Colm O'Rourke: 'Everything went wrong' - Meath condemned to Tailteann after Offaly loss
EMOTION: Declan Hogan of Offaly celebrates after his side's victory in the Leinster Championship quarter-final against Meath at Glenisk O'Connor Park in Tullamore, Offaly. Pic: EĂłin Noonan/Sportsfile
There were euphoric scenes and also scenes of despair at the final whistle in Tullamore, as both sides took in the reality of what had just transpired.
While Offaly players and supporters basked in the glory and satisfaction at their first back-to-back wins in the Leinster Championship since 2006, Meath faced up to the reality that their first half no-show had just cost them their place in the All-Ireland championship, and they were now confirmed as one of the runners for the 2023 Tailteann Cup.
“Everything went wrong, we weren’t good enough on the day. You get 70 plus minutes to score more than the opposition and we couldn’t do that” said Royal County manager Colm O’Rourke afterwards.
“It’s tough, but it’s an opportunity as well, we’re in the Tailteann Cup and we’re going to make the most of it. We are where we deserve to be, we’ve had great teams in the past but that doesn’t give us any right to be in the championship this year” he said.
“I saw a lot of bad days with Meath myself, people remember the glory days but I remember in the early eighties there was three or four years in a row when we couldn’t win the first round of the Leinster Championship. There are very few teams that can undergo serious change and make it work in year one, it usually takes serious progress year on year to do it”.
While there was no disputing who was the better team on the day, the scoreline might suggest a relatively comfortable Faithful county win. This was anything but.
Offaly were by far the better side in the first half, yet Meath managed to make it an uncomfortable final ten minutes, as they gradually chipped away at Offaly’s eight-point interval lead. Despite being outworked, they but still nearly managed a smash and grab in the closing minutes.
“It was a non-contact game for most of the first half as far as we were concerned, but the lads got stuck into it in the second half and showed a lot of those traditional Meath qualities” said O’Rourke.
It’s not too simplistic to say Offaly’s first half performance won them the game. Offaly’s pace out wide and intensity around the middle made life extremely difficult for Meath, who looked far less organised than their hosts. Hard running from Rory Egan and Lee Pearson put Meath on the back foot in the first half. In this fashion, it was right wing back Egan who got the game’s only goal, bringing Offaly to a 1-4 to 0-0 lead after twenty minutes.
The first half continued to favour the home side, with Meath failing to register a score until the twenty-third minute. Offaly did kick some poor wides, rushing the play slightly, but generally they were quite clinical, with five different scorers by half-time.
The second half began with Meath showing much greater intent after some astute substitutions. However, Offaly did not allow Meath get much of a foothold in the game, despite looking tired as the half wore on. Declan Hogan, Ruairi McNamee and Jack McEvoy all impressed for the home side, while Nigel Dunne and Anton Sullivan were also a threat going forward.
Offaly remained stubborn at the back as Meath pushed to close the gap. Ronan Jones, initially named to start but not selected due to a hamstring injury, made a big impact after coming on. His second point brought them within four as the referee added six nervy minutes due an unfortunate injury to Offaly’s Bernard Allen.
During those closing minutes, Meath ramped up the pressure but were met with heroics at the back from an Offaly side eager to hold on. A brace of Meath points from Cillian O’Sullivan and Jack O’Connor were answered by a much-needed score from Ruairi McNamee, which would prove to be the final blow for Meath.
“We came here today more in hope than anything else. It’s absolutely tremendous, it’s heart-rending stuff to believe that we’re going to Croke Park” said Offaly manager Martin Murphy, who stepped into the role following the death of Liam Kearns last month.
"It’s a testament to the huge amount of work that the lads have put in over the past few weeks since Liam passed. They’ve been absolutely tremendous, they’ve worked their socks off and it has culminated in a huge game today” he said.
R Egan 1-1, N Dunne 0-4 (0-1f, 0-1 45), R McNamee 0-2, D Hyland 0-2 (0-1f), A Sullivan 0-1, B Allen 0-1.
M Costello 0-3 (0-2f), J Scully 0-2, R Jones 0-2 each, Jack O’Connor 0-1, Donal Lenihan 0-1, Cillian O’Sullivan 0-1.
I Duffy; L Pearson; D Hogan; D Dempsey; R Egan; P Cunningham; C Donnelly; J McEvoy; C McNamee; C Farrell; R McNamee; A Sullivan; D Hyland; N Dunne; J Evans.
C Donohue for Egan (HT), B Allen for Farrell (50), J Maher for Evans (57), B Carroll for C McNamee (60), S Tierney for Allen (60).
H Hogan; A O’Neill; R Ryan; M Flood; D Keogan; P Harnan; S Coffey; R Jones; J Flynn; D McGowan; M Costello; C Hickey; J Morris; C O’Sullivan; D Lenihan.
J O’Connor for Hickey (HT), H O’Higgins for Flood (HT), J Scully for McGowan (HT), R Jones for Lenihan (55), D Moriarty for Curtis (59).
S Mulhare (Laois).
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