Gaelic Games

No place for the faint-hearted as Offaly go level with Longford

Draw was a fair result at O’Connor Park after a mix of mediocre play and fine football

Offaly’s Niall Darby celebrates at the final whistle after their Allianz Football League Division 3 match against Longford. Photograph: Tommy Dickson/Inpho

Sun Feb 2 2020 - 17:10

Offaly 0-10 Longford 0-10

O'Connor Park was no place for the faint-hearted as Offaly and Longford served up a pulsating draw in Division Three.

While Offaly finished on the front foot and gave a vastly improved second-half display, overall a draw was a fair result.

It was a mixed game, with prolonged bouts of mediocre play mixed in with spells of fine football. Longford played their best football in the first half when playing against the wind. They got their noses in front, 0-4 to 0-3, in the 20th minute and deserved to lead by 0-6 to 0-5 at half-time.

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Longford led by 0-8 to 0-6 after 40 minutes, and Offaly were the better side from here to the finish. They scored four of the last six points, including Niall Darby’s superb 66th-minute equaliser, and had ample chances to have won.

Conor McNamee hit the post with a great goal chance in the 50th minute and while Offaly will feel they let it slip, they would have settled for a draw well into the second half.

OFFALY: P Dunican; D Dempsey, E Rigney, C Doyle; E Carroll, D Hogan, N Darby (0-1); C Mangan, M Brazil; S Horan, R McNamee (0-2, 1f); J Hayes; B Allen (0-4, 3f), A Sullivan (0-3), C Johnson. Substitutes: C McNamee for Johnson (33m), C Donoghue for Hayes (52m), C Donnelly for Sullivan (75m).

LONGFORD: P Collum; P Fox, A Farrell, B O'Farrell; I O'Sullivan, G Rogers, C P. Smyth; D Gallagher (0-5, 1f), K Diffley; M Quinn, D McElligott, D Reynolds (0-2); D Mimnagh, R Brady (0-1), O Kenny (0-2). Substitutes: J Hagen for McElligott (62m), D Doherty for Kenny (65m), L Connerton for O'Sullivan (74m).

Referee: L Devenney (Mayo)

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