Offaly advance to All-Ireland semi-final after hugely impressive demolition of Meath

Glen Dimplex All-Ireland Intermediate Camogie Championship Quarter Final

OFFALY 5-18

MEATH 3-6

A HUGELY impressive Offaly booked their place in the All-Ireland intermediate camogie semi-finals with an 18 point victory over last year's beaten All-Ireland finalists Meath in the first of the quarter finals played at FBD Semple Stadium in Thurles on Saturday.

Offaly dominated the game from the very start and they never relented throughout the 60 minutes. They hassled and harried their opponents, fought for every ball and took their scores very well. Meath simply had no answer to an Offaly team that was fully focused and deservedly earned their place in the last four.

Offaly got off to a flier and hit 1-5 without reply in the first eight minutes. Meath did hit back with a goal but that didn't deter Offaly who hit the next 1-6 without reply to take a stranglehold on the game and they had a 12 points advantage at half time, 2-13 to 2-1.

A goal inside the first minute of the second half ensured there would be no let up and although Meath got a goal after five minutes and did add a couple of points, they were finding it hard to get scores. They managed to get within 11 points of Offaly but that was as good as it got and Offaly finished on the front foot again to push out their winning margin to 18 points.

This was a very impressive victory for Offaly. Meath reached the All-Ireland Final last year only losing out in a replay to Derry, who have gone on to have a very good senior campaign this year, recording a couple of victories.

But on this day Meath had no answer to a rampant Offaly who are now only 60 minutes away from claiming a place at Croke Park on All-Ireland final day. If they can replicate this form they will be hard to live with but they must knuckle down and start again the next day and hope they can claim that place in the final.

The first half was as good a half of camogie as Offaly have played in a long time. They were completely dominant from the off and controlled the middle third of the field. They restricted the ball going to the Meath inside forward line but that line did show the threat they carried when sniping two goals from limited possession.

However Offaly responded well to those two goals on each occasion by hitting back for the next score. They swarmed around the Meath players and never let them settle on the ball and they picked off their points with aplomb in a wonderful display.

They continued in the second half and while it mightn't have been quite as fluent as the first half, they still played well and fought hard to ensure that Meath didn't get back into the game. The Royals had a brief spell in the second quarter when they threatened to cut Offaly's lead and while they hit 1-2 without reply they were finding it much harder to pick off their scores and once Offaly struck for the their fourth goal after 48 minutes, the game was up and Offaly finished the stronger.

They even had the luxury of emptying their bench and some of those players got on the scoresheet and the team can look forward with confidence to the semi-final.

Offaly were strong all over the pitch. Orla Gorman, Orlagh Phelan and Alana Roddy all stood out in defence and Ellen Regan came much more into the game in the second half. Clodagh Leahy was impressive at midfield and scored two excellent points after long solo runs. In attack Grace Teehan, Becky Bryant and Mairead Jennings were their chief scorers but interestingly despite running up such a big score three of their starting forwards failed to score, though did do a lot of very good work.

For Meath it was a day to forget. Claire Coffey, Leah Devine, Maeve Clince, Amy Gaffney and Olivia O'Halloran were best for the Royal ladies.

Offaly were ahead after a minute when Clodagh Leahy pointed a free and they quickly added a second from Grace Teehan. The first goal came in the fifth minute when a long sideline cut from Clodagh Leahy was well won by Becky Bryant who got inside her marker and crashed a great shot to the net. Mairead Jennings followed up with a point and Clodagh Leahy pointed two frees to leave Offaly 1-5 to 0-0 up after just eight minutes.

Meath finally opened their account in the 11th minute when Ciara Foley pointed a 20m free but from the puck out Grace Teehan replied with an Offaly point. Meath got a lifeline after 12 minutes when Offaly didn't clear a ball and Olivia O'Halloran set up Amy Gaffney to shoot low to the corner of the net.

Offaly's response was impressive as Becky Bryant picked off a point after a free dropped short and Clodagh Leahy pointed another free. Offaly then struck for their second goal. They did well to apply good pressure to win the ball and Grace Teehan broke free and steered a great shot into the top corner. She added two further points with Clodagh Leahy finishing a great run with a point and Becky Bryant notching another after good play from the back to put Offaly 14 points up.

Meath did get in for another goal when Ciara Foley made the run and offloaded to Olivia O'Halloran who pulled on the ground to the net. Offaly did have the final say of the half as Mairead Jennings pointed a 20m free to give the Faithful a 2-13 to 2-1 half time lead.

