Offaly finally got a National Football League win when they easily disposed of Wicklow in Glenisk O'Connor Park on Sunday afternoon.
A must win game for Offaly after four consecutive defeats, they played very well on the day and their victory was never in doubt. They were 4-10 to 0-05 up when they were reduced to fourteen men in the 46th minute – Dylan Hyland getting a black card to go with his first half yellow.
Hyland’s dismissal was the only cloud for Offaly. He had been brilliant up to then, scoring five of his six excellent points from play, but his discipline has been an issue this year and is something he will have to address.
Fortunately for Offaly, their lead was sufficiently big that it didn’t cause them any damage on this occasion. It would have taken a lot more than one dismissal for a seventeen point deficit to be overturned and instead Jordan Hayes was able to get in for a fifth goal five minutes later to make it 5-10 to 0-06.
The win means that Offaly have their fate in their own hands as they bid to retain Division 3 status with games to come away to Sligo and at home to Limerick. For Wicklow, it was a very bleak day at the office as they were not at races and they are now odds-on for the drop back to Division 4.
Offaly put themselves in the driving seat with a very good first half display and they were in no way flattered by their 2-08 to 0-04 half time lead.
Wicklow held their own early on and were on level terms at 0-03 each after fifteen minutes but Offaly put daylight between the teams in the second quarter.
A stunning individual goal from Cormac Egan in the 17th minute gave them a 1-4 to 0-03 lead. Egan raced into space from his own half, went at the goals, soloing with his right and kicking a low drive with his left into the net. Eoin Carroll added a second goal two minutes later with Jack Bryant putting the ball in over the top. Wicklow goalkeeper Cathal Fitzgerald hesitated fatally and Carroll was able to open up a seven point gap.
Dylan Hyland had a sensational first half, kicking five points, four of them quality ones from play while Wicklow could only manage one point, a Kevin Quinn free in the second quarter. A 10-point half-time lead was a huge advantage for Offaly but having coughed up a nine-point lead in the second half against Clare, the home supporters were still on alert for the second half.
Those nerves were gone within minutes of the restart as Dylan Hyland got his sixth point and Anton Sullivan slotted home a 41st-minute penalty after the outstanding Cormac Egan was fouled – there were ironic cheers from the Offaly support as Peter Cunningham had missed one with the last kick of the game to win it in the calamitous defeat to Clare, blasting high over the bar.
Jack Bryant got the fourth goal in the 48th minute, making it 4-10 to 0-5 and Wicklow only made inroads when the home side were down to fourteen men. They got four in a row from the 51st to 55th minutes but were only on a damage limitation exercise.
They also found themselves down to 14 men when Cillian McDonald got a 64th minute black card as it all drifted out very harmlessly with the home side getting the final four points.
It was an important win for Offaly who have improved steadily throughout the league and really should not be on the icy ground that they find themselves in.
Offaly: Mikey Cunningham; Aidan Bracken, John Furlong, Declan Hogan; Cormac Egan (1-00), David Dempsey (0-01), Lee Pearson (0-01); Eoin Carroll (1-00), Peter Cunningham; Dylan Hyland (0-06, 1f), Ruari McNamee, Jordan Hayes (1-00); Anton Sullivan (1-01, 1-00pen), Keith O’Neill (0-01), Jack Bryant (1-03).
Subs: Rory Egan for Cormac Egan (52), Jack McEvoy for Carroll (55), Nigel Dunne (0-02) for Bryant (62), Cathal Flynn for O’Neill (64), Daire McDaid for Pearson (68).
Wicklow: Cathal Fitzgerald; Tom Moran (0-01), Malachy Stone, Jacques McCall; Eoin Murtagh, Patrick O’Keane, Cillian McDonald (0-01); Craig Maguire, Jack Kirwan; John Paul Nolan, Dean Healy (0-01), Cathal Baker; Eoin Darcy, Kevin Quinn (0-05, 3f), Christopher O’Brien.
Subs: Matt Nolan for Murtagh (HT), Darragh Fee for McCall (HT), Brian Nesbitt (0-01) for Darcy (HT), Oisin McGraynor (0-01) for Stone (53), Johnny Carlin for Kirwan (53).
Referee: David Murnane (Cork).
