Offaly boy wonder delivers again as they beat Dublin to reach All-Ireland final

Two late pitch invasions by Offaly supporters before the game was even over showed just how much the success meant to Offaly.

Adam Screeney of Offaly in action against Cathal Kennedy of Dublin during the oneills.com Leinster  U20 Hurling Championship final. Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile

Leinster U20 Hurling Championship final: Offaly 1-18 Dublin 1-15

An hour and a half before throw-in, cars with Offaly number plates were already being abandoned around the highways and byways leading to O'Moore Park.

The Faithful came to Portlaoise in mighty numbers hoping for a party and, save for a few shaky minutes early on in this Leinster U20 final, were duly treated to one.

A year after beating Wexford at this stage, Offaly are Leinster champions again.

A whopping 15,215 turned out in Portlaoise and, to the untrained eye, it seemed like around 13,000 of them were there to support Offaly.

Adam Screeney, their boy wonder, always puts bums on seats and treated his adoring Offaly fans to another tour de force, nine points from the Kilcormac-Killoughey sensation propelling the county to back to back titles, their seventh in all.

Aside from underlining their dominance of the Leinster championship - Offaly beat Dublin twice in the campaign, overcame Kilkenny at the semi-final stage last week and drew with Galway in their group - the Faithful are back in another All-Ireland final.

They lost to Cork in last year's decider and may get the opportunity for redemption on June 1 when they play the winners of this Friday evening's Munster final between Cork and Tipperary.

25 nóim, #DUBvOFF @DubGAAOfficial 0:07@Offaly_GAA 1:05

Féach ar an draíocht seo! 🤩

Adam Screeney with the point of the day, from the tightest of angles!

BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺

#GAABEO @EirGrid pic.twitter.com/s0ap6WXF1N

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) May 22, 2024

Two late pitch invasions by Offaly supporters before the game was even over showed just how much the success meant to the midlands county. Afterwards, they covered two thirds of the pitch as captain Dan Bourke lifted the cup.

Dublin, who bounced back from losing both of their group games with wins over Westmeath, Wexford and Galway to reach the decider, burned brightly early on and led by four points before being snuffed out.

Bourke was terrific for Offaly with four points overall while Dublin's failure to convert a 40th minute penalty proved a major turning point.

Dublin set up with a sweeper, Brendan Kenny, in a clear attempt to stifle Screeney's influence and, initially at least, it worked pretty well.

Kenny boomed over two early long-range scores, 0-3 in total, and Dublin generally began with the same sort of ferocity they'd opened with against Galway in the semi-final.

They hit the stunned westerners hard and early in that game and burst into another decent early lead this time, 0-7 to 0-3.

Diarmaid O Dulaing, their county senior, impressed again for Dublin with two of those points.

Offaly didn't strike their first point until the 11th minute, from Bourke, and the stadium erupted.

Maybe all that expectation and the huge support unnerved the Offaly players because they didn't score from play again until the 21st minute.

But it was a score worth waiting for from their fans' perspective as Rigney blasted to the net to suddenly cut Offaly's four-point deficit to the minimum, 1-3 to 0-7.

Colin Spain delivered the line ball from beneath the main stand and Rigney, located on the edge of the small square, did brilliantly to catch, turn his man and strike to the net.

45 nóim, #DUBvOFF @DubGAAOfficial 0:11@Offaly_GAA 1:12

An fear sin arís, Adam Screeney! 👏

Offaly's corner forward is on fire this evening!

BEO/LIVETG4 AR @TG4TV 📺

#GAABEO @EirGrid pic.twitter.com/Gl6I0X02zr

— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) May 22, 2024

The entire Offaly support rose up in unison and the roar could probably be heard back in Tullamore.

If the Dublin players weren't rattled, more power to them.

Screeney tied it up with a point from a free, 1-4 to 0-7, before putting Offaly ahead for the first time with a typically outrageous point from an acute angle on the right.

By the time they broke for half-time, Offaly had outscored Dublin by six points in an 11-minute spell and led 1-7 to 0-8.

Dublin didn't so much throw the towel in after that as have it slowly pulled from their grasp. O Dulaing added four more second-half points for Dublin in the second-half and even had an opportunity to cut the gap to just a point in the 40th minute but had his tame penalty effort saved.

Offaly took full advantage and twisted the knife in the closing 20 minutes with a series of terrific points from Screeney, Conor Doyle, sub Eoin Burke and defender Donal Shirley, much to the delight of their fans.

Substitute Conn Rock sniped a 63rd minute goal for Dublin but it didn't even amount to consolation at that late stage.

Offaly scorers: A Screeney (0-9, 7 frees); S Rigney (1-1); D Bourke (0-4, 1 free); C Spain, C Doyle, E Burke, D Shirley (0-1 each).

Dublin scorers: D O Dulaing (0-6, 2 65s, 2 frees); C Rock (1-0); N Hogan, B Kenny (0-3 each); D Purcell, C O Riain, J Conroy (0-1 each).

Offaly: L Hoare; R Kelly, B Miller, J Mahon; T Guinan, B Kavanagh, D Shirley; S Spain, C King; S Rigney, D Bourke, C Doyle; A Kavanagh, B Egan, A Screeney.

Subs: L Kavanagh for Egan (36); E Burke for A Kavanagh (43); D Bannan for Keys (50).

Dublin: K Hogan; C Groarke, D Lucey, C Kennedy; B Kenny; E Keys, C Dolan, J Behan; C O Riain, F Murphy; J Conroy, D O Dulaing, O Gaffney; N Hogan, D Purcell.

Subs: C Newton for Murphy (30+2); C Rock for Hogan (47); D Bannan for Keys (50).

Ref: C Flynn (Westmeath).