Clare 1-12 Offaly 1-11

[Lone Shark]

Just four weeks previously, Offaly supporters trudged out of Croke Park having witnessed one of the biggest maulings ever dished out in championship hurling, many of them worrying that the era of Offaly hurling as a major power was drawing to a close. All around the county the talk was of how the pride was gone out of Offaly hurling, and that the competitive never-say-die streak that has long been associated with the green white and gold in both codes was never to be seen again.

On Saturday night Offaly rediscovered the competitive fire that burned within, and from start to finish they went toe to toe with Clare, contesting every ball as if their lives depended on it, and earned the right to walk out of O’Moore Park with their heads held high. However for all the plaudits and respect that the players earned in the inclement conditions against battle hardened opponents, they’ll think of this as a win that slipped through their fingers, and a missed opportunity to reach the All Ireland quarter finals.

A look around O’Moore Park at the scant 4,000 attendance confirmed the apathy that pervaded the Banner County in the run up to this game, as in a rare departure from the norm, the Offaly contingent in the crowd outnumbered their opponents. However if the travelling Clare public were not fired up for this clash, the players certainly were – the four midfielders taking the time to “introduce themselves” to one another before referee Ger Harrington even had time to throw the ball in. Michael Cordial and Colin Lynch in particular, perhaps unsurprisingly, were keen to assert themselves before the start and demonstrate that neither man was going to be intimidated. The scuffling may have finished honours even, and yellow cards even at one each, but the Offaly man won the battle that counted when he got the clean pull on the ball that sent the sliothar in to the Offaly full forward line. Setting the tone for the game to follow, players had great difficulty in rising the ball, and eventually having run twenty metres from his own goals in attempting to take the ball in, Aidan Hanrahan shot off his right and just inside the right hand upright to open the scoring.

Offaly were playing with a very strong breeze in the opening 35, and needed to build an early advantage. A Gilligan free cancelled out Hanrahan’s opener, but fine scores from Brendan Murphy and Brian Carroll from opposite sidelines and a Carroll free gave Offaly the early lead they sought. However the next fifteen minutes saw them concede too many scores, mostly from frees, and miss several chances that would come back to haunt them. Indeed with 25 minutes gone the score was 0-5 apiece, with Gilligan still the only banner scorer, but Offaly missing several scoring chances, Stephen Brown in particular guilty of some poor wides. Brown registered with his fourth attempt to put Offaly 0-6 to 0-5 in front, and then on 29 minutes Offaly got the score that truly ignited this contest. Brian Carroll played a high lobbing ball into the square from out on the right, and with both Lohan and Murphy failing to connect and Fitzgerald in the Clare goal uncharacteristically remaining rooted to the spot, Dylan Hayden was given the chance to sneak in at the far post and bat the ball to the roof of the net.

Colin Lynch responded almost immediately with a Clare point, and this was followed by Carroll and Gilligan once again trading frees. With five minutes to go to the break, Offaly had their best spell of the match. Hanrahan, causing problems in the Clare defence with his pace and long reach, got his second score, before Brian Mullins demonstrated the strength of the breeze with a monster free from inside his own 45. Gary Hanniffy rounded off the scoring for the half with another great effort from range, leaving matters at 1-10 to 0-7, and when the whistle sounded the Offaly players went off to a standing ovation, very much deserved for what was a fine display.

With the elements to face in the second period, you felt that Offaly needed to hold their lead for as long as possible and have Clare chase the game. Unfortunately the opposite occurred, as Clare got a dream start and were within two with five minutes played. You knew scores were going to be hard to come by, so when Hanrahan hit the angle of the post and crossbar soon after the restart it was a hammer blow to the confidence, compounded when almost immediately a long Seanie McMahon clearance out of defence fell to Tony Griffin, who had been moved into the corner and had completely lost Kevin Brady, his marker, and he sidestepped Mullins before kicking to the net. McMahon popped over a 65 almost immediately after this, and a lot of the previous half’s good work was undone in an instant. A side with more scorers than Clare would have been favoured to kick on from this point, but a Carroll free on 42 minutes steadied the ship for Offaly. Unfortunately this proved to be the last score Offaly registered in the game.

Alan Markham reduced the deficit to two points on 44 minutes, catching over Brian Whelahan and finishing well, but the game entered a 17 minute barren spell at this point, during which time the Offaly contingent in the crowd began to think holding out was a possibility. Not long after Markham’s score, Griffin was through on goal again after taking a handpass from Diarmuid McMahon, but Mullins expertly flicked the ball away from him, and denied the score.

Clare were dominating possession throughout this period, but the Offaly rearguard was imperious, mastering the conditions and the Clare attackers with equal authority. The spine of the defence of Ger Oakley and Rory Hanniffy, so often a supposed Achilles heel in recent years, was completely dominant, although assisted by the poor calibre of delivery despatched by the Clare backs. Paul Cleary secured his county shirt for the foreseeable future with this display also, and Barry Teehan played at half back like the confident assured and talented hurler we always knew he was.

All the team needed was a score or two from the forwards to break Clare’s resolve, and it never came. Mick O’Hara missed one good chance out on the left, but otherwise possession was just too hard to come by. A combination of slow ball in - fast ball not being possible in the conditions – and a lack of heft in the likes of Murphy, Hayden and Hanrahan took its’ toll. Eventually the chances came Clare’s way, and on 61 minutes one was converted – substitute David Hoey cutting in from the left and shooting over from 60 metres.

