A more positive defeat as Offaly finally throw off shackles after Carroll red card

OFFALY senior footballers “showcased” the other, demoralising side of the very double sided intercounty coin when they travelled to Kingspan Breffni Park in Cavan for their dead rubber Tailteann Cup group game with Down on Sunday.

All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Tailteann Cup Group 4 Round 3

Down 2-22

Offaly 3-13

In the region of 15,000 Offaly fans had journeyed to Kilkenny on Saturday evening to see a super group of young U-20 hurlers capture the All-Ireland title for the first time in that grade with a sensational win over Tipperary.

As thousands made the trip to O’Connor Park for a jubilant homecoming celebration at 12 noon on Sunday, the Offaly football squad were on a bus on the way to Cavan with their Tailteann Cup ambitions extinct and apathy and disillusion pervading the air.

Only a few handful supporters accompanied them here, a few parents and hardy annuals and there was probably less than 100 Offaly people in the sparsely populated venue – even the players didn’t use up their allocation of tickets on this occasion. When the team announcer congratulated the Offaly U-20 hurlers on their fantastic win and invited a round of applause, the response was generous but it was mainly from Down people.

Just a few years ago in 2021, a few of this Offaly team had experienced similar adulation and glory. John Furlong, Cormac Egan, Lee Pearson, Cathal O’Donoghue, Keith O’Neill and Jack Bryant were all sensational as Offaly won the All-Ireland U-20 Football Championship in ’21 but have seen the way the table can turn so quickly.

Those lessons lie ahead for the young U-20 hurlers but the footballers have certainly endured a wildly fluctuating year in 2024. The high point was the championship win over Laois but it has all unravelled badly in the Tailteann Cup and a sense that all is not well is impossible to avoid, though we shouldn’t over analyse stuff and give any credence to rumour and innuendo.

Two of those 2021 U-20s have left the panel – Morgan Tynan withdrew during the championship while Rory Egan went in the wake of the opening two Tailteann Cup defeats. Another key player Dylan Hyland didn’t play here. Hyland had played for Raheen in a league draw with Ballinagar on Thursday night and sustained a dead leg in that, ironically after a clash with Morgan Tynan. He had been named on the team but his enthusiasm had seemed to dwindle in the Tailteann Cup and he didn’t feature here as the season wound down to a bleak end.

When the Tailteann Cup draw was made and Offaly were in a group with Down, Limerick and London, the initial reaction was that they would have to try not to qualify out of it. We certainly wouldn’t accuse them of that but somehow Offaly managed to make their exit with a round to go, experiencing a hugely disturbing defeat at the hands of London and a lesser one against Limerick.

It meant that this game was a dead rubber as Down were assured of top spot and Offaly couldn’t qualify. That was a shameful position for Offaly to be in and the lack of interest in this game was understandable but in fairness to them, they produced their best football of the campaign and almost pulled off the win.

Offaly allowed players to play club league during the week while Down made wholescale changes. The game more or less went as you’d expect, though to be fair to Offaly, they did try and they played some good, pacy football, albeit in fits and starts in the first half, and on a much more consistent, concerted level in the second half when they finally took off the shackles.

Offaly looked like they were heading for a third really bad defeat when Eoin Carroll received a straight red card just after the throw in at the second half. Behind 0-16 to 1-6 at that stage, the travelling Offaly contingent feared the worse but that dismissal actually sparked them into life.

They played some genuinely exciting football after this as they consistently opened up Down. They threw caution to the wind with almost none of the negative or possession football that had ruined some of their recent performances. It may have been easier to do it in a game where there was nothing at stake and Down were content to experiment and operate in cruise control. It certainly had little of the intensity of knockout or high stakes football but some of Offaly’s second half football was a joy to watch.

They moved the ball at pace, took on men and took chances. It was a game for doing that and while this game doesn’t compensate for what happened against London and Limerick, all those searching questions remain to be answered and a defeat is always a defeat, it was a positive end of sorts to the year. It was certainly better than most expected and Offaly were very close to getting the win.

They did really well to get back into the game after Carroll’s dismissal. They were 0-18 to 1-8 behind after 42 minutes but fought their way back into it. A Cormac Egan goal injected new life into them in the 43^rd minute and they got 1-2 of the next 1-3. Another defender John Furlong got in for a 51^st minute goal, set up by impressive sub Kevin McDermott, to make it 3-10 to 0-19.

Remarkably it was level and while Down got the next two points, Offaly kept flying at them. Jack Bryant and Keith O’Neill (free) pointed to level it up inside the last five minutes and Offaly had a chance. The numbers were evened up when Down midfielder Jonny Flynn was red carded for a second yellow with four minutes left.

Offaly had their chances to edge ahead as Jack McEvoy and Jordan Hayes were wide from scoreable positions. Down got in for a decisive 69^th minute goal from sub Oisin Savage and another sub Jack McCartan added a point.

Jordan Hayes got a deserved point for his second half work to bring it back to a score and Offaly kept pushing, driving. They threw numbers forward and Cormac Egan almost got in for a goal but with his mind on where to shoot, the ball was knocked from his grasp. Down broke and Ryan Magill got a 73^rd minute goal for a flattering six point win.

