Result the bottom line as Offaly grind out hard earned win

THE result was all that mattered as Offaly gruinded out a very hard earned win over Meath in the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship at Ashbourne on Saturday afternoon.

Leinster Minor Hurling Championship Tier 2 Group 1 Round 1

Offaly 1-11

Meath 1-8

It was an imperfect display with loads of room for improvement and no shortage of things for manager Enda Mulhare to work on this week but Offaly did what they needed to do. With a round robin system in tier 2, Offaly's target is to progress into the knockout stages – they have games to come against Antrim, Westmeath and Wicklow, the top two qualify for preliminary quarter-finals and the opening games are a learning curve for Offaly.

1-6 to 1-3 behind after playing against a strong wind in the first half, expectations that Offaly would win handily enough from here proved to be well wide of the mark. With scoring a big ordeal all afternoon, Offaly found theemselves in a real dogfight and staring a devastating defeat in the face with ten minutes left.

They showed character to win from there. They were 1-8 to 1-6 behind with ten minutes left and while Meath's attack was making no headway whatsoever against a very hard working Offaly defence, it had all the hallmarks of being one of those days for the visitors. Their own attack were firing blanks while some long balls from defence went harmlessly wide but Offaly persevered, sticking to their guns and kept trying to do the right thing.

It paid off as they got the closing five points for the win. Three Odhran Fletcher frees got Offaly in front, 1-9 to 1-8, with six minutes left and Offaly played their most efficient hurling late on. James Hennessy and Odhran Fletcher got lovely points from play to give them a three point lead and with their defence continuing to do their job, Meath never threatened an equalising goal,

Earlier in the second half, Offaly had found it hard to take advantage of the wind. They got it back to a point after four minutes but Meath held their own for most of the opening twenty minutes. Offaly were fortunate when a Lorcan McDermott shot flashed across the face of the goal in the 42nd minute but that was Meath's only real attempt at scoring from play in the second half – Dean Walsh was also wide with a half goal chance in the first half and those misses show how dangerously Offaly lived.

Both of Meath's second half points came from Luke Ennis frees and that shows how much in control the Offaly back division were. Their touch wasn't always as good as it could have been and they gave their share of wayward passes but the Offaly defence very much laid the foundations for the win – Shane Carroll, Andrew Hogan, Dooley and Conor Berry all caught the eye in a collectively very solid defensive display with James McLoughney and Cian Kinnarney also holding their own while Matt Watkins never put a foot wrong in goals.

From there up, Offaly struggled a bit, though midfield held their own and the forwards were very honest. Their shooting was a bit off but their work rate was where it needed to be and they ensured Meath didn't come out with any easy ball and had to work hard to clear every time. James Hennessy got two fine points from play, Odhran Fletcher got his frees and a crucial late point from play as well as their first score, though his striking was not quite as crisp as normal while Conor Egan was very close to playing very well but had a few wides that he might convert on a different day.

Offaly had produced a mixed bag in the first half but had their fate very much in their own hands when they trailed by 1-6 to 1-3 at half time after playing into the strong wind.

Offaly impressed as the better team in the first half and should not have been three points in arrears at the break. However, their hurling was not clincial enough, their distribution suspect at half time and even allowing for the wind, they left a few points behind them.

Offaly controlled the first quarter, with their defence solid and a well taken Killian Wynne goal in the 12th minure gave them a 1-2 to 0-3 lead – Wynne was set up by James Hennessy after Andrew Hogan cleared out of defence.

That scoreline was a fair reflection of the game to that point but Offaly didn't build on it. They got a bit clumsy throughout the field and while hurling is now a possession game at all levels, Offaly got into trouble in defence on a couple of occasions by trying to find a man instead of getting the ball away from danger.

Offaly were 1-3 to 0-4 ahead after twenty minutes and in control but Meath struck for 1-3 without reply before the break. The goal came from James Cully in the 20th minute after the Offaly defence was caught napping and a few poor misses meant that Offaly had plenty to do in the second half.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Andrew Hogan (Coolderry): All of the man of the match contenders were in defence and my choice is centre half back Andrew Hogan. His display summed up the Offaly one as he was off target with some passes and had a couple of wides from distance but he was a tower of strength at centre half back. He did his primary defensive duty well, closing down the centre as an avenue for Meath to make progress through, tackling effectively and winning a lot of ball – he cut out a lot of dangerous Meath attacks and was instrumental in Offaly's win.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Odhran Fletcher 0-6 (4f), Killian Wynne 1-0, James Hennessy 0-2, Andrew Hogan (f), James Sampson and James O'Sullivan 0-1 each.

Meath: Luke Ennis 0-5 (5f), James Cully 1-1, Rian Porter and Evan Curley 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Matt Watkins (Ballyskenach-Killavilla); Conor Berry (Clodiagh Gaels), Joe McLoughney (Coolderry), Cian Kinnarney (Durrow); Oisin Carroll (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Andrew Hogan (Coolderry), Michael Dooley (Kinnitty); Luke Bracken (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Brian Guinan (Kilcormac-Killoughey); James Sampson (Shinrone), James O'Sullivan (Shinrone), Killian Wynne (Tullamore); Odhran Fletcher (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Conor Egan (Shamrocks), James Hennessy (Drumcullen). Subs – Eamon Maher (Ferbane) for Sampson (46m), Noel Standish (Kinnitty) for Wynne (54m).

MEATH: Sean Cregan; James Lonergan, Sean Ward, Lennan McCormack; Adam O'Donoghue, David Regan, Daithi Grehan; Lorcan McDermott, Michael Carr; Cormac Swan, Dean Walsh, Rian Porter; Luke Ennis, James Cully, Evan Curley. Subs – Edward Dunne for O'Donoghue (HT), Sean McKeown for Swan (HT), JJ McManus for Carr (40m).

Referee – Dean Alford.

REFEEREE WATCH

Dean Alford had a solid game and there were no major flash points. Offaly certainly wouldn't have complained at a couple of the late frees that went in their favour while he kept control very well.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Offaly's 12th minute goal from Killian Wynne was a key moment and they would have struggled to win without it.

VENUE WATCH

Donaghmore-Ashbourne GAA Club have fantastic facilities and on a dry, windy day, their pitch was in excellent condition. The unavailability of programmes was a black mark and whether the fault was Leinster Council's or elsewhere, they were a big loss for supporters and should be provided for these games while announcements of the teams and subs weren't made.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly play Antrim in the Louth training grounds at Darver next Saturday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 14 (6 in first half); Meath - 4 (4 in first half).

Yellow cards: Meath – 1 (Michael Carr); Offaly – 3 (Conor Berry, Oisin Carroll and James O'Sullivan).

Red cards: 0.