Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Final
OFFALY 0-24
KILDARE 1-18
Kevin Egan reports from Laois Hire O’Moore Park
Offaly will replace neighbours Laois in Division One of the Allianz Hurling League in 2024 after they overcame a blistering start from Kildare to bounce back and give themselves just enough cushion to hold on in the face of a late rally from the Lily Whites, who were aiming to reach the top tier of hurling’s league for the first time in their history.
A huge crowd from the Short Grass county made the short trip to Portlaoise in anticipation of a momentous occasion of that nature, and it looked for all the world as if they were destined for a very happy afternoon as they responded to the concession of the first point of the game with an explosive 1-4 without reply, their goal rifled to the top corner of Stephen Corcoran’s net by Gerry Keegan after he came onto a layoff with very well timed run.
The breeze favoured David Herity’s side in the first half and Rian Boran, Cian Boran and Cathal McCabe all made it count with wonderful points from distance, with their complete control of Offaly’s long puckouts giving them the ammunition.
Gradually however, Offaly worked their way back into the tie, based on three key factors. Once they recovered from their initial shell shock, they produced a defensive master class, with Ciarán Burke, Ben Conneely, Jason Sampson and Adrian Cleary (sweeper) all delivering outstanding performances.
They used the ball efficiently, playing through the lines with accurate hurling that kept the ball away from the tackle, and both Eoghan Cahill and Cillian Kiely came up with some huge scores to get Offaly back into the game, however Kildare will regret the third factor in Offaly’s revival, which was their own dreadful inaccuracy. A final wide count of 11 is not a standout number in its own right, but eight of those were in the first half, and a huge number were from what could only be described as very high percentage chances.
Offaly got back to within a single point before Kildare rallied again to lead by 1-11 to 0-11 at half-time, but for the first 25 minutes of the second half, the Faithful county were utterly dominant, particularly at the back. They put the Kildare forward line on lockdown, holding them to just two points in that time, while rattling off ten of their own. The introduction of Charlie Mitchell, who played in the U-20 championship yesterday, gave them a strong focal point at full forward, while Cahill, Kiely and David Nally all registered some outstanding scores.
With their promotion hopes fading, Kildare mounted one last rally, inspired by a wondrous score on the run from Rian Boran, while David Qualter also made a serious impact off the bench, firing over two good points. The nervousness levels in the crowd reached a new height when the lead was cut to two points and while Brian Duignan made life fractionally comfortable for Offaly with the last score of the game, there was still time for Simon Leacy to win a ball in a ruck and drive at the Offaly defence, earning a free on the 20 metre line.
Kildare goalkeeper Paddy McKenna got good power on his strike, but his Offaly counterpart Stephen Corcoran was able to make the save and clear his lines with the last play.
Scorers for Offaly: Eoghan Cahill 0-11 (0-6f, 0-1 65), Cillian Kiely 0-4, David Nally 0-3 (0-1 sideline), Adrian Cleary 0-2, Killian Sampson 0-2, Shane Dooley 0-1, Brian Duignan 0-1.
Scorers for Kildare: James Burke 0-4 (0-3f), Gerry Keegan 1-0, Declan Flaherty 0-3, Rian Boran 0-2, Cathal McCabe 0-2, Cian Boran 0-2, David Qualter 0-2, Brian Byrne 0-1, Paul Dolan 0-1, Johnny Byrne 0-1.
Offaly: Stephen Corcoran; Dara Maher, Ben Conneely, Ciarán Burke; Killian Sampson, Jason Sampson, David King; Joey Keenaghan, Cillian Kiely; David Nally, Jack Clancy, Adrian Cleary; Eoghan Cahill, Shane Dooley, Paddy Clancy.
Subs: Charlie Mitchell for Dooley (half-time), Paddy Delaney for J Clancy (45), Brian Duignan for P Clancy (48), Liam Langton for Keenaghan (67)
Kildare: Paddy McKenna; Simon Leacy, Niall Ó Muineacháin, Cian Shanahan; Paul Dolan, Rian Boran, Conan Boran; Johnny Byrne, Cathal McCabe; Cian Boran, Gerry Keegan, Declan Flaherty; Brian Byrne, James Burke, Cathal Dowling.
Subs: Jack Travers for Dolan (50), Mark Delaney for Flaherty (59), John McKeon for Shanahan (62), David Qualter for Burke (63-65, temp), David Qualter for Cian Boran (65)
Referee: Thomas Walsh (Waterford)
By Offaly PRO Sun 2nd Apr