It was a pity that Offaly didn’t play with this type of heart in their earlier games and the reasons for that are hard to ascertain. They gave starting places to two younger players, Diarmuid Finneran and Daire McDaid here and both took their chance. Finneran was as tight as a miser at corner back, marking very well and doing the simple thing while McDaid was excellent, full of energy and enthusiasm.

John Furlong, Cormac Egan, Lee Pearson, Cathal Flynn, Nigel Dunne, Keith O’Neill, Jack Bryant and sub Kevin McDermott also had very good spells, moving the ball with pace and intent as Offaly finally showed flashes of what they can do.

In the first half, Offaly hadn’t been bad but were a bit of a shambles defensively. They made a dream start with a Daire McDaid goal after a minute, set up by a great Cathal Flynn run but Down had seven points on the board before Offaly got their first from Keith O’Neill in the 16^th minute.

Offaly could have got in for more scores and threatened to break through for a couple more goals. They were okay when driving forward but defensively, Down were able to score way too easily. The result was that Down led by 0-16 to 1-6 at the break and it was impossible to envisage Offaly winning. They did work hard but 16 points was way too much to concede in 35 minutes and it looked like Offaly were on a damage limitation exercise in the second half.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Daire McDaid (Offaly): Daire McDaid grabbed his chance with both hands. He scored 1-1 but it was his hunger, his eagerness for possession and his movement that really caught the eye. He got on a lot of ball and used it very well.

THE SCORERS

Down: Paul Quinn 0-4 (2f), Conor McCrickard 0-3 (1m and 1f), Oisin Savage and Ryan Magill 1-0 each, Gareth McKibben, Danny Magill, James Guinness and Shane Annett 0-2 each, Paddy McCarthy, Shealan Johnson, Ben McConville, Rory Mason, Miceal Rooney, Caolan Mooney and Jack McCartan 0-1 each.

Offaly: Nigel Dunne 0-4 (2f), Daire McDaid 1-1, John Furlong and Cormac Egan 1-0 each, Keith O’Neill (1f), Jack Bryant 0-2 each, David Dempsey, Lee Pearson, Cathal Flynn, Jordan Hayes 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Ian Duffy (Walsh Island); Diarmuid Finneran (Ballinagar), David Dempsey (Ballycommon), John Furlong (Tullamore); Cormac Egan (Tullamore), Peter Cunningham (Bracknagh), Lee Pearson (Edenderry); Eoin Carroll (Cappincur), Cathal Donoghue (Oughterard, Galway); Daire McDaid (Tullamore), Cathal Flynn (Ferbane), Jordan Hayes (Edenderry); Nigel Dunne (Shamrocks), Keith O’Neill (Clonbullogue), Jack Bryant (Shamrocks). Subs – Kevin McDermott (Durrow) for O’Donoghue (HT), Jack McEvoy (Clonbullogue) for Bryant (55m), Anton Sullivan (Rhode) for Dunne (60m),

DOWN: John O’Hare; Finn Murdock,Ryan Magill, Paddy McCarthy; Gareth McKibben, Danny Magill, Shealan Johnston; James Guinness, Jonny Flynn; Rory Mason, Shane Annett, Ben McConville; Paul Quinn, Conor McCrickard, Miceal Rooney. Subs – Caolan Mooney for Murdock (39m), Jamie Doran for McConville (46m), Eanonn Brown for Magill (46m), Oisin Savage for Quinn (51m), Jack McCartan for Mason (57m),

Referee – Kieran Eannatta (Tyrone).

REFEREE WATCH

Kieran Eannatta certainly wasn’t the reason this game was won or loss but he didn’t have a great game. A few things went against Offaly in the first half. He blew for a Nigel Dunne mark early on and the Shamrocks man handled on the ground when he fell with the referee giving a free out. John Furlong should have been given advantage when he raced clear later on but it was called back for an earlier foul. There were a couple of decisions like that and Peter Cunningham and Eoin Carroll looked to have been fouled at different stages without getting frees. These all mattered, though he did get the majority of decisions right.

Eoin Carroll’s red card was off the ball but he did consult with the linesman and while the Cappincur man did question the call, his body language suggested that he knew he was in bother once the whistle went. He could have given Down a penalty a couple of minutes later when James Guinness was pushed by Lee Pearson but he gave Offaly the benefit of the doubt..

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Down’s first goal from Oisin Savage in the 69^th minute was the defining moment in this game.

VENUE WATCH

It was very easy to host the small crowd at this game and Cavan hosted the double bill well – Antrim and Sligo played after this.

WHAT’S NEXT

Offaly’s year is over while Down go into the quarter-finals.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 9 (5 in first half); Down – 2 (1 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 1 (Kevin McDermott); Down – 2 (Jonny Flynn 2).

Black cards: 0.

Red cards: Offaly – 1 (Eoin Carroll); Down – 1 Jonny Flynn (2 yellows).