midfield and Stewart was always going to lead the attack from centre half forward.
WHAT'S NEXT
Monaghan go into the semi-finals.
STATISTICS
Wides: Offaly – 4 (1 in first half); Monaghan – 8 (3 in first half).
Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Monaghan – 1 (Paddy McDonald).
Black cards: 0
Red cards: 0