Faithful book McDonagh Cup final spot with win over Kerry
JOB DONE: Offaly manager Johnny Kelly. Picture: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Offaly’s unbeaten season continued this afternoon as they racked up a surprisingly comfortable win over Kerry at Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore, securing their place in the Joe McDonagh Cup final with one round of games to spare.
The result also means that Kerry now have to beat Laois next weekend and hope that Offaly do them a favour by beating Carlow, in order to get back to Croke Park for their fourth successive championship decider.
In what was their third competitive meeting of 2023, Kerry once again matched Offaly’s hurling for two thirds of this afternoon’s Joe McDonagh Cup clash in Tullamore, but they lacked the efficiency and mental sharpness of the Faithful County, meaning that the home led by virtue of David Nally’s first-half goal at the 45 minute mark.
Unlike either of the previous meetings however, where there was very little between the sides, the final third was utterly one-sided. Offaly exerted complete control on the defensive side of things, while gradually extending the margin out to double figures, with Eoghan Cahill, Brian Duignan, Killian Sampson and Eimhin Kelly all knocking over good points to ensure Johnny Kelly’s side finished with a flourish.
It was a very different story early on, as Kerry were very competitive, sharing the first 10 points equally. Gavin Dooley was sharp at full-forward, Shane Conway dropped back from centre forward to hurl a lot of ball as a sweeper, and in truth Kerry would feel that they could have put a lot more on the board.
Offaly took a decisive leap forward after 20 minutes when U-20 star Charlie Mitchell drove at goal from the left corner and set up David Nally for a batted goal, and that simple, crisp play contrasted sharply with Kerry’s goal chances. Eoin Ross had one great chance to set up Dooley but delayed his pass and eventually was blocked by Jason Sampson, while early in the second half, when the game was still competitive, Sampson did well to hook Jordan Conway and Pádraig Boyle couldn’t get a shot away when he got in behind the Offaly defence and took a pass from Fionán MacKessy.
A free from Boyle after 42 minutes reduced the gap to two points, 1-11 to 0-12, but that was as close as it was to get. Offaly picked off the next two scores, Boyle added another free in the 45th minute, and that was to be Kerry’s last score for 20 minutes, as Offaly rattled off seven in succession to make sure of their win.
E Cahill 0-13 (0-9f, 0-2 65s), D Nally 1-1 (0-1 sideline), A Cleary 0-2, B Duignan 0-2, J Sampson 0-1, C Kiely 0-1, J Clancy 0-1, E Kelly 0-1, K Sampson 0-1, J Keenaghan 0-1.
S Conway 0-7 (0-5f, 0-1 65), P Boyle 0-3 (0-2f), G Dooley 0-2, M Leane 0-1, E Ross 0-1, F MacKessy 0-1, J Diggins 0-1.
: Stephen Corcoran; Ben Conneely, Ciarán Burke, Dara Maher; David King, Jason Sampson, Killian Sampson; Paddy Delaney, Jack Clancy; Cillian Kiely, Charlie Mitchell, Adrian Cleary; David Nally, Brian Duignan, Eoghan Cahill.
Subs: Eimhin Kelly for Cahill (16-19, temp), Eimhin Kelly for Delaney (45), Joey Keenaghan for Kiely (57), John Murphy for Cahill (68), Shane Dooley for Mitchell (68), Liam Langton for Cleary (70+1).
: Louis Dee; Kyle O’Connor, Evan Murphy, Eric Leen; Jason Diggins, Darragh Shanahan, Fionán MacKessy; Eoin Ross, Paudie O’Connor; Pádraig Boyle, Shane Conway, Michael Leane; Brandon Barrett, Gavin Dooley, Colin Walsh.
Subs: Jordan Conway for Barrett (half-time), Mikey Boyle for Shanahan (45), Dan Goggin for Dooley (45), Niall Mulcahy for Diggins (52), Keith Carmody for P O’Connor (64) Referee: Thomas Gleeson (Dublin).
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