Offaly denied at the death as Westmeath salvage draw

TG4 Leinster LGFAIntermediate Championship - Round 1

Westmeath 1-11 Offaly 2-8

By Paul Hughes

Offaly came very close to recording a notable victory over Westmeath in last Sunday's Leinster Intermediate Championship opener at Home Instead Lakepoint Park.

Westmeath operated in Division 2 of this year's National Football League, one flight above Offaly, but the home side was forced to dig deep to rescue a draw on the sun-drenched 3G pitch at the Mullingar venue.

After a slow start, the Faithful girls showed that they were more than up for the battle in the searing heat, notching an unanswered 1-4 from play as the Maroons struggled to cope with their physicality and intense running game.

Ballinamere/Durrow's Emma Hand and skipper Ellee McEvoy (Naomh Ciarán) proved difficult for Westmeath to get to grips with, dominating play through the centre and putting together some nice scores, before a goal from Karen Hegarty kept the hosts in it at the break (2-6 to 1-5).

In the second half, Westmeath gradually picked away at the deficit through Leanne Slevin – who finished with 0-7 – and Sarah Dillon. The visitors almost won it at the death when a score from Hand put them two ahead. However, injury-time points from Chloe Kelly and Slevin (a free) earned the Lake County a share of the spoils.

Westmeath ran up a tally of 13 wides, and for that reason, they may have been disappointed not to have chalked up the win, but they could easily have lost.

The home side burst out of the traps with a hat-trick of points in the opening five minutes, including two frees from Leanne Slevin and a point from play by Vicky Carr. However, they struggled with their end product from then on and Offaly countered with speed and power. McEvoy opened their account on six minutes before Hand got a second moments after Offaly had threatened a goal.

At the other end, Westmeath had the ball in the net on ten minutes after Anna Jones beat goalkeeper Lauren Dunne to a high ball from Slevin, but the goal was ruled out for an earlier infringement.

Moments later, Offaly embarked on a swift move downfield, at the end of which Hand gracefully rounded her marker and found the net after her left-footed shot pinged off the upright.

Hand’s ability to get in behind the Westmeath defence was a real headache for the hosts and, on 13 minutes, she left another would-be marker for dust before handpassing over the bar. Further points from McEvoy (a free) and Chloe Sheridan followed, as Offaly led 1-5 to 0-3 with just over a quarter of an hour gone.

Meanwhile, Westmeath continued to clock up the wides, but their ample possession finally yielded dividends on 19 minutes when, after a superb team move, Karen Hegarty latched onto a pass across the face of goal and tucked it home from close range, reducing the arrears to two points.

This couldn’t mask Westmeath’s woes at the back though, and shortly after Hegarty’s goal Offaly had the ball in the net again, but it was disallowed after a steps infringement in the build-up.

On 26 minutes, however, the Lake County were caught short once again by the marauding Faithful attack, and after a neat passing move, McEvoy sauntered through and shot to the net.

The Maroons found their shooting boots again through Slevin (a free) and Rachel Dillon (from long range), but Sheridan notched her second for Offaly before the whistle, and the visitors led by four.

The hosts played much better football on the resumption, closing down Offaly more efficiently and generating plenty of chances, with their opponents often opting to foul to break up Westmeath attacks.

Westmeath hit a purple patch from around the 37th minute, but their end product still wasn’t sufficient, though a brace of quickfire frees from Slevin halved the deficit.

Offaly missed some chances of their own, including what should have been a fairly routine free for McEvoy. At the other end, Westmeath got within a point of parity after Sarah Dillon linked up with her sister Rachel before curling the ball neatly over the bar.

A free from McEvoy restored Offaly’s two-point lead with three left on the clock. As the pendulum swung the other way, some attractive approach play from Westmeath led to a sixth point from Slevin – her first from play – but Hand then pointed what looked certain to be the winning score for a revived Offaly side (2-8 to 1-9).

However, seven minutes of stoppage time followed, giving Westmeath enough time to knuckle down and find the two crucial scores they needed. Two minutes in, wing back Chloe Kelly emerged as the Westmeath hero when, at the tail end of a fine move, she cut in from the right wing to point superbly off her left boot.

Then, six minutes into time added on, Slevin found her range with another well-struck dead ball effort to ensure both sides have a point each on the table.

Player of the match: Emma Hand (Offaly). Hand was a real handful for the Westmeath defence in the first half, kicking 1-2 from play and, alongside Ellee McEvoy, she was at the heart of everything Offaly produced. Her late point almost won it for the visitors.

What's next: Offaly travel to Starlights GAA, Enniscorthy for the second round against Wexford on Sunday (throw-in 2pm).

Scorers - Offaly: E Hand and E McEvoy (0-2f) 1-3 each, C Sheridan 0-2. Westmeath: L Slevin 0-7 (6f), K Hegarty 1-0, V Carr, R Dillon, S Dillon and C Kelly 0-1 each.

Offaly: Lauren Dunne; Anna Grehan, Michelle Mann, Nicole Farrelly; Róisín Ennis, Emma Maher, Nicole Buckley; Amy Gavin Mangan, Marie Byrne; Kiah Farrelly, Emma Hand, Maebh Rouse; Ciara Walsh, Ellee McEvoy, Chloe Sheridan. Subs used: Fiona Dempsey for O’Brien (h-t), Caoimhe Lynam for Sheridan (50 mins).

Westmeath: Lauren McCormack; Melek Fagan, Kelly Boyce Jordan, Laura Kiernan; Chloe Kelly, Lucy Power, Rachel Dillon; Vicky Carr, Tracey Dillon; Ashley Ruane, Leanne Slevin, Anna Jones; Karen Hegarty, Sarah Dillon, Fiona Coyle. Subs used: Caoimhe Kilmurray for Hegarty (50 mins), Rebecca Higgins for T Dillon (inj., 60+5).

Referee: Finbarr Shanahan (Dublin).