Battling Leitrim effort not quite enough to get past Offaly

They might not have come away with a shock win but a battling Leitrim did more than enough to lift the hearts of Green & Gold supporters in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin on Sunday as they pushed Allianz NFL Division 3 joint leaders Offaly all the way to line after a titanic struggle.

After four heavy losses in the opening rounds, few would have given Steven Poacher’s side a chance against the joint table toppers but they made a wasteful Offaly work incredibly hard for their victory, turning in what was easily their best display of the campaign so far.

It is a measure of how tough it has been for a young and inexperienced Leitrim that a five point loss to Offaly is regarded as a sign of progress but with the scale of player departures and an injury crisis that left Poacher with just 23 players to choose from on Sunday, the performance warmed the heart.

It wasn’t just that they made life difficult for an Offaly side. jointly guided by former Tyrone legend Mickey Harte, it was the manner of their play and the spirit they showed, their hassling and harrying that made a high flying Offaly seem the most ordinary of the five teams Leitrim have faced this year.

Truth be told, had Offaly displayed a fraction of the accuracy in front of the posts that Leitrim did, this might have been a much different story but the midlanders were forced into hurried shots and never given an easy score.

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Leitrim registered just one wide over the contest, left another two efforts short and saw one goal bound effort blocked while Offaly had nine first half wides, left another three short and saw two goal efforts saved but that was much due to a ferocious Leitrim rearguard effort that demanded immense and total commitment.

Many Leitrim fans left the game feeling shortchanged that Offaly’s crucial goal on the stroke of halftime was not wiped out for a square ball infringement, John Furlong left unmarked on the edge of the square when Paddy Dunican’s effort dropped short.  My initial instinct was that the Offaly centre-back had timed it spectacularly well and after later watching footage of the incident, I’d be even more inclined to say that Westmeath referee Alan Coyne and his team of officials got it spot on.

There may be more debate over a Leitrim penalty appeal late in the first half when Riordan O’Rourke went down in a battle for the ball after a block on an Eoin McLoughlin shot. The referee was very close to the action, he waved play on but it was a decision that could have gone either way as Offaly stood firm to hold the Green & Gold out.

Leitrim did breach Offaly’s last line of defence with a goal that illustrates the potential in this young side - a long kickout broke for Paul Honeyman with ten minutes left in the contest, the Ballinamore man surging forward before feeding Darren Cox, his trademark sidestep taking his past Offaly keeper Paddy Dunican for a classic counter-attacking goal.

The Leitrim team that was defeated by Offaly in Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin, Ballinamore Picture: Willie Donnellan

It was a glimpse of what this young Leitrim side, without the considerable presence of Barry McNulty, Jordan Reynolds and Donal Casey, may be capable of in the future but their youth was also on display after the goal, a couple of cheap turnovers caused as much by enthusiasm and excitement as anything else costing Leitrim.

Offaly, that little bit more experienced and further along the line, knew how to take the sting out of the game - their second half was nowhere near as spectacular in terms of winning the midfield battle but it was far superior in terms of accuracy and that inevitably told its tale on the final scoreboard.

Yet Leitrim will walk away from Ballinamore with a good deal more pep in their step - Poacher has been preaching that it will take time but the first shoots of a Leitrim spring started to pop above ground last Sunday and that is more than encouraging.

Leitrim set out their stall with some style with a score made in Mohill just 15 seconds in. Conor Quinn did extremely well to win the kickout and released Keith Keegan, charging in from the sideline and he soloed forward to point and get the crowd going. Paddy Dunican dropped an Offaly 50 short before a foul on Riordan O’Rourke allowed Paul Honeyman to double the lead from a third minute free.

A minute later, the lead was three points when Riordan O’Rourke profited from a high ball in, rounded his man and first over, the slight possibility of a goal briefly appearing on. An Offaly failure to hand the ball back saw the ball brought forward 50 metres and Honeyman converted before Dunican saw a long range effort batted out. Leitrim’s lead stretched to five points when Ben Guckian converted from a tight angle to put the home fans into something approaching a state of ecstasy!

Offaly’s Jack McEvoy saw a shot gathered by Daire O’Shea but the Leitrim keeper was then penalised for barging with Keith O’Neill opening the visitors account on ten minutes. Two minutes later, O’Neill cut through the Leitrim defence but a weak shot was gathered by O’Shea to prevent what looked like a certain score.

Offaly were dominating possession but rattled off three wides before Dylan Hyland converted a free on 16 minutes. The Offaly freetaker then missed what looked like a simple shot while he was unlucky to see an effort strike the woodwork.

