Heroic Offaly come back from the dead to claim dramatic win

OFFALY came back from the dead to snatch a dramatic and absolutely crucial win over a gutted Down in Newry on Saturday evening.

National Football League Division 2

Offaly 0-15
Down 0-14

In a must win relegation shootout, Offaly looked to be heading for a devastating defeat when they trailed by 0-14 to 0-11 with four minutes of nornal time left. They looked a beaten team as Down had exerted a quiet control on the game for much of the second half, without putting the issue to bed.

Down had been very unlucky in the 65th minute when Barry O'Hagan's punch hit the crossbar and the rebound was scrambled out for a “45”. Niall Kane booted the “45” over the bar and a three point lead was still a huge one at that stage of the game.

Offaly, however, showed terrific character when the game was at its most crucial phase. With Cathal Flynn igniting fire in them as he jinked and weaved after coming off the bench, Offaly suddenly threw caution to the wind.

Almost in the blink of an eye, they were level with Bernard Allen pointing with a goal chance, shooting off balance, Niall Darby firing over an excellent point with the outside of his left boot and Paddy Dunican converting a free after Flynn was fouled.

The 70 minutes were just up and a shell shocked Down didn't know what hit them. Two minutes of injury time was played when the brilliant Lee Pearson cut in from the left wing and showed maturity beyond his years as he punched over the bar.

There was still time for Down but their composure was gone. They were penalised, somewhat harshly for over carrying but were given one last gasp chance, with the three minutes of injury time up. It was a difficult kick and much to Offaly's relief, Barry O'Hagan's shot flew to the left and wide.

Offaly had done well to be level at half time, 0-8 each, as they made better use of less possession and converted more of their chances.

It was an enjoyable, keenly contested game of football with plenty of good play. Down started well, tearing into Offaly from the throw in but spurned some good possession. Offaly broke to kick the first two points from Dylan Hyland and Jordan Hayes and were moving well.

Down soon found their feet and levelled it up by the 8th minute , 0-2 each. Points from Mark Abbott, Bernad Allen and Niall McNamee put Offaly 0-5 to 0-3 ahead after 14 minutes.

Barry O'Hagan then showed his class for Down, taking the game by its neck. He got four points as Down went 0-8 to 0-6 ahead and Offaly were in bother every time the ball went in his direction. They did rally before half time and points from Niall McNamee (free) and a super Keith O'Neill score sent them in on level terms at the break.

Down were the better team for much of the second half, though Offaly worked very hard to hang on. The sides were level at 0-9 each, 0-10 each and 0-11 each before Down got clear with two points from Liam Kerr. Down were controlling the ball well and errors were creeping into Offaly's game. Kane's “45” made it a three point game but Offaly had one powerful last sting in the tail and it brought them a fantastic win that has turned their season around.

This win was no more than Offaly deserved as they have found their feet after a tough start to Division 2. They were unlucky to only draw with Meath and performed very creditably in Galway. This win gives them a great chance of staying up with games against Roscommon and Cork to win and that would be a huge achievement for Offaly.

On the day, Offaly had fine performances from Paddy Dunican, Lee Pearson, Declan Hogan, Ciaran Donnelly, Jordan Hayes, Ruari McNamee and Bernard Allen while Anton Sullivan and Cathal Flynn made great interventions off the bench. Credit also to Niall Darby who started well, then had a torrid 20 minutes on Barry O'Hagan and held him scoreless in the second half, even though he was not always as tight as he could have been.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Lee Pearson (Offaly): A brilliant member of the All-Ireland U-20 winning side last year, this was a coming of age evening for Pearson. His last point was superb but there was a lot more to his display than that. He tackled tenaciously, turned over ball, raced forward at speed and was so good in possession.

THE SCORERS

Offaly: Niall McNamee (1f) and Bernard Allen 0-3 each, Paddy Dunican (f), Niall Darby, Jordan Hayes, Mark Abbott, Dylan Hyland, Ruari McNamee, Keith O'Neill, Anton Sullivan and Lee Pearson 0-1 each.

Down: Barry O'Hagan 0-4, Caolan Mooney, Liam Kerr, Andrew Gilmore (2f) 0-2 each, Gerard Collins, Conor Poland, Daniel Guinness and Pat Havern 0-1 each.

THE TEAMS

OFFALY: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, James Lalor, Niall Darby; Rory Egan, Ciaran Donnelly; Bill Carroll, Jordan Hayes; Mark Abbott, Ruari McNamee, Dylan Hyland; Bernard Allen, Niall McNamee, Keith O'Neill. Subs - Subs – Cathal Mangan for Carroll (HT), Anton Sullivan for O'Neill (51m), Cathal Flynn for Niall McNamee (63m), Cathal Donoghue for Hyland (65m), Jack McEvoy for Ruari McNamee (73m),

DOWN: Niall Kane; Peter Fegan, Finn McElroy, Adam Lynch; Darren O'Hagan, Conor Poland, Daniel Guinness; Anthony Doherty, Niall McPartland; Caolan Mooney, Liam Kerr, Ryan McEvoy; Andrew Gilmore, Pat Havern, Barry O'Hagan. Subs - Ceilum Doherty for Lynch (HT), Gerard Collins for Guinness (53m), Cory Quinn for Gilmore (63m), Odhan Murdock for McEvoy (63m), Kevin McKiernan for Havern (69m).

Referee – Barry Judge (Sligo).