Disinterested Offaly show little appetite for consolation prize competition

Offaly football teams showing no appetite and scant regard for second chance subsidiary competitions is far from a new phenomenon but it was still a shock to the system to observe just how little interest they had for the Leinster U-20 Football Championship Andrew Corden Cup.

Leinster U20 Football Championship Andrew Corden Cup quarter-final

Carlow 3-10

Offaly 0-10

Having competed very well in the championship proper, Offaly just didn't get up for this one and from the throw in at the impressive SETU Carlow grounds on Tuesday evening, it was clear that it would be a long evening for them.

Carlow wanted it much more. They had also competed well in the championship proper, despite losing their three games and with this competition named after a former Carlow player, Andrew Corden, they treated it with full respect.

Offaly certainly couldn't be accused of that and their energy levels were way off the mark. A few players tried hard but as a unit, Offaly were a country mile off the championship intensity that they got up to against Louth, Kildare and Longford.

They recorded a super win over Kildare and were very close against Louth and Longford, with the result that they bowed out. They didn't manage to reach double figures in points in the group stages and while they did that here, it was almost by default as their closing two points came from late Marcas Dalton frees at a stage when the result was a formality.

This was easily their worse performance of the season and while their inability to get over going so close to qualification in the championship was understandable to an extent, it was a pity that they didn't give this a better go.

There will be no need for witch hunts or big analysis for this display. It was just a bridge too far for Offaly and it was obvious from the very start that they wouldn't survive this first knockout game.

Probably the biggest disappointment here was the petulance shown by some players. They picked up a couple of yellow cards for dissent or verbals, could have got more and were fortunate to finish with fourteen men – Clara duo Christian McKeon and Marcas Dalton got their yellow cards in the one second half incident. A couple of players contested decisions frequently and it was just one of those type of games. Certainly on the basis of this display, Offaly are better off out of the competition but that is not the abiding memory of the year and this team deserves to be remembered for the honesty, grit, work ethic and desire they showed in the championship proper.

Offaly's first half display was desperately poor and they never got out of second gear. Their work rate was nowhere near what was required and the body language of some players suggested that they would have preferred to have been anywhere other than Carlow.

The extent of Offaly's first half malfunction was adequately reflected by their half time deficit of 2-6 to 0-3. Carlow played much better and showed much more desire. They did all the attacking in the first quarter, scoring three points and having a couple of wides. Their good work received its just reward when Liam Gavin got in for a 14th minute goal.

Offaly's first point came from Ross Kellaghan in the 15th minute and points from Geordi O'Meara and a well taken Robbie Gallagher free had them 1-4 to 0-3 behind after 25 minutes. That deficit wasn't bad considering the way they had played but Carlow scored 1-2 without reply before the break. The goal came from Gavin again after a John Phiri broke a long ball and a nine point deficit left Offaly a long way back.

They were never going to haul back that nine point deficit and when it became twelve with a Cialan Brady goal just twenty seconds after the restart, all hope evaporated. A few players dug in and fought but Offaly never generated real momentum, played with genuine conviction. They did get the gap back to nine points on three occasions but that margin still represented a substantial beating as the season came to a very tame end.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Kyle Nolan (Carlow): All the main contenders were on the Carlow team and it boils down to a choice between midfielder Kyle Nolan and corner forward, Liam Gavin. Gavin was outstanding with 2-1 of his 2-5 from play but Nolan gets the nod. Three points was an impressive haul from midfield and he put in a great shift.

For Offaly, the defence were consistently opened up and never really got to grips with Carlow. They were not helped as Carlow defenders were able to come up field unimpeded on occasions. Marcas Dalton did have some very good moments, both at midfield and in attack – his regular midfield partner, Cillian Bourke was out injured.. Steven Doran worked hard at wing forward and carried some good ball while Robbie Gallagher also had bright spells in attack before being replaced late on, getting on ball and at least taking shots on, even if his conversion rate was not as high as he would have liked.

In other games, goalkeeper Conor Melia had been a pivotal figure as he carried a lot of ball up field and got into scoring positions. This didn't really happen here and Offaly rarely drove at the opposition in the way that was needed..

THE SCORERS

Carlow: Liam Gavin 2-4 (3f), Cialan Brady 1-0, Kyle Nolan 0-3, James Whelan, Shane Cormican and Brandon Kelly 0-1 each.

Offaly: Marcas Dalton 0-3 (2f), Robbie Gallagher 0-2 (1f), Conor Melia (f), Geordi O'Meara, Steven Doran, Ross Kellaghan, Cillian Foran (f) 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Conor Melia (Bracknagh); Diarmaid O'Neill (Clonbullogue), Christian McKeon (Clara), Eamon Bolger (Raheen); Dylan Byrne (Edenderry), Geordi O'Meara (Ballinagar), Cameron Egan (St Brigid's), Luke Bourke (Tullamore), Marcas Dalton (Clara); Ross Kellaghan (Rhode), Niall Furlong (Tullamore), Steven Doran (Ballinamere); Sean Afolabi Joseph (Tullamore), Robbie Gallagher (Ballinagar), Luke Kelly (Doon). Subs – Darragh McKeon (Clara) for Egan (HT), Ben Kennedy (St Brigid's) for Kelly (HT), Cillian Foran (Edenderry) for Kellaghan (HT), Brian Carroll (Ferbane) for Bolger (52m), Ryan Kenny (Ballycommon) for Gallagher (53m).

CARLOW: Aaron Power; Kieran Nolan, James Whelan, Shane Cormican; Mark Mullen, Alex Delaney, Tom Dillon; Kyle Nolan, Adam Burgess; Brandon Kelly, Cialan Brady, Josh Egan; Josh Brady, John Phiri, Liam Gavin. Subs – Jake Nolan for Brady (49m), Evan Corr for Egan (53m), Cillian McGrath for Dillon (59m), Evan Corcoran for Nolan (61m).

Referee – Dan Stynes.

REFEREE WATCH

Dan Stynes had a good game and was not a factor in the outcome. He was kept on his toes by Offaly players contesting decisions but gave them the benefit of the doubt on occasions.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Cialan Brady's fine goal at the start of the second half ended any slim hopes Offaly had.

VENUE WATCH

The GAA pitch at SETU Carlow is a top class venue with excellent spectator and player facilities and it was easy to host the small crowd.

WHAT'S NEXT

Carlow go into the semi-final against Westmeath and Offaly's year is over.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 6 (1 in first half); Carlow – 6 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 4 (Christian McKeon, Marcas Dalton, Niall Furlong and Steven Doran); Carlow – 2 (Mark Mullen and Brandon Kelly).

Black cards: 0

Red cards: 0.