Offaly advance to Leinster final as Ryan seals dramatic win

Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship semi-final

Offaly 4-9 Kildare 1-16

By Kevin Egan

After starting their championship campaign with comprehensive defeats to Dublin and Louth, this Offaly minor team have mastered the art of survival. Laois, Meath and now Kildare have all been overcome in one-score games, while in between, Roger Ryan’s side used all their luck before powering ahead to overcome Wicklow after extra-time.

A Leinster final rematch against Louth (the Wee County defeated Dublin in the other semi-final) now awaits on Monday week, May 19, with Cedral St Conleth's Park in Newbridge the venue (throw-in 7.30pm).

Jack Ryan’s late winner in Tullamore on Wednesday night also ensured that regardless of the result in that final, Offaly will play an All-Ireland quarter-final against either Mayo or Roscommon.

In a game of three thirds rather than two halves, Offaly were the better side for two of the three 20-minute spells, but the middle third threatened to derail them entirely as Kildare outscored their hosts by 1-10 to 0-1 between the 22nd and 42nd minutes.

Two early goals from Cian McNamee ensured that Offaly had a seven-point cushion built up by the time that white wave came surging in. Ruairí Woods could easily have had another but he fizzed his effort over the crossbar, but McNamee made no mistake, first when set up by a strong Charlie Duffy run and then again when Offaly got the better of one of those ‘Sliding Doors’ moments in the 21st minute.

When Dylan Dunne got blocked down on his own 45m line, a bad bounce would have seen Kildare in on goal. Instead the ball fell kindly for the Clara man, and he recovered to regain possession. Two passes later, McNamee scythed in from the left corner and fired the ball inside the near post to make it 2-4 to 0-3.

For the next ten minutes, Kildare lorded matters. Charlie Duffy taking a knock didn’t help Offaly’s ball-winning capacity in the middle and the visitors turned the screw, at one stage winning seven out of nine Offaly kickouts. Hugh Martin hit a two-pointer, Pauric Carty slid in a goal, and by the time the half-time whistle sounded, Offaly were gasping for air having conceded 1-7 without reply.

That lead was extended in the ten minutes after half-time, largely on the back of Carty’s free from the edge of the arc for a ‘three-man-up’ breach, but even in those opening minutes of the second half, it was clear that Offaly had patched up a lot of the issues in the middle third. Wing-backs Patrick Duffy and Eoin Rouse started to play a much more prominent role in the fight for primary possession and once Offaly got ball in hand, the potency of their forward unit was in evidence.

Woods blew the game wide open when he claimed a high ball from Rouse and immediately drove in behind his marker to find the net, with McNamee punching an equalising point to set up a dramatic last ten minutes.

Just as Charlie Duffy’s injury gave Kildare a window of opportunity, Callum Keaveny scored a fine point for Kildare to give them back the lead, before he was forced off. Fellow midfielder Seán Gleeson had already been withdrawn in a surprising switch, and Offaly had the better of the chances in those closing minutes, though they kept the crowd on high alert to the end.

Eamon Maher’s tap-and-go free saw him burst through two tacklers before crashing a shot into the post, only for the rebound to fall perfectly for Cian Duffy to hit the net. Kildare almost replied in kind through a Rory Thompson flick, but Tomás Carroll was alive to the threat and he cleared the ball off the line.

Two Hugh Martin points levelled the game, McNamee hit the post and Cian Duffy had his effort blocked on the rebound, and so – not for the first time in this championship – it all boiled down to a Jack Ryan free from 50 metres. The Doon man’s first couple of efforts had missed the mark, but like his team as a whole, when the game was there to be won, he delivered.

Player of the match: Eoin Rouse, Dylan Dunne, Eamonn Maher and Patrick Duffy all grew into the game and played a key role in Offaly’s late surge, but there’s no looking past Cian McNamee, who gives this side an element of class and quality. His first goal was finished with precision, his second showed real killer instinct.

Scorers - Offaly: C McNamee 2-2; R Woods 1-1; Cian Duffy 1-0; J Ryan 0-2 (tpf); A Daly, R Dunne, C Weldon, T Furey (f) 0-1 each. Kildare: P Carty 1-2; (1tpf), H Martin 0-5 (1tp); R Thompson 0-3 (2f); O Deller 0-2; N McAndrew, TJ Donoghue, M Travers, C Keaveny 0-1 each.

Offaly - Jack Ryan; Tomás Carroll, Caden O’Beirne, Cormac Farrell; Patrick Duffy, Tadhg Kelly, Eoin Rouse; Eamon Maher, Charlie Duffy; Cathal Weldon, Dylan Dunne, Aaron Daly; Tony Furey, Cian McNamee, Ruairí Woods. Subs: Cian Duffy for Furey (44 mins), Darragh Stewart for Daly (49), Isaac Ryan for Weldon (57), Stephen Byrne for Charlie Duffy (60+2).

Kildare - Jamie Wall; Dan Sargent, Senan Gallagher, Charlie Cullen; Charlie Doran, Niall McAndrew, Mark Travers; Seán Gleeson, Callum Keaveny; Ryan Curran, Ollie Deller, TJ Donoghue; Pauric Carty, Hugh Martin, Rory Thompson. Subs: Cillian Long for Curran (23 mins), Eoghan Lyons for Gleeson (53), Robbie Milham for Keaveny (55), Turlough Donnelly for Deller (57).

Referee - Stephen Fagan (Wicklow).