Hayes proves the difference as Offaly overcome Meath

Offaly 2-13 Meath 0-15

By Kevin Egan

Offaly’s approach to last night’s Dioralyte O’Byrne Cup fixture in Gracefield was the traditional one. Roughly half a dozen players who would be nailed on starters for the county in the Leinster championship togged out alongside the same number of players who would be in the mix join them, not to mention a couple of players hoping to bolt from the blue and earn a decent share of playing time.

Meath’s approach, in contrast, was in keeping with the more modern style employed by stronger counties. While the vast majority of their frontline players have been catching the eye on the challenge match circuit with impressive performances against Mayo, Galway and Kerry, manager Robbie Brennan has used the O’Byrne Cup as a trial for those competing for a place in his full panel.

Of course, with 54 clubs fielding adult teams, he’s not short of athletic individuals who were fit and strong, able to string a couple of close-range handpasses together.

Ultimately however, it was Offaly’s ability to call on a handful of players with that little bit of extra quality that saw them through to a semi-final clash with Westmeath on Saturday (TEG Cusack Park, 2pm). Or to be more specific, it was Offaly’s ability to call on Jordan Hayes that separated the teams.

Lee Pearson was the glue that held together a full-back-line where both Daire McDaid and Ed Cullen were happy to push forward, Jack McEvoy continues to develop into a very good all-round player and Keith O’Neill looked sharp and incisive before his withdrawal. Add in Cormac Egan’s goal, slammed to the net after he collected possession and broke a tackle on the 45m line in his trademark style, and it wasn’t hard to tell which players were the ones that had the little bit of extra edge.

If Egan’s goal was good however, Hayes’ was outstanding. He powered down the middle at pace and delivered an emphatic finish off the crossbar and into the net at the end of his 40-metre run, and throughout the first half it was his ability to power forward and initiate attacks that separated the teams.

Offaly led 2-9 to 0-6 at half-time and Hayes hit 1-4 of their tally from centre back - 1-2 from play and an excellent two-point free from the right hand side to crown a superb overall display.

The Meath inside forward duo of Diarmuid Moriarty and Niall Finnerty kicked some nice scores in the first half but after the Royals went 0-2 to 0-0 in front, they broke even on possession but looked unimaginative in what to do with it.

In the second half, they did a lot more than break even in the fight for kickout ball, and Offaly’s traditional failing of trying to compete in the air resurfaced. For all McEvoy’s quality as an all-rounder, he would be a wing-forward with another team and even though frontline fielders Conor Duke and Conor Gray were impressing for Maynooth University in the Sigerson Cup the same day this fixture was taking place, Bryan Menton, Oisín Martin and Daithí McGowan were wall able to hold their own in the cold Gracefield sky all the same.

Meath kicked 0-6 in a row at the start of the second half – two singles and two doubles – and if their accuracy hadn’t fallen off a cliff from there, they could well have got right back into the game. As it was, two goal chances weren’t finished, one due to sharp reflexes from Seán O’Toole, and five wides in that second 30 minutes also allowed Offaly to keep their noses in front despite never hitting the high notes.

One exception to that was Ciarán Murphy, who followed up his promising debut in Carlow with another display that was full of potential. With the inside forward line struggling to make an impression, the Skerries Harps man brought his tally to 0-3 and that, along with a late insurance score from Daire McDaid, was just about enough to see Offaly through.

Man of the match: An easy call here. Jordan Hayes was much quieter in the second half, but he had made the game his own for the opening 30 minutes and was the single biggest reason that Offaly won this fixture. Jack McEvoy, Ciarán Murphy and Lee Pearson were also in good form.

Scorers - Offaly: J Hayes 1-4 (1tpf); C Egan 1-0; C Murphy 0-3; K O’Neill 0-2 (1f); R Egan, E Sawyer, J Bryant (f), D McDaid 0-1 each. Meath: D McGowan 0-6 (1tpf, 3f); D Moriarty 0-4 (1tpf); N Finnerty and O Martin (1tp) 0-2 each; O Mulvany 0-1.

Offaly - Seán O’Toole; Ed Cullen, Lee Pearson, Daire McDaid; Shane O’Toole Greene, Jordan Hayes, Rory Egan; Jack McEvoy, Aaron Leavy; Ciarán Murphy, Keith O’Neill, Marcas Dalton; Eoin Sawyer, Diarmuid Egan, Cormac Egan. Subs: Jack Bryant for Sawyer (39), Dan Molloy for O’Neill (39), Seán Conway for D Egan (55).

Meath - Billy Hogan; Ciarán McCarrick, Ger Dwane, Shane Gibney; Killian Smyth, John O’Regan, James McEntee; Bryan Menton, Oisín Martin; Daithí McGowan, Darragh Campion, Jack O’Connor; Niall Finnerty, Diarmuid Moriarty, Cillian O’Sullivan. Subs: Rian Stafford for Campion (39), Oran Mulvany for McEntee (48), Conor Ennis for O’Sullivan (48), Dylan Garrigan for McCarrick (56), Michael Gavin for Dwane (56), Jack Swan for Gibney (59).

Referee - Enda Kelly (Westmeath).