NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE DIVISIONS ONE AND TWO: Offaly 1-18 Antrim 0-13: IT MIGHT have been the only Allianz National Hurling League fixture between two MacCarthy Cup teams with a definable interest in the outcome but Offaly's comfortable win in front of 1,300 spectators in sunny Tullamore never threatened to erupt into a contest once the home side eased ahead in the second quarter and put this Division Two match away before half-time.
Manager Joe Dooley was happy his team had qualified for the divisional final against Wexford, a second of three meetings between the counties in two months. Unlike in the football league, only the winners will be promoted so there is plenty riding on the outcome the weekend after next.
“It’s as good for the goose as the gander,” said Dooley when asked if this frequent acquainting would be awkward. “Obviously both teams would probably not want to be meeting each other ahead of the championship but that’s it. It will be good preparation for the championship and it will be top-of-the-ground hurling in Thurles in two weeks’ time. We are looking forward to it.”
Despite the excellent conditions and an O’Connor Park pitch in excellent condition neither side took full advantage and errors of touch and handling were common throughout the field. But of two under-strength teams Offaly were clearly superior to the Ulster champions, who never looked like marking their famous All-Ireland semi-final victory of 20 years ago with a win that would have pushed them into the final.
There were sufficient flashes of quality from Brian Carroll, Joe Bergin and particularly Brendan Murphy, all of whom shot four points from play, to push Offaly into a commanding position that was hardly menaced by even a 19-minute dry spell in the second half during which the visitors shaved five off a nine-point deficit.
Murphy, making his first start of the league campaign, demonstrated his characteristic pace and picked up a lot of ball around centrefield as well as helping out at the back and launching a few relieving runs from defence.
Antrim joint manager Dominic McKinley identified the Ballyskenagh veteran as a specific problem. “Coming up to half-time we were four minutes on the clock and there was two points in it and then we conceded what was a very bad goal. It was something that should have been cleared and then it ended up eight points at half-time.
“We weren’t getting possession around the half-forward line and midfield and Brendan Murphy was causing us a great deal of bother. In the second half I thought we got a bit more into the game but we never looked like getting a goal, that wee break. Goals win games and we didn’t get them.”
Antrim had chipped the margin down to two, 0-6 to 0-8, with a couple of Karl Stewart frees – on a day when the dead-ball striking was fallible both from Stewart and Offaly’s Shane Dooley – when a quick-witted passage of hand-passing ended with Dooley placing Derek Molloy who drove the ball 20 metres into the net.
In injury-time before the break Dooley scored a free, Murphy struck from halfway and Joe Bergin capitalised on a poor clearance to transform the interval lead into eight points.
Joey Scullion and Stewart had started promisingly in attack and although Kieron Kelly struggled to impose his game on Paul Cleary his physical presence was a threat. But despite Brendan Herron’s work-rate, Offaly had the better of centrefield and even if they squandered plenty of scoring opportunities they took enough to hold a winning hand.
On the weekend that the yellow cards breathed their last at congress, referee Seán McMahon flashed five yesterday, much to the irritation of both managers with McKinley particularly unhappy with what he felt were inconsistencies.
Having survived the Antrim mini-revival, which featured good points from replacements Paddy McGill and Michael Herron, Offaly steadied and rattled off a closing salvo of five points to one to settle matters.
OFFALY: B Mullins; B O'Meara, P Cleary, M Verney; J Rigney, G Oakley (capt), R Hanniffy; K Brady (0-1), B Murphy (0-4); B Carroll (0-5, one free), J Brady, D Molloy (1-0); S Dooley (0-3, frees), J Bergin (0-4), D Currams. Subs: S Wynne for O'Meara (28 mins), C Parlon (0-1) for Bergin (yellow, 52 mins), C Mahon for Molloy (yellow, 57 mins), C Coughlan for Dooley (70 mins), M Egan for Currams (72 mins), C Horan for Verney (73 mins).
ANTRIM: C O'Connell; C McGourty, N McGarry, A Graffin; C Herron, C Donnelly, K McKeegan; B Herron (0-1), E McCloskey (0-1); S Delargy (0-1), N Mcmanus, K Stewart (0-6, four frees); J Scullion (0-1), K Kelly, PJ O'Connell. Subs: P McGill (0-2) for McManus (yellow, 35 mins), M Herron (0-1) for McCloskey (44 mins), S McNaughton for O'Connell (49 mins), N McCauley for McGarry (yellow, 52 mins), D McKillop for Kelly (62 mins). McGourty (yellow, 73 mins – no time for replacement).
Referee: S McMahon (Clare).
