Offaly leave some in the tank in convincing win

THERE may be plenty more in the tank, another gear in them but Offaly produced a professional and competent display as they comfortably disposed of Westmeath in the first round of the Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon.

Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship Tier 2 Group 1 Round 1

Offaly 2-22

Westmeath 1-17

Playing within themselves to a certain extent but injecting real urgency whenever they felt it was needed, Offaly were quietly impressive, controlling the game throughout and never looking like losing.

With Meath and Antrim also in this group, it will be a huge shock if Offaly don't progress. They have the makings of a decent team and while this wasn't a perfect display, it was as good as it needed to be.

Offaly have the scope for plenty of improvement and the real business will begin for them in the knockout stages. Westmeath could have been a bit closer at the final whistle and there was a spell in the closing quarter when a goal would have really tightened it up but the impression remains that Offaly would still have found the right answers.

There is plenty of interest in Offaly in this team. A handful of last year's superb minor side, Brecon Kavanagh, Dan Ravenhill, Shane Rigney, Conor Doyle and Adam Screeney all started here and with a senior player Charlie Mitchell leading the attack at full forward, there is plenty of potential in them.

Offaly played with a strong wind in the first half and deserved their half time lead of 1-13 to 0-8. They didn't fully click in the first half but they still played some very good hurling. The striking of Adam Screeney was a joy to behold as he stroked over six frees as well as hitting the post with another.

Westmeath weren't bad and played some good hurling but Offaly had quality in every sector. They were 0-4 to 0-1 in front when an excellent ninth minute goal from Charlie Mitchell put them in the driving seat – the Kilcormac-Killoughey man did very well to cut in between two Westmeath defenders and finish at the near post.

Westmeath kept plugging away but Offaly never allowed them to get scores back to back. Shane Rigney popped over two good points from the half forward line and a super Sam Bourke point from distance was memorable for the home side. With an eight point half time lead, this game was far from over but the impression remained that Offaly had another gear in them.

They killed the game off in the first six minutes of the restart, outscoring Westmeath by 1-5 to 0-1 to lead by 2-18 to 0-9. The goal was very good from an Offaly perspective, very sloppy for Westmeath. Adam Screeney had a tap over free about 25 metres out but opted to go short to his club mate Charlie Mitchell who blasted to the net from fifteen metres.

A fifteen point lead was a huge advantage and Offaly did take their eye off the ball after this. They went back into third gear but the cushion was big enough to get them home. A Mark Cunningham goal in the 38th minute made it 2-18 to 1-11 and scarcely raised a murmur about the visiting support.

Offaly were still in cruise control when they led by 2-20 to 1-12 after 45 minutes. Westmeath to their credit rallied hard and tried to get back into it. They succeeded to an extent, though it was more down to Offaly relaxing than Westmeath doing anything special.

They got five points on the trot to make it 2-20 to 1-17 with five minutes left and another goal would have caused real anxiety for Offaly. David Williams went for one from a 21 metre free but it was saved and cleared. The losers did have a couple of more dangerous balls into the goalmouth zone but Offaly defended resolutely to keep them out.

Adam Screeney converted a 56th minute free to end Offaly's drought and this soothed any nerves they may have had. Flawless up to then, Screeney missed two late frees before firing over his 11th as Offaly eased home.

Offaly will get better with games and the aim is to really put it up to one of the big guns later in the campaign. Patrick Taaffe, Ben Miller and Sam Bourke impressed in defence while Brecon Kavanagh held the centre with customary efficiency. Cathal King and Dan Ravenhill picked off two points apiece from midfield and will get better while Charlie Mitchell starred in an attack where Adam Screeney was excellent from frees, Shane Rigney played very well and Conor Doyle had great spells.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Charlie Mitchell (Offaly): A 2-2 haul from Charlie Mitchell was decisive for Offaly. He was often starved of the ball but was very sharp when it went into him. Sam Bourke was also a contender, defending with impressive efficiency.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Adam Screeney 0-11 (11f), Charlie Mitchell 2-2, Cathal King, Dan Ravenhill, Shane Rigney and Conor Doyle 0-2 each, Sam Bourke 0-1.

Westmeath: David Williams 0-10 (10f), Mark Cunningham 1-2, David O'Reilly 0-2, Cian McCarthy, Peter Clarke, Eamon Cunneen 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Mark Troy (Durrow); Patrick Taaffe (Belmont), Ben Miller (Birr), Ruari Kelly (Lusmagh); Luke Watkins (Shinrone), Brecon Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Sam Bourke (Durrow); Cathal King (Carrig-Riverstown), Dan Ravenhill (Durrow); Shane Rigney (St Rynagh's), Joe Hoctor (Carrig-Riverstown), Conor Doyle (Clara); Dan Bourke (Durrow), Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormc-Killoughey), Adam Screeney (Kilcormac-Killoughey). Subs – James Mahon (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Kelly, inj. (4m), Ruari Dunne (Clodiagh Gaels) for Watkins (43m), Leigh Kavanagh (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Ravenhill (45m), Colin Spain (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Hoctor (53m), Barry Egan (Clara) for Rigney (60m).

WESTMEATH: Sean Jackson; David Maloney, Jamie Mulkearns, Conor Gaffney; Mikey Lynam, Rian Holding, Cian McCarthy; Peter Clarke, Mark Cunningham; David O'Reilly, Eamon Cunneen, Michael Doherty; Brian McGrath, David Williams, Peter Murphy. Subs – Josh Murtagh for Cunneen (39m), David Weir for Holding (43m), David Aughey for Murphy (45m), Oisin Murray for Doherty (58m), Oisin Loughlin for McCarthy (59m).

Referee – Conor Daly.

REFEREE WATCH

Conor Daly refereed it well. There were some debatable decisions but he was fair and these balanced out. He wasn't a factor in the result – there was indecision with his umpires on the Social Centre end on a couple of occasions in the second half as they seemed uncertain about whether the ball was over or wide.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Charlie Mitchell's second goal five minutes into the second half gave Offaly a 2-17 to 0-9 lead, leaving Westmeath with an insurmountable mountain to climb. Westmeath will wonder what would have happened had they done their defensive job properly with that and not faced such a big deficit.

VENUE WATCH

This was the second of a double bill and while there was rain in the clouds, the pitch held up well and a strong wind helped in this regard.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly are away to Meath in Trim on Thursday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly – 8 (6 in first half); Westmeath – 8 (5 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 2 (Dan Ravenhill an Conor Doyle); Westmeath – 3 (Mikey Lynam, Rian Holding and Oisin Loughlin).

Red Cards: 0.