A convincing 2-19 to 0-17 victory over neighbouring Laois in O'Moore Park this afternoon has seen Mickey Harte and his Offaly team make it two wins from two in their Division 3 campaign.
Offaly led right from the off and despite some positive periods from Laois, there never appeared to be a road back for the hosts.
Harte’s men made a flying start to the contest and held a five-point lead within five minutes as Keith O’Neill kicked a quick brace of points before Jordan Hayes completed an excellent team move with a tidy finish from close range.
Shane Tierney added to the lead with a fisted effort between the sticks before the hosts eventually got off the mark thanks to a Kevin Swayne mark.
The Offaly dominance continued with a score each for Jack Bryant and Dylan Hyland, though Justin McNulty’s charges managed a reply through first time starter Ronan Coffey.
Coffey’s point was just a brief blip for the Faithful County as they would go on to notch the next four scores to no reply though Diarmuid Egan, Robbie Gallagher. O’Neill, Sean Tierney and Bryant.
Laois’s wasteful finishing was proving costly as they were being limited in the amount of chances given and when they got them their accuracy wasn’t where it needed to be.
The hosts were given a major lift when Damon Larkin was on the end of a pass from Danny O’Reilly and he slotted nicely into the net.
The Portlaoise man won two high balls moments after which resulted in a point each for Pa Kirwan and Ronan Coffey.
Coffey was on the mark again to cut the gap to five points before disaster struck for the hosts when Paddy Dunican made a marauding run up field and was on the end of a passing move to expertly drive the ball into the top right corner to ensure Offaly held a 2-10 to 1-06 lead at half-time.
Offaly began the second half with 14 men after a black card for Robbie Gallagher late in the first but despite that they got the first score on the board through Jack Bryant.
Kevin Swayne had a chance at goal denied, though Mark Barry picked up the pieces to take a point for Laois, though Offaly’s potency in attack shone through again with scores from Tierney and the pacy Cormac Egan.
The balance of play would begin to shift as Laois dominated possession in the Offaly half, but they failed to make it tell on the scoreboard as they had to settle for a couple of points via Killian Roche and Barry.
Keith O’Neill fired over his third of the game in the 55th minute as the visitors still held a comprehensive lead and Hayes put nine between them as he added to his first half goal with a point.
The scoring continued for Offaly as Hyland beautifully struck one over with his left boot into the darkening sky over Portlaoise town.
Scores continued to come for the visitors with Hyland, Hayes and Cathal Flynns striking to put the game beyond reasonable doubt.
To their credit, Laois continued to battle late on, with Mark Barry landing a two-pointer followed by two singles but time wasn’t on Laois’s side as the referee called a halt to proceedings.
Scorers
Offaly: Keith O’Neill 0-04 (one free), Dylan Hyland 0-4 (one free), Jordan Hayes 1-01, Shane Tierney 0-03, Paddy Dunican 1-00, Jack Bryant 0-02, Robbie Gallagher, Diarmuid Egan, Cormac Egan, Cathal Flynn and Cillian Bourke 0-01 each
Laois: Mark Barry (three frees, one two-point free, one two-point from play) 0-09, Ronan Coffey 0-04, Damon Larkin 1-00, Padraig Kirwan 0-02, Killian Roche and Kevin Swayne (mark) 0-01 each
Laois: Killian Roche; Ben Dempsey, Trevor Collins, James Kelly; Simon Fingleton, Brian Byrne, Seamus Lacey; Kevin Swayne, Damon Larkin; Conor Heffernan, Mark Barry, Danny O’Reilly; Ronan Coffey, Benny Carroll, Cathal Lee. Subs: Padraig Kirwan for Lacey (27), Niall Corbet for Lee (HT), Josh Hogan for O’Reilly (50), Paddy O’Sullivan for Byrne (53), Jake Darcy for Dempsey (62)
Offaly: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, David Dempsey, Rory Egan; Diarmuid Egan, Cillian Bourke, Cormac Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Ruairi McNamee, Cathal Flynn, Keith O’Neill; Dylan Hyland, Jack Bryant, Shane Tierney. Subs: Robbie Gallagher for McNamee (injured – 14), Kyle Higgins for Gallagher (53), Eoin Sawyer for O’Neill (62), Marcas Dalton for D Egan (70)
Referee: Jerome Henry (Mayo)