Just 35 seconds after the restart Orla Gorman linked with Ellen Regan and her high ball was caught by Becky Bryant and finished to the net. Erin Leddy pulled a point back for Meath but Clodagh Leahy hit two for Offaly, one from play after another good solo run.

Meath then enjoyed their best spell. Amy Gaffney ran through to shoot her second goal and subs Grace Connolly and Katie Connolly added points to cut the gap to 11 points nine minutes into the half. However they were unable to build on that and nine scoreless minutes followed before Offaly netted their fourth goal. Fianait Dooley won the ball on the left and passed to Mairead Jennings whose shot from the left dipped over the goalkeeper and into the net.

Grace Coleman and Aoife Carey (free) replied with Meath points but they were their last scores. Grainne Kennedy pointed for Offaly, when she probably should have goaled but they did get a fifth when Mairead Jennings did well to win back the ball and passed to Leah Gath whose shot went in off the post. Clodagh Leahy (free) and Grace Teehan put the icing on the cake with further points as Offaly booked their place in the semi-finals.

MATCH ANALYSIS

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Leah Gallagher (Lusmagh/Drumcullen); Sharon Shanahan (Shinrone), Cathy Fogarty (St Cillian's), Orla Gorman (Tullamore); Orlagh Phelan (Naomh Brid), Ellen Regan (Birr), Alana Roddy (Birr); Faye Mulrooney (Birr), Clodagh Leahy (Lusmagh/Drumcullen); Fianait Dooley (Lusmagh/Drumcullen), Ciara Ryan (Birr), Grace Teehan (Naomh Brid); Mairead Jennings (Birr), Aine O'Connor (Naomh Brid), Becky Bryant (Tullamore). Subs. Grainne Kennedy (Lusmagh/Drumcullen) (for Ciara Ryan, 40 mins), Kaitlyn Kennedy (Lusmagh/Drumcullen) (for Aine O'Connor, 46 mins), Leah Gath (Lusmagh/Drumcullen) (for Faye Mulrooney, 53 mins), Lizzie Harding (St Cillian's) (for Ellen Regan, 55 mins), Hannah Feenane (Birr) (for Mairead Jennings, 57 mins).

MEATH: Maggie Randle; Sophia Payne, Claire Coffey, Rachel O'Neill; Aine McNerney, Maeve Clince, Leah Devine; Erin Leddy, Tracy King; Aoibhinn Lally, Amy Gaffney, Aoife Carey; Olivia O'Halloran, Ciara Foley, Ellen Burke. Subs. Grace Connolly (for Tracy King, 30 mins), Katie Connolly (for Aine McNerney, half time), Grace Coleman (for Aoife Lally, half time), Rachel Moran (for Erin Leddy, 39 mins), Ella O'Brien (for Ciara Foley, 53 mins).

REFEREE: Mike Ryan (Tipperary)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH

For the second week running the award goes to Grace Teehan. The Naomh Brid player was immense in the first half and scored 1-4 in that period. She moved out around midfield in the second half and continued to contribute and her final point summed up her display as she caught a ball on her own 45m line, soloed to the other 45m line and poppd over a point. Honourable mentions also go to Orla Gorman, Alana Roddy, Clodagh Leahy and Becky Bryant.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

In a game where Offaly dominated it is difficult to pinpoint one defining moment. Offaly's 1-5 without reply in the first eight minutes set the tone for the game while Becky Bryant's goal 35 seconds after the restart ensured there would be no let up from Offaly.

REFEREE WATCH

Mike Ryan wasn't a factor in the outcome of the game. He handled it very efficiently and without any contentious issues to deal with.

WHAT’S NEXT

Offaly advance to the All-Ireland semi-finals on Saturday July 27th while it's the end of the season for Meath.

VENUE WATCH

Despite some early morning rain, Semple Stadium was in great condition for this game. There was a vociferous Offaly crowd to support the team and the Stadium coped comfortably with the double header.

STATISTICS

Wides; Offaly 3 (2 in first half) Meath 2 (1 in first half)

Yellow Cards: None

Red Cards: None

THE SCORERS

Offaly; Grace Teehan (1-5), Becky Bryant (2-2), Clodagh Leahy (0-8, 0-6 frees), Mairead Jennings (1-2, 0-1 free), Leah Gath (1-0), Grainne Kennedy (0-1).

Meath; Amy Gaffney (2-0), Olivia O'Halloran (1-0), Ciara Foley (free), Erin Leddy, Grace Connolly, Katie Connolly, Grace Coleman, Aoife Carey (free) (0-1 each).