Wicklow produce stunning second half to power through to first Tailteann Cup final
Wicklow Manager Oisín McConville celebrates on the final whistle. Picture: James Lawlor/Inpho
Of all the redemption tales associated with Wicklow's journey to the Tailteann Cup final, Mark Jackson's echoed loudest around Croke Park on Saturday evening.
Two months ago, the goalkeeper who once harboured hopes of making it as an NFL kicker, failed to convert all six long-range score opportunities in the two-point Leinster SFC loss to Dublin.
He got three chances this time and nailed the lot, including one score of well over 50 metres during the third quarter which really stung Offaly.
Wicklow were eight points down at half time, 1-9 to 3-11, after coughing up three goals. Oisín McConville took the blame for that one, figuring that by focusing too much on shutting down Offaly, they'd tied themselves up in ribbons.
So, at half time, he removed the shackles, gave them a licence to thrill and sat back and enjoyed the show as the fireworks he'd just lit went off.
Wicklow reeled off 1-17, to Offaly's 1-4 and by McConville's estimation it was the best 35 minutes of his near four years in charge. In fact, he was so afraid of removing the team from its flow state that he only made three substitutions when he'd planned more.
At the hub of it all was Jackson, a man redeemed.
"If you remember last year, he walked away from here and he got a bit of stick that day as well," said McConville, referencing Wicklow's four-point semi-final loss to Limerick.
"I just said to him there, 'That's half of the redemption and there's one more part to pay off'.
"People said to me after the Dublin game, 'Would you not have switched him off the frees, would you not have liked someone else hitting them?' But no, if we had 10 more frees, he would have hit the 10. You have to back your man and we consistently back him because he's took us out of more holes than people would realise."
There were other obvious redemption angles. Like Wicklow bouncing back from their Round 1 loss to Laois, which came after the Dublin defeat, to secure a first ever final spot, against Down on July 11. Or their general summer form since butchering their chance of promotion from Division 4 by losing to Longford.
Or you could look at it in the context of coughing up a seven-point lead in last year's semi-final, and having the wherewithal to inflict pretty much the same misery on Offaly 12 months on.
Jackson and man of the match Chris O'Brien struck six points each. Eoin Darcy and Oisín McGraynor grabbed the goals and Dean Healy, as ever, was magnificent in the middle, morphing from wrecking ball to panzer tank to artist as the play demanded.
Eoin Murtagh's 58th minute two-pointer, Wicklow's fifth of the game, will make the highlights reel as well.
"I said it to the lads, as long as I've been playing, and as long as I'm going to be around the game, players win football matches," said McConville, downplaying his role. "There wasn't a massive amount we did at half time that was going to legislate for that sort of turnaround. That was all them."
Wicklow failed to get out of their Tailteann Cup group in McConville's first season. In 2024, they reached a quarter-final, got to a semi-final last year and have reached the final this year. They're in bonus territory now, preparing for a final against a Down side that will be clear favourites.
"I know all about them," smiled Armagh great McConville. "I watched the Donegal game, I watched how they ripped Donegal apart at times."
The three weeks to the final, he says, is badly needed. Partly to deal with battered bodies but also to move beyond the current party atmosphere.
"When you see the scenes out there after full-time, we're lucky that we have a couple of weeks to get our heads around it and get back at it," he said.
Offaly will have many regrets. It was a drawn game when their goalkeeper, Conor Melia, similar to Armagh's Ethan Rafferty the previous weekend, allowed a McGraynor score attempt that dropped short to slip through his grasp for a goal.
It remains to be seen if joint managers Mickey Harte and Declan Kelly are back.
"Please God," was all Harte would offer on that one.
On the overall campaign, which included a win over Down, Harte was positive.
"We can't pull all the emphasis of this competition on the outcome and result today," argued the Tyrone man. "It has to be taken in the round, four games. How did we do in those four games? I think we did very well."
Mark Jackson 0-6 (3 tpf), Christopher O'Brien 0-6 (1 tp), Oisín McGraynor 1-3 (0-1f), Eoin Darcy 1-2 (0-1f), Eoin Murtagh 0-2 (tp), Kevin Quinn 0-2, Dean Healy 0-1, Pádraig O'Toole 0-1, Jonathan Carlin 0-1, Joe Prendergast 0-1, Darragh Fee 0-1.
Jack McEvoy 1-4, Dylan Hyland 1-0, Marcas Dalton 1-0, Shane Tierney 1-0, Keith O'Neill 0-4 (0-1f), Jordan Hayes 0-3, Jack Bryant 0-2, Harry Plunkett 0-1, Rory Egan 0-1.
Mark Jackson; Tom Moran, Gavin Fogarty, Malachy Stone; Eoin Murtagh; Darragh Fee, Matt Nolan, Jonathan Carlin; Dean Healy, Jack Kirwan; Pádraig O'Toole, Christopher O'Brien; Oisín McGraynor, Kevin Quinn, Eoin Darcy.
Cian Deering for Fogarty (44), Joe Prendergast for Kirwan (55), Mark Kenny for Darcy (68).
Conor Melia; Shane O'Toole Greene, David Dempsey, Lee Pearson; Cormac Egan, Diarmuid Egan, Marcas Dalton; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Keith O'Neill, Aaron Leavy; Dylan Hyland, Shane Tierney, Jack Bryant.
Harry Plunkett for Tierney (41), Rory Egan for Higgins (44), Ciarán Murphy for McEvoy (49-51 blood sub), Nathan Poland for Bryant (61).
Seán Lonergan (Tipperary).
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