Paddy Burke, Antrim, and Donal Shirley, Offaly, in Leinster SHC action. Photo by Michael P Ryan/Sportsfile
Leinster SHC Round Five
Offaly 3-15 Antrim 1-16
By Kevin Egan at Glenisk O'Connor Park
It was a relegation final in all but name, and leading up to it, the question that everyone was asking was if Antrim would be able to dial up their best performance of the year when they needed it most, and if Offaly would pay a price for going all out in every game, burning energy that would be needed for the fixture that leapt off the page as a potentially season-defining tie from the moment the fixtures were released.
For the second half only, Antrim finally found their stride. Offaly, playing with a gale at their backs and an extra man due to Niall O’Connor’s eighth minute red card, were riddled with nerves and sloppiness as they went from a controlling 2-13 to 0-13 advantage after 44 minutes to leading by a single point, 2-14 to 1-16, with less than five minutes remaining.
Then Eoghan Cahill, reduced to a bit part role all year, came up with a superb pass to play in Killian Sampson, and a low finish from Sampson was just about enough to see out Offaly’s win, and secure their survival.
At half-time, no-one could have foreseen that type of finish. In front of a crowd of around 4,000 supporters Offaly got the dream start when Charlie Mitchell floated in a pass into Brian Duignan, the first of several excellent plays from Mitchell throughout the afternoon, and Duignan’s emphatic finish set the Faithful County on the road.
Nigel Elliot had a chance to reply in kind but his shot fizzed over the bar from close range, and then O’Connor’s indiscretion was a further boost to the midlanders.
Keelan Molloy hit two in 30 seconds while Gerard Walsh, Ryan McCambridge and Paddy Burke picked off excellent scores for Antrim, with Burke scoring from 100 metres out to show the strength of the wind, but they needed a goal and twice they had clearcut chances, only for Donal Shirley to intervene with precision tackles.
A Dan Ravenhill penalty and a run of five points in six minutes before half-time, the pick of them from Donal Shirley, put Offaly in control at the break, 2-9 to 0-11 in front.
Elliot earned a free that James McNaughton converted to start the second half but Offaly were controlled and efficient for the next 10 minutes, building on their defensive superiority where Ben Conneely, Cathal King, Ross Ravenhill and in particular Donal Shirley were superb.
A couple of Duignan frees either side of a Daniel Bourke shot that was brilliantly tipped over the bar by Ryan Elliot left Offaly six ahead and cruising, but the cracks were appearing too, with several players in the top end of the field struggling to make any impact. Sloppy touches and six wides meant they struggled to push on, and gradually Antrim started to believe that they still had a chance.
James McNaughton picked off his frees, Paddy Burke and Gerard Walsh hurled up a storm outfield, and with tension levels rising, the goal that brought Antrim right back into it was typical of the game as a whole. A hit-and-hope ball into the danger area pinballed around the square for 10 seconds before McNaughton snapped it up and whipped it to the roof of the net.
Charlie Mitchell again stepped up for Offaly when he set Brian Duignan clean through on goal, but a goal-line block from Stephen Rooney kept the tension alive.
Then Cahill played his sublime pass into Sampson, and with a flash of the hurl, he picked out the bottom corner, and the collective sigh of relief sucked in most of the air around Tullamore.
Scorers for Offaly: Brian Duignan 1-7 (7fs), Dan Ravenhill 1-2 (1-0 pen), Charlie Mitchell 0-3, Killian Sampson 1-0, Donal Shirley 0-2, Daniel Bourke 0-1.
Scorers for Antrim: James McNaughton 1-8 (8fs), Keelan Molloy 0-2, Gerard Walsh 0-2, Nigel Elliot 0-1, Scott Walsh 0-1, Ryan McCambridge 0-1, Paddy Burke 0-1.
Offaly: Mark Troy; Ben Conneely, Ciarán Burke, Cathal King; Ross Ravenhill, Donal Shirley, Sam Bourke; Colin Spain, Daniel Bourke; Jason Sampson, Killian Sampson, Oisín Kelly; Dan Ravenhill, Charlie Mitchell, Brian Duignan.
Subs: Jack Clancy for D Ravenhill (half-time), Eoghan Cahill for J Sampson (64).
Antrim: Ryan Elliot; Conor Boyd, Paddy Burke, Niall O’Connor; Conal Bohill, Joe Maskey, Stephen Rooney; Gerard Walsh, Nigel Elliot; Scott Walsh, Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McCambridge; Eoin O’Neill, James McNaughton, Keelan Molloy.
Subs: Cormac McKeown for McCambridge (55).
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).
