Tailteann Cup Group 2
OFFALY 2-13 (2-1-11)
WICKLOW 0-11 (0-1-6)
Kevin Egan at Glenisk O’Connor Park
Offaly brought their run of five consecutive defeats in the Tailteann Cup to an end with an eight-point win over Wicklow in Tullamore this afternoon, though neither side showed the same vigour and quality that was in evidence in their Leinster quarter-final defeats to Meath and Dublin.
Wicklow will look back with no small amount of regret to their performance in the first quarter, when they owned the ball thanks to the dominance of Dean Healy and in particular Pádraig O’Toole at midfield, but still held just a two-point lead by the midway point in the first half.
That was largely down to two factors – Diarmuid Egan’s opening goal, finished with great composure from close range, and good patient defending from the Offaly backs to deny Wicklow many easy opportunities. David Dempsey led the way with a couple of big turnovers, while in general, Offaly kept their discipline, moved around well and denied Wicklow the opportunity to break in behind their hosts.
Nonetheless, with wave after wave of attack beating against the defensive lines, scores were always going to come. Healy opened the scoring after good work from Joe Prendergast set up the opportunity, Cathal Baker fisted a point after he was forced into action due to an injury to John Paul Nolan, while Mark Kenny also split the uprights from a tricky angle out on the left.
19 minutes passed before Shane Tierney kicked Offaly’s second score of the game, but from there the Faithful County grew into the game. Mark Jackson kicked Wicklow into a three-point lead with his side’s only orange flag in the game (0-7 to 1-1) but Offaly were much improved for the remainder of the first half, and they put themselves right into the driving seat when Jack Bryant bravely took a hard hit from Jackson to flick Cathal Flynn’s perfectly-weighted 30-metre pass to the net just before half-time.
Kevin Quinn reduced the gap to a single score (2-6 to 0-9) with the first point of the second half but Wicklow’s play was riddled with errors for the remainder of that period and they kicked six second half wides, including several scorable frees, while only adding a couple of points to their tally.
Without ever hitting the high notes, Offaly gradually moved clear of their opponents. Jack Bryant was the leading light up front with Flynn carrying a lot of ball and orchestrating the play, while Dylan Hyland hit three from play after half-time.
The introduction of Cillian Bourke and Rúairí McNamee after half-time further solidified the home side, who will travel to Walsh Park to take on Waterford next Saturday. For Wicklow, a crucial home tie against Laois will have a huge bearing on the rest of their summer.
Scorers for Offaly: Jack Bryant 1-5 (1tp), Dylan Hyland 0-4 (0-1f), Diarmuid Egan 1-0, Shane Tierney 0-2, Cathal Flynn 0-1,
Scorers for Wicklow: Oisín McGraynor 0-2f, Mark Kenny 0-2, Kevin Quinn 0-2 (0-1f), Mark Jackson 0-2 (1tpf), Dean Healy 0-1, Cathal Baker 0-1, Cathal Fee 0-1
OFFALY: Paddy Dunican; Daire McDaid, Lee Pearson, David Dempsey; Cormac Egan, John Furlong, Diarmuid Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn, Keith O’Neill; Dylan Hyland, Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney.
SUBS: Rúairí McNamee for O’Neill (46), Cillian Bourke for McEvoy (55), Rory Egan for D Egan (66), Aaron Kelleghan for Tierney (69), Marcas Dalton for Higgins (70+2).
WICKLOW: Mark Jackson; Cian Deering, Matt Nolan, Tom Moran; Malachy Stone, Patrick O’Keane, Joe Prendergast; Dean Healy, Pádraig O’Toole; John Paul Nolan, Eoin Darcy, Darragh Fee; Oisín McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Mark Kenny.
SUBS: Cathal Baker for Nolan (6), Conor Fee for Darcy (54), Páidí Kavanagh for Baker (54), Jack Kirwan for Kenny (60), Adam Arslan for Deering (66)
Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh).
By Offaly PRO Sat 10th May
