O'Dwyer charges lacking finish

There can be little doubt that this was a game Kildare threw away. They can only blame themselves that despite having so much possession, they let Offaly come back at the death and steal a draw.

How infuriating it must be for Mick O'Dwyer to have to look on and see such waste. His son Karl was definitely missed because that forced them to use Dale Hynan as the target man and I don't think that worked out. There were always short of an executing forward. As a result, they squandered much possession.

You have to give some credit to a resolute Offaly and particularly their fullback line. They held off one onslaught after another and as a result Kildare didn't create even one goal chance.

Still, the way Kildare swept up field, particularly with such a mobile half-back line and midfield, was impressive. Dermot Earley ran tirelessly throughout the game. in fact, Kildare might have to question so many players moving forward at the same time. They often end up clogging the space up front.

Overall it was a tight, non-flowing game. Both teams set out their stall to get men behind the ball and defend in numbers. That doesn't lend itself to open football.

But Kildare won't be pleased with themselves. One of their big failings is that even with so much possession, they don't finish off their attacks. They played so many short balls into the hands of Offaly goalkeeper Padraig Kelly and then the Offaly counter-attack often had them in trouble.

Vinnie Claffey looked to be struggling from the start, but in fairness Ken Doyle also did very well. Claffey was always going to be Offaly's main scoring threat and he was neutralised. After that, they were looking towards Roy Malone to help out and pick up the slack, but he rarely delivered with the possession he got.

Martin Lynch did have a great first half and in terms of possession he helped Kildare dominate. But the team's overall work-rate is phenomenal. Their fitness levels are very impressive and they had the legs on Offaly throughout the field.

Substitutes have been a big feature of the championship this season and again we saw that here. Offaly brought in some fresh forwards towards the end and it was Donie Ryan who managed to save the day by converting the one real chance they got.

I suppose you could say that we were fooled a little bit about Offaly's true potential. Okay, they beat Meath, but they were struggling with Kildare's pace and they had a big problem trying to counter-act the attacking runs of Anthony Rainbow, Glen Ryan and John Finn. As well as that you had the very mobile Lynch and Willie McCreery creating all sorts of problems.

I feel that the Kildare backs won't be very pleased from the return of their colleagues up front. They're also expending so much energy with all this support play that it takes its toll. It weakened the defence a little right at the end of the game, allowing Offaly to get back into it somewhat.

It was no great surprise to see Kelly take the final free. The goalkeeper is the one man who practises kicks off the ground and they always kick deadballs 60 yards or whatever. Padraig Nolan's other priority at that stage was that Kelly had the capacity to kill the ball. At least he would get the distance and the ball would go out of play. In truth, though, I think it would have been a travesty of justice if Offaly had won.

So for the replay. Kildare will have to fancy their chances. They'll have Karl O'Dwyer back - a great scoretaker - and I was also quite impressed by young John Doyle at centre forward. He knows where the posts are and can kick a good ball also, but what Kildare wouldn't give for a target man who can kick his scores close to the goal.

Offaly can improve, but will need to devise ways to stay with this pace. As well as that we'll see the return of Ciaran McManus from suspension and that will help. For me he was the fittest man in the Irish panel on the International Rules team and he has the legs to run with McCreery and Lynch.

But if Kildare hit a day when they score a reasonable percentage of their chances, they will be dangerous. Offaly proved again that they don't die off easily and although the tie is not over by any means, Kildare have to be favourites for the replay.

In an interview with Ian O'Riordan