Erne men deny Offaly victory atthe death

Fermanagh 3-10 Offaly 2-13

With nothing at stake for either team, and Offaly’s relegation from Division 3 already confirmed, both sides took the opportunity to experiment in yesterday’s game in Enniskillen.

Offaly’s star forward Niall McNamee was the main difference between thesides in a mediocre opening half.

McNamee hit some glorious long-range points against an experimental Fermanagh side, with manager Pete McGrath fielding five fringe players in his starting line-up.

McNamee pushed the Faithful County into a 0-7 to 0-4 lead after 27 minutes.

Fermanagh midfielder Eoin Donnelly then carved a hole in the Offaly defence and he found the in-rushing Ryan Jones with a pinpoint pass, and Jones rifled to the roof of the Offaly net.

Offaly, who lost centre-back Johnny Moloney to a black card after just eleven minutes, were well worth their interval lead of 0-9 to 1-5.

McNamee edged Offaly further in front on the resumption before Ryan Jones struck again five minutes into the second-half, when he rammed home his second goal to put Fermanagh ahead by 2-7 to 0-10.

Offaly hit back with a converted penalty from David Hanlon after 50 minutes. Two minutes later, a well finished goal from corner-back Niall Geraghty set up an interesting finish and Offaly must have thought they had done enough when they led by three points late on, before Owens pounced.

Scorers for Fermanagh: Ryan Jones (2-4, 2f), B Owens (1-1), C Jones (0-3), D McCusker, E Courtney (0-1f).

Scorers for Offaly: N McNamee (0-8, 3fs), N Geraghty (1-1), D Hanlon (1-0pen), R Allen, E Carroll, P Sullivan (0-1 each), J Maher (0-1f).

FERMANAGH: C Snow; M O’Brien, C Cullen, A Breen; D McCusker, C Jones, B Mulrone; E Donnelly, R Jones; L Cullen, S McElrone, P McCusker; E Courtney, B Owens, R Corrigan.

Subs: R McCluskey for S McElrone (46), R Ormsby for E Courtney (62), N Shannon for D McCusker (65).

OFFALY: A Mulhall; D Brady, D Hanlon, N Geraghty; N Darby, J Moloney, M Brazil; R Allen, N Smith; P Sullivan, A Sullivan, E Carroll; J Maher, N McNamee, P Cunningham.

Subs: J McPadden for J Moloney (bc, 11), G Guilfoyle for P Sullivan (60), S Sullivan for R Allen (63), P McPadden for J Maher (66).

Referee: Brendan Rice (Down)