THE GAME was over but Offaly manager Tommy Lyons was still feeling the pressure. Pale and looking somewhat drained, he paid a visit to the dejected Louth dressing room before gathering his thoughts on the biggest win yet of his Offaly career.

"I thought we showed our division four background in the first half," he said. "We found it hard to come to grips with the physicality and pace of the game, but we sorted it out at halftime and started to flow in the second half. We ran at them and they kept fouling us. That was the difference between the two teams - we didn't foul as much as they did. We were also kicking scores from scoreable distances while they were kicking from 40 or 50 yards."

Sean Grennan's goal before half time had been vital. "It meant we came in at halftime three points up not having played well. I thought our back line was superb. Barry Malone and Cathal Daly were outstanding. They dug in hard when Louth came back at us in the last few minutes, we showed a lot of bottle."

Corner forward Vinny Claffey, 31, a veteran of the bad days has finally had something to cheer about in his tenth championship season. The team, he said, was maturing with every game. "Every game we've played so far has been a step up in class. This was another one today and the Leinster final will be another step up again."

Louth manager Paul Kenny's three year term came to an end with yesterday's defeat. He refused to comment on his future with the team. He criticised some of referee John Bannon's decision making. "There mustn't be a personal foul anymore," he said. "They were pulling the jersey off Cathal O'Hanlon and nothing was done."

Louth's finishing came under fire also: "You cannot win championship games with 16 wides. Then we made a mistake before halftime and Jet Offaly in for a goal."