The dam had been broken, and a couple of minutes later Gilligan broke in behind the Offaly back line, and Ger Oakley was forced to foul. The resultant free levelled the scores, and still we waited for Offaly to sneak a point from somewhere. A rare foray into the heart of the Clare defence led to Brendan Murphy snaffling a loose ball, charging at the defence, but with Lohan holding him from behind, the referee made a match altering call, penalising Murphy for overcarrying, much to the displeasure of the crowd.

Brian Carroll had one more chance to put Offaly back in front, but he was shooting going away from goals and missed, and once again with three minutes remaining Ger Harrington played a central role in the game, contentiously ruling Hanrahan to have picked up off the ground in midfield by the sideline. Seanie McMahon has seen so many big days in his career, pressure was never likely be an issue as he nailed the free from 70 metres, and with it condemned Offaly to the relegation playoffs, and the pain of knowing that a great chance to secure a famous win was lost in the winds and rain of Portlaoise.


Teams:
Clare: David Fitzgerald; Frank Lohan, Brian Lohan, Gerry O’Grady; Colin Forde, Sean McMahon (0-2, 0-1 free, 0-1 ’65), Gerry Quinn; Brian O’Connell, Colin Lynch (0-1); Diarmuid McMahon, Tony Griffin (1-0), Alan Markham (0-1); Tony Carmody, Niall Gilligan (0-7, 0-5 frees), Barry Nugent.
Subs: David Forde for Nugent, David Hoey (0-1) for Quinn, Andrew Quinn for Diarmuid McMahon, Daithí O’Connell for Forde, Declan O’Rourke for Griffin.


Offaly: Brian Mullins (0-1 free); Kevin Brady, Ger Oakley, Paul Cleary; Brian Whelahan, Rory Hanniffy, Barry Teehan; Michael Cordial, Gary Hanniffy (0-1); Brendan Murphy (0-1), Mick O’Hara, S Brown (0-1); Brian Carroll (0-5 0-4 frees), Aidan Hanrahan (0-2), Dylan Hayden (1-0)
Subs: Damien Murray for Hayden, Joe Brady for O’Hara.

Referee: Ger Harrington (Cork)

[Loughers]

Proud and sad. Beat Dublin and move on. The Offaly fans who were there were excellent.

[Plain of the Herbs]

Why is it that Wexford can raise their game for Kilkenny and no-one else, and we’re the exact opposite?

Just when I was asking myself why I bother going to matches and considering packing in the whole exercise, along comes last Saturday evening to remind me just why I do go, that I will occasionally have cause to jump up out of my seat the way I did when Hayden scored, the tension of counting down those 35 second half minutes and watching defending, Offaly style, with the hooking, the blocking, the forwards forcing Lohan and McMahon to handpass their way out of trouble rather than getting in a quick clearance. Its always difficult to compare matches, but I suppose that was their best performance since Nowlan Park in 2003. When coming up with excuses for the defeat, I’m reminded of Bertie Ahern’s reply as to why the roof blew off the Aquatic Centre- “the wind”.

The pity is that we now have to go through a potential banana skin of relegation play-off’s involving the three teams who love playing us the most, and while we should have far too much hurling for them, especially in July, it will be difficult to reproduce the intensity shown last Saturday, even if only for a couple of 10 minute bursts.

A pity, too that Stephen Brown didn’t bring the shooting stick with him, for he battled hard throughout, and scored a good point off his right, under pressure. A pity Hanrahan didn’t gather that ball he picked. He had 50 yards of room ahead of him. A pity Kevin Brady lost his man for the goal, probably still admiring his neat footwork and clearance moments earlier. This happens a lot to Offaly corner backs and I wonder is the problem a lack of communication between goalkeeper and full-back line? Does Mullins shout at his backs when their markers slip goalside? Or are they listening?

While ground hurling is delightful, sometimes there are times when lads should pick up and run, such as during the last quarter. Cordial and Brown each had chances to do this, but chose the ground stroke. All very well, but they were in the half forward line, and the full line were 50 yards away. And it would have relieved pressure on the backs, if only for 30 seconds.

A redeeming performance for Teehan, who is a fine hurler, but not a corner back. Rory has a future at centre back. Sid gave probably his last great performance. In fact the covering behind the dropping ball was noticeable. Perhaps a half back line of Hoctor-Rory-Teehan has a future.

The draw, too didn’t help. Perhaps this was the year to get a difficult draw. Look at 2 poor teams, Galway and Limerick (who I would rank 7 – 9 along with ourselves) advance almost straight into the quarter-finals untested. Still, those draws even themselves out over the years. Maybe next year, after we get a run in division 1.

2 weaknesses remain, those of competing in the air and physical strength. Perhaps an opportunity was lost last winter by hurling in the hockey pitch in Birr and not undergoing a programme in the gym in a bid to strengthen up. As we were in division 2, it surely wasn’t going to take the sharpest of hurling to beat Roscommon and Kildare? The sight of Brian Carroll being whooshed out over the end line by Frank Lohan bore this out.
As for O’Connor Park, I presume that won’t be ready by next summer either, and we’re left going to Portlaoise again. Perhaps we could bring Kilkenny to Duggan Park, Ballinasloe as a home venue?

Roll on next year.