Off-colour Limerick get the job done against gritty Offaly in Tullamore

Limerick's Shane O'Brien celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the match despite Liam Hoare of Offaly. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

Division 1A: Offaly 0-17 Limerick 2-19  

Limerick last hammered Tipperary by 15 points in Thurles, Offaly hadn’t earned a point in their first four Division 1A games. There was no doubting who was going to come out on top here. The sparse crowd on a grim day said as much.

It took longer than expected, but a stuttering Limerick got there in the end.

Offaly actually started positively in a crosswind and led by four points to two after the opening 15 minutes. They played smart hurling out from the back but too much of what they did was marred by some poor shooting.

Limerick were the same.

The Munster side was unrecognisable from the outfit that demolished the All-Ireland champions last week and a tough start was topped when Darragh O’Donovan went off with what looked like a shoulder/arm injury 22 minutes in.

Limerick's Shane O'Brien celebrates after scoring his side's first goal of the match despite Liam Hoare of Offaly. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

The advantage they held physically in some quarters was stark and, with Aidan O’Connor tapping over three points from play and another five from frees, they managed to generate some daylight on the scoreboard as the half ended.

It was 0-12 to 0-7 at the break although any expectation that Limerick would cut loose from there was undone pretty sharpish with Offaly claiming three of the next four points. 

It took Shane O’Brien’s 54th-minute goal to eradicate any small sniff of the unlikely happening.

Cathal O’Neill followed suit four minutes later, firing from the edge of the area on the back of a bursting support run through the middle. Now the gap was eleven points and it petered out from there.

It’s Cork at the TUS Gaelic Grounds for Limerick next. Different gravy.

Offaly are holding a one-way ticket to Division 1B but they at least held their own for long periods here, as they have done in all their top-tier games this season, other than the heavy beating inflicted by Tipp.

Progress comes in different guises.

Scorers for Offaly: A Screeney (0-9, 8 frees); T Guinan (0-2); B Conneely, K Sampson, D Shirley, B Duignan, L Nolan and D Bourke (all 0-1).

Scorers for Limerick: A O’Connor (0-10, 7 frees); S O’Brien and C O’Neill (both 1-1); A English (0-2); D Byrnes (0-2, 1 free); C Coughlan, C Lynch and D Reidy (all 0-1).

Offaly: L Hoare; P Taaffe, B Conneely, S Bourke; J Clancy, K Sampson, D Shirley; C Spain, R Ravenhill; D Bourke, O Kelly, T Guinan; L Nolan, B Duignan, A Screeney.

Subs: L Watkins for Clancy (59); E Kelly for Spain (61); C Burke for Nolan (63); B Kavanagh for Taaffe (67); C Doyle for Bourke (71).

Limerick: N Quaid; M Casey, D Morrissey, S Finn; D Byrnes, K Hayes, C Coughlan; C O’Neill, D O’Donovan; A O’Connor, C Lynch, T Morrissey; A Gillane, S O’Brien, A English.

Subs: D Reidy for D O’Donovan (22); G Hegarty for T Morrissey (55); M Fitzgerald for Coughlan (56); F Fitzgerald for English (60); E Hurley for O’Connor (60).

Referee: L Gordon (Galway).