Leinster SFC Quarter-Final

Offaly 0-10 Westmeath 0-10

By Kevin Egan at Bord Na Mona O’Connor Park

The 8,723 supporters that filed into Bórd na Móna O’Connor Park this afternoon may not have been treated to a feast of scoring when Offaly and Westmeath went to battle for the right to face Dublin in the Leinster SFC semi-final in a fortnight’s time, but they certainly got all the intensity and drama that they would have expected from these fierce local rivals, and they’ll get the chance to watch it all over again next Saturday afternoon as well in the replay.

The Offaly players and management were undoubtedly the more disconsolate figures leaving the dressing rooms after the tie as they looked to be in a very commanding position at half time, level at 0-6 apiece having played into the teeth of a fiercely strong breeze.

However, they failed to build on that after the interval and once Michael Brazil was sent off with 13 minutes to play, Westmeath had the upper hand and eventually salvaged a draw thanks to a late free from John Heslin, pointed in the third minute of added time.

Having been handed the task of playing against the breeze that blew hard from the Arden Road end of the ground, Pat Flanagan and his selectors will have been delighted with the way they performed in the opening half as they controlled possession and showed some wonderful patience and thought when on the ball.

They got a lucky reprieve in the opening moments when Ger Egan played in Kieran Martin and the powerful Westmeath attacker blasted his 15 metre shot wide of the target with just Alan Mulhall to beat, but from then on Offaly were happy to move the ball across the lines and wait for their openings, often created thanks to incisive runs from deep positions by players like Cian Donoghue, Michael Brazil and Niall Darby.

The visiting side had the luxury of being able to shoot from range and they picked off some fine scores through Egan, Shane Dempsey and championship debutant Noel Mulligan, but Offaly kept in touch throughout, with Nigel Dunne prominent as he foraged around the middle and then showed great positional sense to find himself on the end of some good moves and kick some accurate scores from between 20 and 30 metres out.

Michael Brazil was also in fine form for Offaly in this half as he converted two of his own scores and then completed a fine interception of a Paul Sharry crossfield ball to set in train a move that ended with a Graham Guiulfoyle score, the fourth point in a row for Offaly in a hugely productive ten-minute spell up to the 34th minute.

John Heslin stepped up to the mark for Westmeath with two excellent points before the break, but even at 0-6 apiece, Offaly looked by far the more likely winners. While Offaly enjoyed plenty of possession in the early stages of the second half, they failed to convert their chances and this set the tone for a tense second half that was high on intensity and desire, but hugely low on quality.

Westmeath never led after the break as four times Offaly hit the front, only to be reeled in on each occasion. Niall Darby, John Moloney and Niall McNamee all pointed to put them in front, but Ger Egan played a truly outstanding game and showed real leadership as captain, firing over four from play including two excellent scores into the wind.

A late point from Graham Guilfoyle gave Offaly hope of the victory, but another high tackle from Ruairí Allen meant that he joined Brazil on the sideline, leaving Offaly with just 13 men on the field. John Heslin pointed the subsequent free to ensure that both sides will be back in action just down the road in Mullingar next weekend.

**Scorers for Offaly: **N Dunne 0-3 (1f), M Brazil and G Guilfoyle 0-2 each, J Moloney, N Darby, and N McNamee 0-1 each.

**Scorers for Westmeath: **G Egan 0-4, J Heslin 0-4 (3fs), S Dempsey and N Mulligan 0-1 each.

OFFALY: A Mulhall; B Darby, E Rigney, S Pender; N Darby, P Cunningham, C Donoghue; E Carroll, D Hanlon; M Brazil, G Guilfoyle, N Dunne; R Allen, J Moloney, N McNamee.

Subs: J Lalor for B Darby (2), J O’Connor for Brazil (22 – blood), O’Connor for Carroll (53), A Sullivan for Hanlon (59), B Allen for Sullivan (61 – b/c), R McNamee for Dunne (66).

**WESTMEATH: **D Quinn; J Gonoud, K Maguire, K Daly; J Dolan, P Holloway, M McCallon; A Stone, G Egan; K Reilly, P Sharry, N Mulligan; K Martin, J Heslin, S Dempsey.

Subs: D Lynch for Dempsey (HT), J Connellan for Stone (48), J Egan for Reilly (52), T McDaniel for Martin (58), D Glennon for Mulligan (64), C McCormack for Glennon (70+3).

REFEREE: Padraig O’Sullivan (Kerry).