Offaly find new spring in step

Allianz Nhl holders Galway crashed to what was a first defeat in the competition since the last millennium. This statistic from St Brendan's Park, Birr was a bad enough start to Noel Lane's managerial tenure, but the listlessness of the performance must have been particularly galling.

Offaly's unpredictable exploits in the championship have been staple features of recent summers, but the league, with its wet conditions and swampy pitches, has tended to find them in more predictable form.

So it will have been heartening for the re-installed Michael Bond to see his charges in such lively form at a time of the year they normally detest.

Bond's success with the county in the past has been underpinned by his admiration for the technical proficiency of Offaly hurling and yesterday, with an experimental team, they gave as fine a performance of ground hurling and first-time striking as anyone could have done on such a surface.

Furthermore, there were good displays from a number of younger players, with Damien Murray from Coolderry setting the headline with a nearly faultless display of free-taking which yielded him 0-12 out of a total of 0-14.

Only a couple of weeks off being a minor last year, the 19year-old was handed the deadball duties when Johnny Dooley had to cry off after sustaining a knock with his club.

Named in the corner, Murray switched to the right wing for most of the match and enjoyed what must be one of the highest scoring competitive debuts in recent inter-county history.

If none of the frees were particularly daunting, the sheer consistency of Murray's strikerate - 92 per cent and only one miss - was something Dooley himself would have been proud of and, taken together with Joe Errity's four-out-of-four from around the 80-metres mark, meant that unscrupulous defending did not pay.

Whereas, given the atrocious conditions, it's hard to be too severe on the defences, the freetaking in general had no such qualms and pitilessly accounted for 23 of the 33 points with Rory Gantley clocking up seven for the visitors.

At the back, Offaly were also well served by young wing backs Joe Brady and Mick O'Hara, unlucky to have been injured out of last year's championship. Another injury victim, Colm Cassidy, gave a forceful display at corner back.

Galway's trialists weren't as happy. Wing backs Padraig Walsh and Darren Shaughnessy struggled on either side of Cathal Moore and, in attack, both the fringe players, David Forde and Cathal Murray were replaced before the end.

Manager Lane said that the current club action in Offaly meant that the home players were "sharper and crisper" and that the loss of the club-tied Athenry players hadn't helped.

Yet, the whole thing started well enough for Galway and in the sixth minute, David Tierney galloped through the heart of the Offaly defence to finish to the net for a well-taken goal. He was set up for the score by a fine long ball - moved on by Mark Kerins - from Declan O'Brien, getting a run in the Galway centrefield. His striking was exceptionally good in the first half and led to both of his team's goals.

Offaly refused, however, to accept the early trend and an unanswered 1-6 in 10 minutes turned the match around and established the dominance which they never relaxed.

In the 11th minute, Conor Gath - in the team for Dooley - finished a cross-ball from Rory Hanniffy into the net and gave his side a lead they wouldn't lose.

Although the initiative had drained away on them, Galway managed a goal against the run of the play on half an hour. O'Brien's well-judged ball floated into Kerins and, although he took two goes to get it into the net, the gap closed to two points, 2-6 to 1-11.

But three quick points from Offaly robbed the goal of its scoreboard impact and gave the home team a five-point lead at the interval.

A couple of changes made little difference to the second half as Offaly continued to pick off their points and stretch their lead to well beyond what a competitive match could take.

The big forwards Ger Oakley, particularly, and Gary Hanniffy weren't inhibited by the heavy pitch.

Johnny Pilkington did his usual switch to full forward and used his rugby expertise to record a push-over goal after Brendan Murphy had hit the post and although Fergal Healy got in for a late goal for Galway, the effect was purely cosmetic.

Michael Bond was sorely vexed afterwards at the rumoured suggestions that Birr had decided to pull their players out of the match because of club requirements.

In the end, six of them played. As the Offaly manager - pleasure at the victory overshadowed by his daughter's asthma attack - said: "There's only one person that picks the Offaly hurling team.

"The Birr and Clareen players won't be considered for the next match because of their commitments, but that's my decision. No one else's."

OFFALY: S Byrne; S Whelahan, K Kinahan, C Cassidy; J Brady, J Errity (0-4, all frees), M O'Hara (0-1); J Pilkington (1-1), B Whelahan (0-1); C Gath (1-0), G Oakley (0-1), B Murphy; R Hanniffy, G Hanniffy, D Murray (0-14, 12 frees). Subs: P Molloy (0-1) for Gath (52 mins).

GALWAY: C Callanan; G Kennedy, L Hodgins, M Healy; P Walsh, C Moore, D Shaughnessy; R Gantley (0-7, all frees), D O'Brien; F Healy (1-1), D Tierney (1-1), D Forde; O Canning (0-1), M Kerins (1-1), C Murray. Subs: E McDonagh for Walsh, O Fahy for Forde (half-time); G Lynskey for Murray (69 mins).

Referee: S Roche (Wexford).