Leitrim punished those misses with a patient period of possession before Conor Quinn broke down the left hand side to score a great point on the run after 20 minutes. But the visitors were winning the battle for possession in the middle of the park and they rattled over three points in as many minutes.

The Offaly team who defeated Leitrim in Ballinamore Picture: Willie Donnellan

Kyle Higgins curled an effort in, Shane Tierney fisted over as Offaly bore down on goal again while Daire McDaid got in between the lines to point. After another wide, O’Neill drew Offaly level after a one-two with Dunican with just over seven minutes left in the first half.

The drama, however, only seemed to be starting - Daire O’Shea spilled a wayward shot from Dunican right at the feet of Aaron Kellaghan but the Offaly man blasted wide with the goal at his mercy.

Leitrim went looking for the lead, Darren Cox’s shot landing short in the danger area. Eoin McLoughlin had a shot blocked, Riordan O’Rourke was under huge pressure with Leitrim fans appealing for a free but Offaly won possession and then a free. That allowed them to clear their lines with Cathal Flynn scoring a fine point from a tight angle in the last seconds of normal time.

With two minutes of added time, Offaly sought a late point with Dunican launching high towards the Leitrim goal. The ball fell short but incredibly an unmarked Offaly centre-back John Furlong got the vital touch to divert the ball into the Leitrim net - Leitrim fans shouted square ball but after consultations, the goal stood as Offaly led 1-7 to 0-6 at halftime.

Offaly extended their lead when sub Marcas Dalton finished off a good move with a fine point but Paul Honeyman matched it from a free, the subsequent kickout being snatched by Darren Cox but the mercurial Annaduff man lost the ball as he bore down on goal, appealing for a free as Offaly cleared the danger.

Ben Guckian dropped a 50 metre free short and Cox had a wide, Leitrim’s first two missed chances of the game while Jack Bryant saw his effort take a deflection, Dunican converting the resulting fifty with some ease nine minutes into the second half.

The tit for tat continued as Offaly were far more careful with their shot selection, taking fewer pot shots but generally much more efficient. A foul on Tom Prior as he charged through, Dunican getting a hand to the ball to prevent a goal chance, saw the ball brought back for Honeyman to convert.

A breach of the three man rule saw sub Nigel Dunne convert the free on 56 minutes but then a long Riordan O’Rourke ball into the danger area was batted out and Keith Keegan was onto it quickest, firing over a good point. Offaly, however, hit back with a good point from Byrant to restore the five point gap.

Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin broke out in wild cheering with ten minutes left in the contest when a kickout broke to Paul Honeyman who took off at speed with Darren Cox ahead of him calling for the ball. The Ballinamore man fed the ball to the Annaduff player, a neat sidestep past Dunican and Cox was rolling the ball into the net to raise hopes of a first League win for Steven Poacher’s side.

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But perhaps the excitement started to get to Leitrim as a few passes were sent astray and Offaly steadied themselves, slowing down the play and taking the sting out of the game. Dunican notched his second, this time from play, as his long range shot crept just inside the near post.

Offaly continued to dominate possession and they made sure of victory with the last kick of the game when Keith O’Neill converted a free after the four minutes of added time had elapsed.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Paul Honeyman 0-4, 4f; Darren Cox 1-0; Keith Keegan 0-2; Conor Quinn & Ben Guckian 0-1 each

Team: Daire O'Shea; Eoin McLoughlin, Kieran Clancy, Eanna McNamara; Jack Foley, Mark Diffley, James Rooney; Keith Keegan, Conor Quinn; Jack Flynn; Ben Guckian, Paul Honeyman; Riordan O'Rourke 0-01, Darren Cox, Tom Prior. Subs: Sean Harkin for Foley (55); Cillian McGloin for Rooney (60); Stephen McLoughlin & Mark Keegan for Keith Keegan & Quinn (69)

OFFALY

Scorers: Keith O’Neill 0-3, 2f; John Furlong 1-0; Paddy Dunican 0-2, 1 50; Cathal Flynn, Dylan Hyland (f), Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney, Marcas Dalton, Nigel Dunne (f), Kyle Higgins & Shane Tierney 0-1 each

Team: Paddy Dunican 0-02 45; Lee Pearson, Aiden Bracken, Rory Egan; Daire McDaid, John Furlong, Cormac Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn, Keith O'Neill; Dylan Hyland , Aaron Kelleghan, Shane Tierney. Subs: Jack Bryant & Marcus Dalton for Kelleghan & Hyland (HT); Nigel Dunne for Tierney (50); Morgan Tynan for McEvoy (56)

Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath)