Offaly turn the tables on Kildare to return to top flight

A SECOND half display that produced a little bit of everything resulted in Offaly returning to Division 1 hurling with a heart stopping type win over Kildare in the National Hurling League Division 2 final in Portlaoise.

National Hurling League Division 2 final

Offaly 0-24

Kildare 1-18

It was an excellent win for Offaly who were bitterly disappointed to draw with Kildare in the group stages a couple of weeks ago. Once again, they were pushed to the pin of their collar here but they showed great character to get the win against a Kildare side who were so hungry to get into the top flight for the first time.

Behind by 1-11 to 0-11 at half time, Offaly were happy to be that close. Playing against a slight breeze in the first half, they were almost blown out of the water early on as Kildare stormed into a 1-4 to 0-1 lead. They survived on their wits in that opening ten minutes but were a match for Kildare for the remainder of the half.

In the second half, Offaly upped it another notch and they were superb in the third quarter. Getting on top in all sectors, playing very composed hurling, Offaly gave Kildare a dose of their own medicine as they ripped into them.

They outscored Kildare by 10 points to two in the twenty five minutes after half time. Almost everything Offay touched turned to gold and a shell shocked Kildare had no answers. Offaly's run included seven without reply as they grabbed control of the game to lead by 0-21 to 1-13. It inclued sensational points from Cillian Kiely and Eoghan Cahill as the scores flew over from all angles but Kildare rallied superbly in the closing ten minutes.

James Burke missed two frees he would expect to get but got three late points, two frees as Kildare hauled themselves back into contention. Offaly did lift the siege with crucial points from Cahill, Killian Sampson and Brian Duignan but Kildare had the gap back to two as it entered injury time.

With five minutes of injury time announced, they could have forced extra time with points but Duignan's 72nd minute point put three in it and meant it had to be a goal. They got a 21 metre free right on the 75 minutes and goalkeeper Paddy McKenna came forward. His strike was well saved by Stephen Corcoran, who dealt very efficiently with a lot of ball all afternoon, and Offaly held on.

It was a very good win by Offaly, who mixed a short possession type game with long ball and it worked very well. They had several fine performances with two truly standout ones from Cillian Kiely and Adrian Cleary. Cleary was superb in a sweeper role, mopping up a huge volume of ball, using it well while Kiely was absolutely pivotal to the win. He was the chief figure in arresting Kildare's early dominance and inspired all around him the whole game.

Dara Maher recovered very well after a hesitant start while Ciaran Burke, the brilliant Jason Samspon, who continues to excel at centre half back, Killian Sampson and Eoghan Cahill were also outstanding with David Nally having superb spells.

The first half provided terrific entertainment, real end to end stuff as both sides threw everything at each other.

Offaly made a nightmare start and were almost roasted alive in the first eight minutes. They were so slow to settle, making sloppy mistakes and seemed to be taken aback by the power and pace of Kildare.

Kildare led by 1-4 to 0-1 after eight minutes with Gerry Keegan netting a superb fifth minute goal, racing into space and finishing superbly. Apart from a high volume of unforced errors, Offaly couldn't stop Kildare breaking the tackle and it looked very bleak for them early on.

Eventually they settled as they finally got their intensity levels up to where they needed to be. They worked harder, focused more and cut down on the mistakes. They were also helped by some bad shooting by Kildare but five points in a row brought them right back into it, 1-4 to 0-6 after 21 minutes.

Offaly missed two good goal chances. Cillian Kiely, a major factor in Offaly halting the rot in the first half, drew a good save from Paddy McKenna in the 15th minute but Shane Dooley's miss eight minutes later was more significant. Moments after Cathal McCabe got an excellent 22nd minute point, the veteran Dooley gathered a breaking ball but with an open goal in front of him, he was tackled as he struck and put it over the bar.

It really should have been a goal but by now Offaly were holding their own. They had it down to a point again, 1-8 to 0-10 going into injury time but conceded three on the trot in a great spell of Kildare pressure before Eoghan Cahill's free left them trailing by 1-11 to 0-11 at half time.

