Donoghue wants Tribesmen to keep foot down after swatting Offaly aside 

MORE TO DO: Micheál Donoghue. Pic: INPHO/Ryan Byrne

National Hurling League Division 1A: OFFALY 0-18 GALWAY 2-23 

Offaly never got out of the traps, Galway pulled up long before the finish line.

A combined start of five defeats from five games didn’t prevent a large crowd from making their way to Birr for this battle of the two sides of the Banagher Bridge, and neither did the dark clouds overhead that made heavy rain inevitable.

Except there was no battle, as Galway hurled the opening 35 minutes into the wind and made short work of their hosts. Daithi Burke and Cillian Trayers were imperious in defence, Colm Molloy, Jason Rabbitte and Aaron Niland all looked good up front, and there was no way back for Offaly at 0-9 to 0-6 behind with the strong wind set to blow into their faces.

“We worked really hard against [the wind] to put us into a good position. Cathal's goal in the second half gave us a bit of room but I'd probably be a bit disappointed with the way that we didn't push on after that,” was Micheál Donoghue’s verdict.

Didn’t push on, is an understatement, albeit Offaly must take some credit too. Few could have imagined them scoring 0-12 against the elements.

Cathal Mannion scored a free within 30 seconds of the restart, and a stunning top-corner goal inside 60. Never mind the rainstorm, the prospect of a landslide was live.

It didn’t happen, for a variety of reasons. Galway stopped hurling with precision and started asking too much of their attackers, while on the Offaly side, Brian Duignan found some form with three excellent second half points and their half-back line of Donal Shirley, Killian Sampson and Jack Clancy – who hadn’t made a start between them in their last two games – started to gain traction.

They kept the flood at bay, even drawing within six before Conor Whelan came off the bench to make his first appearance of the season, crowning his 20-minute cameo with a late 1-1.

“Out of the three performances, this probably wasn't up to the other two, even though we got nothing out of those,” said Donoghue, referring to their competitive but ultimately fruitless displays against Tipperary and Cork.

Following Kilkenny’s late win over Waterford, the Déise’s visit to Pearse Stadium next Sunday now looks like a relegation playoff.

“This block of games was always going to be crucial, we’ve completed the first step out of three today,” he concluded.

Offaly’s fate is effectively sealed with only Limerick and Cork still to play. Supporters could be forgiven for feeling some trepidation based on the current form of those two counties, but manager Johnny Kelly still tried to see the positive side of things.

“We got caught for two goals, that probably made the scoreboard a lot worse than it was,” was his reflection.

“I think we were very good there in the second half for long phases of it, we worked the ball quite well and gave the right ball on most occasions and gave the inside line a chance to get on the ball. But the missed chances in the first half left us with a mountain to climb”.

Scorers for Offaly: A Screeney (0-7, 0-5f), B Duignan (0-4), J Clancy (0-2), T Guinan (0-1), D Shirley (0-1), O Kelly (0-1), L Watkins (0-1), C Spain (0-1).

Scorers for Galway: C Mannion (1-8, 0-5f), C Whelan 1-1, A Niland (0-3), J Rabbitte (0-3), C Molloy (0-3), T Monaghan (0-2), C Fahy (0-1), S O’Halloran (0-1), C Trayers (0-1).

OFFALY: L Hoare; B Kavanagh, B Conneely, P Taaffe; J Clancy, K Sampson, D Shirley; C King, T Guinan; O Kelly, C Doyle, D Bourke; E Cahill, B Duignan, A Screeney.

Subs: D Nally for Cahill (18), L Watkins for Doyle (half-time), C Spain for King (59), L Nolan for Guinan (64), C Cleary for Kelly (68).

GALWAY: S O’Halloran; J Ryan, C Trayers, R Glennon; P Mannion, D Burke, TJ Brennan; G Lee, C Daniels; T Killeen, C Mannion, A Niland; C Molloy, J Rabbitte, T Monaghan.

Subs: C Fahy for Lee (25), C Whelan for Niland (51), S Murphy for Ryan (54), D McLoughlin for Burke (65).

Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick).