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Offaly v Monaghan

Posted: Sat Jun 25, 2011 9:24 pm
by Thereorthereabouts
Great Result for the Footballers - 1-18 is a great score.

Is there a glimmer of hope again? Possibly two or three more rounds of the qualifiers!

From RTE.ie:

Offaly defied their critics in Tullamore this evening by recording a comfortable and well deserved 1-18 to 1-10 win over Monaghan.

It was a display largely inspired by an excellent defensive showing that restricted the starting Monaghan forward line to only three scores from play.

The Faithful started much the brighter in this match with scores from Ken Casey and a Ciarán McManus free kick, before a Niall McNamee goal on ten minutes and subsequent scores from Richie Dalton and Bernard Allen left Offaly well in the ascendancy at 1-5 to 0-01 in front
Increased use of short and wide kickouts saw Monaghan begin to win a larger share of ball at midfield however, and after two scores from Conor McManus and a Paul Finley free, they were put right back in the game with a goal from Chris McGuinness.

Bernard O'Brien played his part, picking out McGuinness with an excellent pass from the 45m line, and Monaghan built on this to level the game at 1-06 each.

The evergreen Ciarán McManus and Birr's Stephen Lonergan gave Offaly a narrow two point lead by half-time, but with the slight wind advantage to come and momentum now on Monaghan's side, the match looked very finely poised to deliver a thrilling second 35 minutes.

Last year in the qualifiers Offaly let their Championship season slip away in the few minutes after half-time when they conceded 1-03 to Down in five minutes.

But they learned their lesson from that experience as they burst out of the blocks, taking the first five scores of the second period.

Niall McNamee played a huge part in this productive spell, kicking three points and winning one of two frees that Ciarán McManus sent over.

Monaghan settled back into the game and did kick three scores in succession midway through the second half, the pick of which was a long range effort from Bernard O'Brien.

However, they were expending a lot of energy with little return and by the closing stages of the game, Offaly were enjoying the majority of the possession.

They pulled away with a sequence of points, many of which were kicked under little or no pressure as their excellent movement on and off the ball created acres of space.

A late score from Neil McAdam off the outside of his right boot gave the Monaghan supporters, which formed the vast majority of the 3300 attendance, something to cheer, but it was too little too late as referee Syl Doyle almost immediately sounded the whistle to confirm Offaly's eight point win.

Offaly: Alan Mulhall; Brian Darby, Joe Quinn, Seán Pender; Stephen Lonergan (0-02), Scott Brady, Niall Darby (0-01); Richie Dalton (0-03), Niall Smith; Ross Brady (0-01, 0-01 free), Ciarán McManus (0-04, 0-03 frees),, Karol Slattery; Bernard Allen (0-01), Ken Casey (0-01), Niall McNamee (1-04).

Subs: Padraig Bracken for Ken Casey, Sean Ryan for Karol Slattery, David Egan (0-01) for Bernard Allen, Niall Spain for Niall Darby (temporary)

Monaghan: Mark Keogh; Conor Galligan, Kieran Duffy, Donal Morgan; Owen Duffy (0-02), Niall McAdam (0-02), Darren Hughes; Owen Lennon, Dick Clerkin; Mark Downey, Bernard O'Brien (0-01), Daniel McKenna; Christopher McGuinness (1-00), Paul Finlay (0-02, 0-02 free),, Conor McManus (0-02, 0-01f).

Subs: Ciarán Hughes for Dick Clerkin, Ciaran Hanratty (0-01) for Daniel McKenna, Vincent Corey for Mark Downey, Brendand McKenna for Christopher McGuinness

Referee: Syl Doyle (Wexford)