MATCH ANALYSIS

MAN OF THE MATCH

Cillian Kiely (Offaly): A real tough call between Adrian Cleary and Cillian Kiely. There is merit in going for Cleary who had his best game in an Offaly jersey and was sensational as a sweeper. His reading of the game really impressed – while he hit two late balls out over the sideline, at least he got it out of immediate danger and his lengthy clearances piled a lot of pressure on Kildare. On this occasion, however, Cillian Kiely has to get the nod. He grabbed a hold of the game when Kildare were on top in the first quarter, scored four points, drifted back to win important ball and worked his socks off. Back on the panel after an absence of three years, Kiely showed how effective he can be and was clearly up for this one.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Eoghan Cahill 0-11(6f and 1 '65'), Cillian Kiely 0-4, David Nally 0-3 (1 sideline), Killian Sampson and Adrian Cleary 0-2 each, Shane Dooley and Brian Duignan 0-1 each.

Kildare: James Burke 0-5 (3f), Gerry Keegan 1-0, Declan Flaherty 0-3, Rian Boran, Cathal McCabe, Cian Boran 0-2 each, Paul Dolan, Johnny Byrne, Brian Byrne and David Qualtar 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Stephen Corcoran (Coolderry); Dara Maher (Shinrone), Ciaran Burke (Durrow), Ben Conneely (St Rynagh's); David King (Coolderry), Jason Sampson (Shinrone), Killian Sampson (Shinrone); Joey Keenaghan (Clodiagh Gaels), Jack Clancy (Belmont); David Nally (Belmont), Cillian Kiely (Kilcormac-Killoughey), Adrian Cleary (Shinrone); Eoghan Cahill (Birr)Shane Dooley (Tullamore), Paddy Clancy (Belmont). Subs – Charlie Mitchell (Kilcormac-Killoughey) for Dooley (HT), Paddy Delaney (Kinnitty) for Jack Clancy (44m), Brian Duignan (Durrow) for Paddy Clancy (47m), Liam Langton (Clodiagh Gaels) for Keenghan (67m)

KILDARE: Paddy McKenna; Niall O'Muineachain, Simon Leacy, Cian Shanahan; Paul Dolan, Rian Boran, Conon Boran; Johnny Byrne, Cathal McCabe; James Burke, Gerry Keegan, Cian Boran; Brian Byrne, Declan Flaherty, Cathal Dowling. Subs – Jack Travers for Dolan (49m), Mark Delaney for Flaherty (58m), John McKeon for Shanahan (61m), David Qualtar for Cian Boran (65m),

Referee – Thomas Walsh (Waterford).

REFEREE WATCH

Thomas Walsh adopted a policy of letting it run. It meant that some definite fouls went unpunished but at least he was very consistent in the way he did this, and he had a good game overall.

MOMENT OF THE MATCH

Offaly's 22nd point in the 64th minute showed all that was encouraging about this display. Jason Samspon made a terrific interception in the heart of defence, raced into open ground and laid off to Eoghan Cahill who stroked over a beaut. It gave Offaly a five point lead, 0-22 to 1-14 and with Kildare rallying, every point for the winners was crucial.

TALKING POINT

Offaly now face into a tough Joe McDonagh Cup campaign with Laois first up next Saturday. They have a gruelling series of games and it could catch them but they showed how much they wanted to get back to Division 1 hurling here and can enjoy this success this week.

VENUE WATCH

A crowd of over 2,000 attended here and the pitch looked good. Laois had plenty of stewards and hosted the fixture very professionally.

WHAT'S NEXT

Offaly's attentions now turn to the Joe McDonagh Cup and Laois in Tullamore next Saturday.

STATISTICS

Wides: Offaly - 12 (4 in first half); Kildare - 11 (8 in first half).

Yellow cards: Offaly – 0; Kildare – 1 (Paul Dolan).

Red cards: 0.