Offaly advance despite lingering Mullingar hangover

Offaly 0-17 London 1-7: Offaly may have beaten London but it was evident that they still hadn’t left the one-point defeat by Westmeath in the Leinster Champions behind them, with manager Pat Flanagan admitting that the players were suffering from a hangover as a result of events in Mullingar a fortnight ago.

Apart from the pain of losing the game, it was evident that there was plenty of ill feeling arising from the circumstances that led to experienced midfielder Niall Smith sitting out this encounter.

The Gracefield man was hit with a one-game suspension after his involvement in an incident after the final whistle that left Kieran Martin with a bloody nose but Flanagan backed his man.