Offaly recorded a very important win when they were too strong for Wicklow in the opening round of the Tailteann Cup in Tullamore on Saturday afternoon.
The 2-13 to 0-11 win draws a line under a dreadful run in the second tier competition. They had lost their last five games in it and last year's abysmal defeats by London and Limerick piled pressure on everyone, and were a definite factor in Mickey Harte being drafted in as joint manager alongside Declan Kelly.
Offaly certainly didn't set the world on fire here and this performance won't win the Tailteann Cup but it was absolutely crucial that they won and it gives them something to build on.
There will be greater tests ahead but it puts them in pole position for qualification from the group and Offaly's appetite was of a sufficiently high level to suggest that they do want to give this a real go.
Goals at each end of the half from Diarmuid Egan and Jack Bryant helped Offaly to a half time lead of 2-06 to 0-08 that flattered them a small bit.
Egan's fourth minute goal after a Jordan Hayes run gave them a 1-00 to 0-01 lead but Wicklow had a huge amount of possession for the next 15 minutes plus. Offaly defended well but Wicklow's pressure had to yield a dividend and they led by 0-05 to 1-01 after 13 minutes.
A two-point free from goalie Mark Jackson gave them a 0-07 to 1-01 lead after 26 minutes and Offaly's attack finally got motoring coming up to half time.
Jack Bryant got an excellent two-pointer as they grabbed a 1-06 to 0-07 lead and after Mark Kenny got a Wicklow point, Offaly broke for a great goal in injury-time. Cathal Flynn booted in a pin point pass over the top and Jack Bryant finished very neatly to give Offaly that interval advantage.
Offaly scarcely deserved to be four points up at the break but that margin changed the game. It meant that Wicklow had to chase it and Offaly were able to contain them with considerable ease in a second half that never ignited.
Without doing anything special but attacking with enough menace to open up Wicklow, Offaly controlled much of the game. They were helped by some wayward Wicklow shooting but they never looked like losing in the second half. 2-09 to 0-09 up after 48 minutes, Offaly had a 2-11 to 0-10 lead after 55 and that was always going to be a big enough cushion to get them home.
They did leave the door open a bit longer than they should have and Dylan Hyland had a 58th minute penalty saved by Mark Jackson, after man of the match Jack Bryant was fouled. Jackson was wide with a two-point free at the other end moments later and had he converted that and reduced the gap to four points, it may have brought Wicklow back into it.
Instead Dylan Hyland's 61st minute point pushed the gap back out to seven and Wicklow never looked like salvaging it late on – the closest they came to a goal was when a two point free attempt from Oisin McGraynor hit the post in the 69th minute and almost ended up in the net but Offaly would still have been able to hold on at that stage.
Offaly: Paddy Dunican; Lee Pearson, David Dempsey, Daire McDaid; Diarmuid Egan (1-00), John Furlong, Cormac Egan; Jack McEvoy, Jordan Hayes; Kyle Higgins, Cathal Flynn (0-01), Keith O'Neill; Dylan Hyland (0-04, 1f), Jack Bryant (1-05, 1 2p), Shane Tierney (0-02). Subs: Ruari McNamee (0-01) for O'Neill (46m), Cillian Bourke for McEvoy (54m), Rory Egan for Diarmuid Egan (66m), Aaron Kellaghan for Tierney (68m), Marcas Dalton for Higgins (71m),
Wicklow: Mark Jackson (0-02, 1 2pf); Tom Moran, Matt Nolan, Malachy Stone; Joe Prendergast, Patrick O'Keane, Darragh Fee; Dean Healy (0-01), Padraig O'Toole; John Paul Nolan, Eoin Darcy, Cian Deering; Oisin McGraynor (0-02, 2f), Kevin Quinn (0-02, 1 f), Mark Kenny (0-02). Subs: Cathal Baker (0-01) for John Paul Nolan, inj. (5m), Paidi Kavanagh for Baker (53m), Conor Fee (0-01) for Darcy (53m), Jack Kirwan for Kenny (59m), Adam Arslan for Deering (66m),
Referee: Niall Cullen (Fermanagh).
